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PAGE 4A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 30. 2021
What is our role in the world?
When George W. Bush stood on the
rubble of the World Trade Center with
a bullhorn declaring that we would
get whoever attacked us, emotion
ruled. And how could it not? It was
a time of intense shock, sorrow and
anger.
The emotions were raw and straight
forward, but the decisions were more
nuanced. Unlike Pearl Harbor, this
was not an attack by another country
on our nation. When Japan hit us
in 1941, it was clear which country
did it. But when 9/11 happened, we
soon learned that 15 of the 19 attack
ers were Saudi Arabians. Osama bin
Laden was also a Saudi. So, should we
attack Saudi Arabia? The Saudi royal
family has been two-faced with us for
a long time. And the quick U.S. dis
missal of the Saudis when looking at
the attacks has always been troubling.
There appears to be far more smoke
there than with Saddam Hussein, who
was never shown to have a link to 9/11.
To ignore potential Saudi government
connections seemed like willful blind
ness in favor of oil considerations. Still
does, honestly. The relationship with
that oil-rich country has been strange
under multiple administrations.
After we learned al Qaeda was
responsible for 9/11, there was a dis
tinction to make: Was this a group
of criminals who should be treated
as mass murderers and pursued in
a police action? Or, did this attack
require a full-on war against the lead
ership and forces of another coun
try, even if no other nation direcdy
attacked us?
This was an obvious issue at the
time. Plenty of people saw the gravity
of that distinction. The Soviet Union
basically collapsed amid its entan
glement in Afghanistan. That lesson
was fresh. If we limited pursuit to the
people directly responsible for the
attack, then we would not be in a war
but a hunt for criminals. If we broad
ened the enemy to the Taliban, then it
would be a war and long-term occu
pation. The Taliban is and was truly
awful. And there’s always a case to
make for liberating people from their
oppressors in other lands. But that’s
also proven a complicated matter for
empires throughout history, who have
often paid dearly for those decisions as
many citizens in such places have paid
terribly, too.
Truth is, after 9/11, anything short of
a full-on war wasn’t going to satisfy
the deep national want for revenge. So
it was emotion that drove the big deci
sion, not policy or strategy. Getting
bin Laden and his criminal gang was
the initial task, but after we went to
war, bin Laden escaped through the
mountains. And he hid for years as
we moved on to nation building in
Afghanistan and Iraq. The hunt for
bin Laden seemed a secondary matter
for years. This was inexplicable and
infuriating. If we sought to expel the
Taliban for support of bin Laden, why
By Zach Mitcham
not also be more forceful with the
Pakistani government where we knew
he fled? Ultimately, Obama made the
call to kill bin Laden in Pakistan in a
sneak attack, which risked a conflict
with the nuclear nation. But if we
initially went with a police action in
2001, a mass murder criminal pur
suit against a specific guilty group,
not a broader state war, this hunt
could have continued after Tora Bora,
where the terrorist escaped, without
so many lives lost and trillions spent
elsewhere. Focus could have been put
more directly onto Pakistan and the
9/11 mass murderer who fled there.
Our leaders, without much debate,
decided we would spend two decades
with the stated aim of preparing the
Afghan army to defend their nation
against the Taliban, who continued
fighting to retake control. We heard
talk of the progress being made in get
ting them ready. But what purpose did
the continued war serve for the U.S.?
This question was stubbornly avoid
ed for years. Finally, Donald Trump
set in motion the withdrawal from
Afghanistan. And that needed to hap
pen. When the Biden Administration
carried through with that plan, it
unraveled quickly in disastrous fash
ion. Two decades of preparation of the
Afghan army collapsed in 10 days.
It was a true tragedy, with so many
people lost or left in treacherous sit
uations. But both the initiation of a
withdrawal by Trump and the actual
ization of that withdrawal by Biden
were necessary, because we didn’t
need to be there long-term from the
outset. It was a mistake not to treat
9/11 as a mass murder instead of a
state war. Yes, the withdrawal was a
fiasco, just as it would also be a trag
edy if the U.S. withdrawal were far
smoother and less embarrassing for
us but accompanied by a multi-year
civil war in Afghanistan with the same
result and far more deaths. The point
being: once you’re occupying another
country, there’s no easy way out. That
was determined in 2001, not 2021.
