Just making sure no one has forgotten

The penalty phase of the Moussaoui trial is finally coming to a close.  Whatever the outcome, a would-be terrorist has had his day(s) in American court and has taken every opportunity to trash our country, her people, and our ways of life.  He has become, for many, the only physical object for us to behold in the aftermath of that unimaginably terrible day (h/t to tacitus for several links and the inspiration for this post).

The final day for the prosecution included replays of the previously unreleased cockpit recordings.  The Defense will try their best in the coming days to ensure their client avoids the needle, first by having the infamous "shoe-bomber" testify that Moussaoui was not as important in the 9/11 planning as he would have us believe, and they will also try to convince the jury that Moussaoui is just your standard, run-of-the-mill garden variety paranoid schizophrenic.  

Ultimately, I suppose I am less concerned by whether he lives or dies than I am by what transpired in that plane and the others that day, and by where we are in America with Muslims, the War on Terror, and yes, the status on illegal immigration.  Though we are told the 9/11 hijackers did NOT cross over from Canada, and this was reported in the 9/11 Commission's Final Report, I am skeptical at best about whether such a thing may happen in our future given what we know about our intelligence gathering flaws, our lack of political will to do the right things to protect our citizenry when push comes to shove, and to what degree we are willing to offend anyone in the Arab or Muslim world (read DPW).

We are at war.  This war began many many years ago, but only in the days after the attacks on the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, and the failed attempt on the White House did our countrymen formally take up arms and pursue our enemies where THEY live; where THEY terrorize and kill.  Whether you are for or against the Iraq war, it IS now (in the greater context) part of the war on terror...and we fight it in part because of the attacks on 9/11.  As we continue to debate the various elements of tactics and strategy and troop rotation, as we argue over the meanings and innuendos of Saddam's captured documents, or Iran's long-term intentions , don't forget why we are there, what is at stake, and the sacrifices and loss of innocent lives that got us here.

Never Forget still means something.