The official Sebastian Junger community
ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
It’s been nine years since planes crashed into our buildings and killed almost three thousand American civilians. Our nation has been through one long war in Iraq and is still struggling with another war in Afghanistan. As much as it seems like the world is in conflict right now, it’s necessary to remember a few things. The people who died in the Twin Towers nine years ago include foreigners as well as Americans…Muslims as well as Jews, Christians, and atheists…immigrants as well as people whose families have been here for centuries. The real conflict occurring in the world at this moment is not between Islam and the West, but between extremists of all stripes and the rest of us who wish to live in peace.
According to the United Nations, roughly two thirds of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan are not caused by NATO forces but by Taliban fighters – their fellow citizens. On the other side of the coin, there are thousands of Westerners in Afghanistan helping bring medical care to civilians, helping build schools and irrigation systems, helping reassemble a country that has been shattered by thirty years of war. That is not war as most people imagine it…that is people from one society risking their lives to help people in another society. War is a terrible thing, but extraordinary acts of courage and generosity happen within it. We must remember that as we commemorate this terrible anniversary.
President Obama has just announced that Staff Sergeant Sal Giunta of the 173rd Airborne will be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for acts of heroism in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. Tim Hetherington and I spent many months in the Korengal chronicling the deployment of Guinta’s unit. A few months after the battle that cost the lives of three American soldiers, I had the chance to talk to Sal about what happened that night. First Platoon was walking single file down a ridge called the Gatigal Spur, and they stumbled into an L-shaped ambush that had been laid by a dozen or so Taliban fighters. Most of the lead squad was hit and wounded and one man – Sergeant Josh Brennan – was separated from his unit and dragged off alive. Sal Guinta sprinted after them, throwing hand grenades and firing his rifle, and succeeded in rescuing his friend. Tragically, Brennan died of his wounds - but he died surrounded by his brothers in First Platoon, rather than by enemy fighters.
Guinta is widely thought of as an extraordinarily brave man. Ironically, he might be the only person in the country who doesn’t quite agree. “I didn’t run through fire to do anything brave or heroic,” he told me. “I did what I believe anyone would have done.” In that moment Giunta was more worried about his friend’s safety than about his own, and he acted accordingly. As far as he’s concerned, anyone in First Platoon would have done the same thing.
I know it sounds farfetched, but sometimes I like to think about how that impulse would play out on a larger scale. Giunta was willing to risk his life for another person. Could a community do that for another community? Could a country do that for another country? (Some would argue that that’s exactly what happened on D-Day.) Could a religion do that for another religion? I don’t have the answer. I guess we’ll find out. As a country, I don’t think we’ll survive unless our political leaders - on both sides of the aisle - figure out how to think a little more like Sal Guinta and his brothers. As a world, I’m not sure we’ll survive if we decide that one religion or one society is the root of all evil. It’s an old lie and a tired one.
Think about the people who died in those towers nine years ago…imagine what they would have us do, if they could communicate that somehow. I promise you, they would not want us to hate. It was, after all, a stranger’s hatred that had cut short their lives. They would want us to do the exact opposite of the thing that had killed them. On the anniversary of that awful day it is the job of every person in this country to figure out exactly what that might be.
According to the United Nations, roughly two thirds of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan are not caused by NATO forces but by Taliban fighters – their fellow citizens. On the other side of the coin, there are thousands of Westerners in Afghanistan helping bring medical care to civilians, helping build schools and irrigation systems, helping reassemble a country that has been shattered by thirty years of war. That is not war as most people imagine it…that is people from one society risking their lives to help people in another society. War is a terrible thing, but extraordinary acts of courage and generosity happen within it. We must remember that as we commemorate this terrible anniversary.
President Obama has just announced that Staff Sergeant Sal Giunta of the 173rd Airborne will be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for acts of heroism in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. Tim Hetherington and I spent many months in the Korengal chronicling the deployment of Guinta’s unit. A few months after the battle that cost the lives of three American soldiers, I had the chance to talk to Sal about what happened that night. First Platoon was walking single file down a ridge called the Gatigal Spur, and they stumbled into an L-shaped ambush that had been laid by a dozen or so Taliban fighters. Most of the lead squad was hit and wounded and one man – Sergeant Josh Brennan – was separated from his unit and dragged off alive. Sal Guinta sprinted after them, throwing hand grenades and firing his rifle, and succeeded in rescuing his friend. Tragically, Brennan died of his wounds - but he died surrounded by his brothers in First Platoon, rather than by enemy fighters.
Guinta is widely thought of as an extraordinarily brave man. Ironically, he might be the only person in the country who doesn’t quite agree. “I didn’t run through fire to do anything brave or heroic,” he told me. “I did what I believe anyone would have done.” In that moment Giunta was more worried about his friend’s safety than about his own, and he acted accordingly. As far as he’s concerned, anyone in First Platoon would have done the same thing.
I know it sounds farfetched, but sometimes I like to think about how that impulse would play out on a larger scale. Giunta was willing to risk his life for another person. Could a community do that for another community? Could a country do that for another country? (Some would argue that that’s exactly what happened on D-Day.) Could a religion do that for another religion? I don’t have the answer. I guess we’ll find out. As a country, I don’t think we’ll survive unless our political leaders - on both sides of the aisle - figure out how to think a little more like Sal Guinta and his brothers. As a world, I’m not sure we’ll survive if we decide that one religion or one society is the root of all evil. It’s an old lie and a tired one.
Think about the people who died in those towers nine years ago…imagine what they would have us do, if they could communicate that somehow. I promise you, they would not want us to hate. It was, after all, a stranger’s hatred that had cut short their lives. They would want us to do the exact opposite of the thing that had killed them. On the anniversary of that awful day it is the job of every person in this country to figure out exactly what that might be.