And the same would be true in 2041.
All of this leads back to the bigger
picture: what is the U.S. role in this
world in this century? I’m confused
about it, but it feels like our leaders
have been, too. And 9/11 did abso
lutely nothing to clarify this. In fact, it
cluttered our thinking, because it intro
duced rage as our first point of interest.
Revenge. Obviously, yes, revenge is
warranted after something like 9/11.
But revenge is not a good guiding
principle over the years. Rage is not
a long-term plan. And yet in the years
since that attack, it seems like rage has
soaked into culture’s lifeblood. This
feels like a 9/11 legacy. It doesn’t feel
good to be so soaked in it as a cul
ture. And we desperately need to find
something better in ourselves than our
festering rage.
When it comes to international
affairs, are we guided by some moral
basis, a belief in basic human rights
that we want to see elsewhere, or are
we governed by securing our finan
cial interests, or are we interested
in the display of power and might
to keep others from challenging us?
I’m asking this, because we can’t be
unthinking or blind on such things,
not if we truly want to be a real force
for good in the world in this century.
There is injustice and oppression in so
many places that warrant action if we
are truly the world’s police. So when
is action right, when is it wrong? And
why do we not talk more about this
to be clear on such matters? For all
our partisan fighting, we sorely lack
important policy debates that are des
perately needed. I want to hear such
debates on a wide variety of issues
and not just between two aged men on
a stage before an emotionally fraught
nation every four years. We need way
more C-SPAN, way less cable news.
More sober talk, less insane scream
ing.
We ask men and women to die for
the country — that ultimate sacrifice.
And sometimes they are asked to do
this in truly confusing circumstances,
where goals aren’t clear. This is so
tragic on so many levels.
That’s why emotion, even the raw
rage after something like 9/11, can’t
be the guiding force in our world
affairs. We need logical clarity clearly
expressed, not just at the outset but in
a continued way in any conflict. And
if that clarity leaves, we don’t need
to linger with a bad decision. Leaders
always owe that to troops, not just
their condolences when families face
the unthinkable. Leaders that fail to
face this lead to more families facing
the unthinkable. That’s not OK. And
that’s why right decisions are so nec
essary from the outset and can’t be
purely emotional.
Beyond that, we need leaders who
aren’t split into warring factions,
unable to think of the U.S. as a whole,
not as two teams. If leaders are logical
in a big-picture way, they’ll absolutely
see this. If they’re emotional in petty
ways, they surely won’t.
We deserve big-picture thinking
from them, not pettiness. But we
should do the same, right? Are we
capable? Don’t we need to be? Isn’t it
at least worth trying?
Zach Mitcham is editor of The
Madison County Journal. He can be
reached at zach@mainstreetnews.
com.
Letter to the Editor
Success, at what cost?
An update from the Madison
County School System
Today is the first day of fall (Sept. 22). I really enjoy this
time of year. We are over half way through the first nine
weeks of school (day 33)! Yes, we have had some challeng
es: tornadoes, power outages and COVID. Our community
and the Madison County Charter School System have been
resilient. We continue to take things day by day and work
through each challenge as they arise. I understand and
know that everyone is tired of COVID, I am as well.
The Madison County Charter School System has put a
plan of mitigation strategies in place and will continue to
monitor each schools’ positive cases. Lately, we have seen
a decrease of positive cases in our schools and across the
county. Let’s hope and pray this continues. This year has
been difficult for all and at times created a divide in how
to deal with COVID. Myself and the board of education
members are charged with implementing measures that
will help protect our students and staff. I know everyone
will not completely agree with the decisions all the time,
but I do ask for your understanding. As a community and
school system, we need to unite in all efforts to make
Madison County a prosperous place to work, live and
attend school.
While teaching and learning are taking place in the
schools, the school system has several items of interest
taking place this year. First, every five years we have an
external review team that comes to review how our school
system operates and determines our accreditation status.
Madison County Charter School System’s accreditation
review team is scheduled to visit in February of 2022. The
accreditation process and status are extremely important.
