If Only...

Here's a great roundup of some speculative fiction. Read all the links, you'll laugh, you'll cry...

And here's my entry into the 'alternate reality' genre:

I'm Fighting the Wrong Enemy by Bob Kerrey

At Thursday's hearing before the 9/11 commission, Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser, gave a triumphal presentation. She was a spectacular witness.

I was a tough critic of some of her answers and assertions, though I believe I was at least as tough with the national security adviser for President Clinton. At the beginning and end of every criticism I have made in this process, I have also offered this disclaimer: anyone who was in Congress, as I was during the critical years leading up to Sept. 11, 2001, must accept some of the blame for the catastrophe. It was a collective failure.

Now on the specific topic of the recent hearings, all I can say is this:

Originally I welcomed these hearings because of the opportunity that they provided to the American people to better understand why the tragedy of 9/11 happened, and what we might do to prevent a reoccurrence.

But the commission failed you. Yes, those of us entrusted with finding any useful truth failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard, but that doesn't matter, because we failed. The whole thing turned into an opportunistic political catfight, with booksellers given a soapbox and a spotlight to use in trying to make a buck off the pain and suffering of a nation.

And for that failure, I would ask, once the movie is out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness.

Thank you.

If wishes were horses we'd all wish for cars.