Justifying the murder of thousands of Americans to help ExxonMobil would require U.S. officials to engage in a different kind of detachment and an even more profound break with decency and moral norms.
Nevermind the fact that American interests, embassies, ships etc. have been under attack by these people for years before this tragic event and it took a real hero to come in and finally fight it..
(All my heroes have been cowboys.
)
Would George W. Bush take the chance of being branded the most evil president of all time by countenancing such wrongdoing? Oil may be in his blood, but would he place the oil industry's interests ahead of his own? (He sure said sayonara to Kenneth Lay and Enron pretty darn fast.) And Bush and everyone else in government know that plans leak. Disinformation specialists at the Pentagon could not keep their office off the front page of The New York Times. In the aftermath of September 11, there has been much handwringing over the supposed fact that U.S. intelligence has been too risk-averse. But, thankfully, some inhibitions - P.R. concerns, career concerns - do provide brakes on the spy-crowd.
You know, fuk it. When terrorism reaches your piddly azz country- I'll bring up the same disrespectful conversation and sit back and make you spout the truth over and over okay?