The American President and his government should be ashamed at what happened on September 11, 2001!

I personally think the American people are the very best folk in the world, but that excludes the coterie that’s running the government. Their inept attitude towards internal security made the strike on the 11th possible.

The highly educated bunch that work at the F.B.I, and the C.I.A. staved purposely inactive towards various individuals, most probably on government orders, under dubious names collecting funds for Terrorist Organisations to perpetuate terror in Third World countries. Now it seems while some collected funds, others were building cells to lie low to come out eventually to devastate the very country that was so hospitable to them. And all the while catching the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. with their pants down!

It is one thing to parade warships, aircraft carriers, and state of the art armaments to the outside World, and another to allow a bunch of young boys numbering less than twenty to murder 7,000 people!

Now the American government to hide its shame, in an act of Foolish Bravado is going after an impoverished country that they think is hiding the man responsible for its misery!

If Osama bin Laden planned the devastating, incredible attack on the 11th, then he may have also planned his escape from known habitats much before the event. He could be in Iran or Iraq or Libya or in one of the many Muslim countries bordering Afganistan?

If we hark back to the second insurrection of the J.V.P. in 1989, we will be reminded how Rohana Wijeweera and his entire polit-bureau went missing from their known habitats. And it took the government at the time a very long period of time to track him down and that too in an area excluding the North-East.

If America thinks by invading Afganistan, spending billions of tax payers money and also causing the deaths of thousands, bin Laden is going to get captured, then they are in for a very unpleasant surprise!

America, today has paid a heavy price for its ‘benign attitude towards terrorism. It is time the American people put aside prayer meetings, basketball and listening to foolish rhetoric from supposed to be experts and asked its President for an explanation for those 7,000 innocent lives lost!

R. A. Perera
Ratmalana