Accreditation provides access to funding and allows our
students to be accepted into colleges and universities.
Some of our parents and community members will be
asked to participate in the interview process during our
accreditation review. Surveys soliciting input from stu
dents, parents, and staff have already been shared.
Also, on our calendar this year is our charter system
contract renewal. Being a charter system provides opportu
nities to utilize flexibility from state requirements to enable
innovation by allowing decisions to be made at the school/
local level utilizing school governance teams. The charter
system status between Madison County BOE and State
BOE has provided many benefits for our system. Our grad
uation rate continues to rise, our students have performed
in the top third in the state on the Georgia Milestones, and
local school governance teams have been involved in mak
ing important decisions for our schools to ensure success.
Finally, in May of 2022 the community will have the
opportunity to pass the ESPLOST (Education Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) renewal. ESPLOST is a
one-cent sales tax applied to retail purchases collected in
the county. This is not a new tax but a continuation of the
current one-cent sales tax. Funds collected from ESPLOST
pay for our debt service. In 2014, ESPLOST funds made
possible the construction of the new Madison County High
School. Currently, we are still paying for the project and
are obligated to pay this debt using ESPLOST funds or
property tax funds. ESPLOST funds have been utilized to
purchase technology and construct the new transportation
facility. By law, we can only use these funds to pay for
items listed on the referendum that voters approved. Over
the past year we have collected over $200,000 per month
in ESPLOST. This revenue helps lessen the burden on
the property owner. Do not underestimate the power of a
penny.
I appreciate everyone’s support of the Madison County
Charter School System. If you have any questions or con
cerns, please contact me at 706-795-2191.
Michael Williams is superintendent of Madison County
schools.
Dear Editor:
Lately, it has become apparent that
some people in our county believe
that success for Madison County will
come in the form of more industry
and the tax revenues those industries
would generate.
Areas of our county are quietly being
changed to facilitate this industrial
growth. As of today the changes are,
for the most part, in name only. Farm
land, people’s homes, their property
and beautiful rural agricultural areas of
our county have a new name, “indus
trial corridor.” The expression, “a rose
by any other name would smell as
sweet,” does not apply to these “indus
trial corridors.” An example of the
type of industry attracted to an indus
trial corridor is the Georgia Renewable
Power Biomass Plant (GRP) located
in Colbert. From the moment GRP
started up, it has destroyed the quality
of life for those living near the facility.
Light, water and air pollution and
constant noise assault them 24 hours
a day seven days a week. This is what
an industrial corridor is about and this
is what it will do to others if you don’t
get involved and stop it from happen
ing in our county. There are some who
would disagree with this idea. They
like to call GRP a success. To those
people I have to ask, “Success at what
cost?” For the people living near the
GRP plant, this “success” has cost
them everything.
Madison County leaders are in the
early stages of developing a new com
prehensive plan. The comprehensive
plan is like a road map for future
development in the county. Once
completed, the plan will be used to
make decisions about growth in the
county. You as citizens of Madison
County need to actively take part in
this planning process. Contact your
county commissioner and let them
know that you are concerned about
the future of our county. Tell them you
understand the need for businesses
and the tax revenues they generate
that can help Madison County grow,
but that growth, success, at any cost is
not acceptable.
Your silence or lack of involve
ment in this planning process could
leave you in an “industrial corridor,”
a place where industrial growths suc
cess could cost you everything. Don’t
let that happen to you.
Get involved, make that call
now: Todd Higdon, County BOC
Chairman, 706-795-2997: Dennis
Adams, District 1. 706-202-8885:
Terry Chandler, District 2, 706-338-
6341; Brian Kirk, District 4,706-540-
8290; and Derek Doster, District 5,
706-521-2141.
Sincerely,
Drago Tesanovich
MCCPC Co-Chair
Have a letter you want published?
Email zach@mainstt eetnews.com with your letter to the editor.
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The Madison
County Journal
(Merged with The Danielsville Monitor
and The Comer News, January 2006)
Phone: 706-367-5233
E-mail: zach@mainstreetnews.com
ZACH MITCHAM, Editor
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
FRANK GILLISPIE (deceased), Founder of The Journal.
Jere Ayers (deceased) former owner
of The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News
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