Views: 107
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Comment by Andi Fehl on September 14, 2010 at 3:35pm -
Thanks, Sebastian. I couldn't agree more. Keep up the good fight.
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Comment by Kevin T. Tanner on September 16, 2010 at 1:27pm -
Mr. Haberfehlner, it is extremely bad form to disgrace this forum with petty idealogical opinion. We are here to discuss gratitude to the fighting men and women of our country and remeber the loss we all shared on 9/11. Please find an appropriate forum for your opinions. Also, if you are that displeased with the U.S., next time, and at some point there will be a next time, we will be happy to keep our "Cowboy" fighting men and women here, and let your country suffer , die, and just go away, as it seems to be doing anyway. Thank you for your understanding.
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Comment by Peter Haberfehlner on September 17, 2010 at 7:23am -
Hey Kevin T. Tanner, I thought there was freedom of opinion in the US. It seems it isn´t that way. I expressed the opinion of a vast majority in europe. What is the sense of a forum? As the name says: different opinions!!!
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Comment by Andi Fehl on September 17, 2010 at 8:55am
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Peter, there is freedom of opinion in the United States. However, you have to understand that there is a time and place for everthing. As Kevin stated, this is not a political forum. This is a place where Americans and citizens of the world come together to honor those who put their life on the line to allow us to express our opinions freely.
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Comment by Richard Masterson on September 17, 2010 at 3:38pm -
Andi Fehl I could not of said it better, but remember some people insist on having their head stuck where the sun doesn't shine "PETER"
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Comment by Peter Haberfehlner on September 17, 2010 at 4:24pm
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Andi Fehl told me, that I have my head stuck where the sun doesn´t shine?
If you prefer NOT to accept different opinions please tell me!
If you prefer a single-opinion forum please tell me!
I would like to know the opinion of Sebastian Junger.
but Andi Fehl just told, that the brave people put their
life on the line to allow us to express our opinions freely.
Now you don´t accept freedom of expression.
Please explain these contradictions to me!
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Comment by Sebastian Junger on September 17, 2010 at 7:50pm -
I've been asked to weigh in on this so I will. Austria is a Western industrial country so its track record of environmental degredation and military adventurism is essentially indistinguishable from any other Western country, including the United States. Mr. Haberfehlner, dont be too smug about the sins of the United States and the supposed virtues of Europe. France's role in Indochina - and later in Algeria, and finally in Rwanda - was absolutely revolting. You really dont want to start comparing historical sins, because no one is going to wind up looking particularly virtuous in that conversation.
The U.S. didn't bring war to the Middle East. Nine years ago we were attacked and 3,000 innocent civilians were killed. The people who carried out that crime were hiding in Afghanistan, and when the Taliban regime refused to hand them over, our military went in to get them. They failed. The current effort at nation-building is to insure that Al Qaeda and the Taliban do not return to terrorize that country the way they did for a decade. During the 1990's, as estimated four hundred thousand Afghan civilians were killed in the civil war. That era was brought to an end by the attacks of 9/11. In the nine years since NATO has been in Afghanistan, at most 30,000 Afghan civilians have died - two thirds of them from Taliban attacks. In other words, the presence of Western forces in Afghanistan has produced the lowest level of civiliand deaths there in thirty years. (These figures are from the U.N. and other human rights groups, if you want to check them.) When NATO pulls out, civilian deaths will undoubtably go back to what they were in the 90's...a tenfold increase. So don't imagine you can advocate a NATO witdrawal for the sake of the Afghans themselves.
More generally, I would say that this website is a forum for respectful opinions. Many people on this site have lost loved ones in the war, and for that reason alone it behooves us all to speak with great sensitivity. I'm afraid both sides of this debate have momentarily lost touch with that idea. Please return to it.
Thank you for hearing me out.
Sebastian
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Comment by Peter Haberfehlner on September 18, 2010 at 9:20am
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Thank you, Sebastian for your contribution! Thank you!
To all people contributing to this forum (Andi Fehl, Richard Masterson and Kevin T. Tanner, in special):
If the way I put my opinion was disrespectful and if I didn´t respect your feelings,
I am sorry and want to apologize for that. It was not at all my idea to hurt anyone´s
feelings.
To all of you Americans, who lost loved ones in the wars: My condolences!
If you can accept my excuses, I hope the discussion can come back
to a level which is not personal.
So once again: Sorry, if I was hurting anybody. I did´t want to
And to add something: Of course also for all of us Austrians
September 11 was a shock- not as big as for the Americans
but nevertheless a shock.
Just to put things right: I am against any form of extremism,
be it terrorism or islamism or whatever. Extremism is
a huge evil in our modern world. Even in Austria
we still have some skinheads and neonazis
or people who claim the holocaust didn´t happen,
although you can go to prison for that. It´s a shame!!!
Peter from Linz/ Austria
(By the way: Welcome to Austria (Vienna, Linz, Salzburg),
it is a beautiful place
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Comment by Sebastian Junger on September 18, 2010 at 10:01am
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Dear Mr. Haberfehlner -
Well said, and thank you for that. I'm sure it will be greatly appreciated by the others in this forum, and that your respect will be reciprocated. Part of my family is from Austria, by the way, in case you were curious about my last name.
Best wishes,
Sebastian
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Comment by Richard Masterson on September 18, 2010 at 10:25am
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Mr. Junger,
Thank you for the great and concise history lesson you gave Peter Haberfehlner.
That's the problem with these bleeding liberals, they refuse to face reality.
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