‘Every day since then has been Sept. 12’

That’s what former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice says; she and former Homeland Security Advisor Frances Fragos Townsend reflect on a changed nation and what we still have to learn from 9/11

This is one of a handful of pieces written by NMPolitics.net columnists reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

As a starting line, to everyone who lost a loved one or survived the horrific disaster we have come to know as 9/11, I am sincerely sorry. Suffice it to say that the vast majority of America is thinking about you and praying for you and yours. While America remembers what happened on that day, we can’t even begin to speak for you. And so, with that, here is my post.

A few weeks ago, Heath asked his little band of bloggers to start thinking about the 10-year memorial of 9/11. Not easy. Not easy, not because I don’t have my own thoughts and sentiments surrounding this terribly tragic event – I do. Not easy, because I honestly feel that I have no right to comment on this day when no one in my personal or immediate family was directly affected. Meaning we didn’t lose a loved one. As such, I was conflicted on what to post.

Then it dawned on me. Why not ask two of the most influential women in my life, two women who dealt with the aftermath of 9/11 for the next seven years of their lives?

Suffice it to say that my first boss, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, might have something to impart, especially seeing that she was serving as President Bush’s national security advisor on Sept. 11, 2001. And then there is a mentor, Frances Fragos Townsend, who went from working at the NSC to serving as the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism from 2004-2008.

Both Dr. Rice and Fran graciously agreed to contribute to this post. I would note that Dr. Rice’s portions are direct quotes from a piece she has done with the New York Times, to be printed this Sunday, and are quoted courtesy of The New York Times News Service. Fran Townsend’s comments are original for this blog post. My thanks to them both.

Below are my three brief questions to them. I’d be curious for you, the readers, to also weigh in.

What have we learned from 9/11?

Dr. Rice: Ten years later, it is clear that 9/11 made encouraging democracy and supporting political institutions a global necessity… Since 9/11, we have come to understand that no country can secure itself in isolation and that helping failed states heal is no longer simply a matter of largesse – it is now a necessity.

Fran Townsend: That we are a nation of courage and determination. We are capable of putting policy differences aside when we need the strength of the whole. While there are important policy debates worth having inside the U.S. political process, when attacked from outside we are smart and resilient and will band together to solve problems. Congress and the president worked together post 9/11 to pass the Patriot Act and to create the Department of Homeland Security. Our enemies should learn that our political debates are less important to us than our security and our freedom.

How is the nation different?

Dr. Rice: For those of us in office on that day, it is as if time was suspended. For us and for the victims’ families, every day since then has been Sept. 12. Our sense of what constituted security and what it takes to protect the country had been irrevocably altered. The United States, the most militarily and economically powerful country on Earth, had experienced a devastating attack. And it had been carried out by a stateless band of extremists, operating from the territory of what was at the time a failed state, Afghanistan.

Fran Townsend: Security is now an accepted part of daily life. We go through security screening not only at airports, but now there are canine patrols on trains and bag searches at sports arenas and rock concerts. We now understand if we see something suspicious we must say something. That security is every citizens’ responsibility, not just the government’s. And we understand now that security measures are how we protect our fundamental freedom.

What lessons have we failed to learn or are we still learning?

Dr. Rice: In 2002, a group of Arab scholars at the United Nations issued the Arab Human Development Report, identifying three gaps – respect for human freedom, women’s empowerment and access to knowledge – that are holding back the progress of millions of people. And these gaps do even more harm: They cause the hopelessness that in turn creates a vacuum into which extremism and hatred flow. This is the link between what happened on 9/11 and the urgency of democratic reform throughout the Middle East. For 60 years, the U.S. sought stability at the expense of democracy in supporting authoritarian regimes. But we should have known better. If people have no way to hold their governments accountable through peaceful change, they will do so violently… Now decent political forces – those that will defend women’s rights and religious and ethnic tolerance – will need the time to organise themselves to fill the void. Authoritarianism is simply unsustainable. As difficult as the journey to democracy may be, it is the only pathway to true stability.

Fran Townsend: We must accept that the threat of terrorism remains because our enemies, though substantially weakened, continue to target the U.S. For this reason, though officials work to prevent terrorism, we must plan and prepare for a successful attack. That means we must be determined to be resilient and recover quickly. While we must preserve our intelligence, law enforcement, and military capabilities to detect, disrupt and defeat terrorism, our resilience will be a powerful deterrent to terrorists.

Sarah Lenti is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net’s The Savvy. E-mail her at sarah@nmpolitics.net.