The sixteenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks has brought forth the expected conservative “never forget” nonsense in defense of a perpetual war on terror.
Typical is Ben Shapiro, editor of The Daily Wire and host of the Ben Shapiro Show. On September 11, he wrote an article, “NEVER FORGET: The 5 Lessons We Should Have Learned From 9/11,” and spoke in a video about the five lessons America should have learned from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
He insists that the lessons of 9/11 “have been largely forgotten.” Here are his five “lessons we should have learned,” each with quotes from his article and video.
1. Global Retreat Is Not A Strategy.
“The Clinton Administration foreign policy of quasi-isolationism, combined with occasional human rights-driven interventionism, was a formula for failure.”
“Unless we are willing to consider measures to stamp out terrorist groups across the planet, we are setting ourselves up for a fall.”
2. Money Doesn’t Buy Off Islamists. Neither Does Friendliness.
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“Friendliness toward the Muslim world does not matter to Islamists, who seek only the domination of a religious caliphate.”
“There’s this weird idea from both the Ron Paul right and from the Barack Obama left that if we just give enough money, if we just show the Muslim world that we are caring and wonderful and we’ll be left alone by terrorists.”
3. Immigration Matters.
“The government ought to be deeply concerned about those who enter the country from Islamist-rich regions.”
“We also should be careful about people who are already here. We should be checking up on them.”
4. Major…