18 years ago (Tomorrow our time)

Charles Manson did 9/11 using demonic telepathic powers.

I gave up caring after the first anniversary of the attacks.

It took FD a good 6 years to come around after Sept 11. First, FD called for patience and tolerance. Look, he said, not all Muslims are the same. They deserve the right to practice their religion in peace. And why are we invading Iraq when Osama's lying low God knows where?

What do we stand for if not tolerance, freedom and at least getting our facts right before invading a sovereign country, killing thousands, and for what?

Yes, FD was a true promoter of democracy, freedom and Western Enlightenment values. He'd engage in erstwhile debates with Sprint, who'd do his usual monosyllabic grunts about hating and killing them.

No, FD would say, we can't have that. We stand for freedom.

Nonsense, Sprint would say, we stand for being Number One.

The old boy would jump in with a rant about apologists, taken from something he read in the Spectator, usually arguments made by the ex-luvvie, Christopher Hitchens.

But how can we abandon all our values just like that? FD would ask.

The old boy would come back with a strangely articulate argument. He wasn't bad back then, even if it was the essentially same post he does today.

Ban them, Sprint would say. No change there.

So where did the time go?

I'll tell you. One day, a Muslim convert calling himself Abu-Something joined in. He scoffed at FD's naive liberalism. The West, he'd say, started all this krap. We invaded and pillaged and left our dictators all over the Middle East and the world. We have no right to feign superiority. The West is mean and nasty and we should all respect the One God as taught by His prophet (p.b.u.h).

FD struggled a bit with that one, but amidst all the old boy rants, growing increasingly hysterical, and Sprint's two-word calls to arms, he heard Abu out, and like many of us, he didn't like what he heard.

Abu, you see, was a nasty piece of work, but he could run rings around you in terms of his historical knowledge. He had very compelling arguments. He had thoughtful translations. He'd put some effort into learning things about the world. But what about freedom? FD said.

Freedom is krap, Abu said.

And that one did it. FD started chasing Abu round riddling, then interrogating, him with questions. He built up the momentum, started the Wiki and finally chased Abu out.

That was that.

Today, FD has bought all Sprint's arguments and beliefs - ban them, kill them, the lot. He's even taken a bit from the old boy - the abuse mainly, but in FD-style, framed as a question. Are you a devious spineless apologist for Islam? A simple yes or no will suffice.

FD finally gave up on the freedom and democracy shtick. When G turned up, FD was already telling porkies, started as a tactic to outwit Abu, who FD was no match for. Abu just ignored him, riling FD up even more.

There's not much of the old FD left. Like St Paul, FD turned around, but in the opposite direction. FD is possibly the only person in the world to have shifted their opinion on the invasion of Iraq after it all turned to sht.

Still, I guess Sept 11 changed us all. None of us will ever be the same again.

You?

The United States does not attack Iraq and Afghanistan in response to a terror attack. That is just coincidental. The perpetrators all died in the plane crashes. There was no second wave of attackers. Bush and his administrators had oil acquisitions to make, at taxpayer expense. Do you really think that they would hold off increasing their retirement wealth, just on the occasion that a terrorist attack did not happen?