lc_story9.xml

lc_story9.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-02-14

In my office, about 4 miles south of the Pentagon. A call came in to tell me about the first tower. My window faces the Pentagon, and while it is blocked from my view, a colleague and I saw the sunlight hit the wing of the plane that hit the Pentagon as it banked sharply down and then disappeared from view. A second or to later we heard a muffled blast and saw the smoke. We closed the office.

Wanting to see my wife and daughters. Waiting to hear that my brother and neice (who work and go to school in NY) were ok. As a native New Yorker I was shocked as the Towers came down, and felt helpless being in Maryland.
Concern for all the innocent victims and their heroes. Fearful of the jingoism which would result.

I think it has affected the country adversley. While a devastating event, America's swift and brutal response has accomplished little. But it did give the current administration the rationale it was looking for to "relive" the 'good old days'. Rumsfeld , Ashcroft, et al, have a replaced their longing for a cold war with this cause, and I believe that this will not serve in the best long term interest of the US either home or abroad.