Keith Olbermann's 'Special Comment' tells you all you need to know about the Republican Playbook: '9/11 TM'

I vividly remember what I was doing on Sept. 11, 2001. Ironically, it's in the same location I work at now. My negative experiences working around narcissistic and uber-authoritarian office colleagues brought me back home. I did obtain my degree, and I'm constantly reminded how I'm literally wasting my time where I'm at. However, I trade working with a family-like atmosphere over intolerant people any day. Sept. 11, 2001 was a nightmare.

While diligently working on a project, my diminutive colleague called out to me. "P.J." "What," I asked with my silly, gruff tone. "Come here." He had his radio blaring that day. I walked over to his work station.

"A plane just hit the World Trade Center."

"Do you know how it happened?"

"No. They just said a plane crashed into it."

At this point, I thought that it might be just an accident. Perhaps, it was one of those small engine planes that lost control and crashed into the building. Back to work. It didn't take long before he yelled my name again.

This time, I knew something was terribly wrong. He said a second plane hit the second World Trade Center tower. Now, this isn't an accident. My heart uncontrollably raced. "Wake up. Wake up," I told myself. Nothing. This nightmare was too surreal to absorb at once. Immediately, I envisioned more damage and destruction that might ensue. Reports later came in about more planes that were flying off course with one believed to be heading toward the White House.

My body was numb while watching the images shown on NBC. Our branch manager walked into the break room and said, "Gentlemen, we're at war." His prognostication proved to be correct.

By day's end, four planes caused massive destruction and claimed more than 4,000 lives. Many surviving family members' wounds are still healing from that day. Some wounds are more open than others due to New York City and our national government's blatant avoidance of their needs. Volunteer workers who worked extremely long hours and days still can't get the health care they deserve simply because they weren't on the government's payroll.

The ensuing months followed, and we set our sights on catching the terror network responsible, Al-Qaeda. We knew who led this sickening plan, bin-Laden. I wanted retribution for what happened. We attacked the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and I fully supported President Bush's decision. Our military achieved its initial objectives by overthrowing the Taliban and helping the Afghan people move toward a democracy.

Our success was short lived. Suddenly, our leader began telling us that Saddam Hussein was a supporter of terrorism and had weapons of mass destruction at his disposal. No. He's planning on avenging what happened when his father led the U.S. efforts in the first Gulf War. He wants to finish what his father advised for us not to do -- invade Baghdad and kill Sadaam and his regime. Unfortunately, my ignorance of the facts at the time proved to be correct. We dropped the ball on Afghanistan and invaded a country that had no proven ties to bin-Laden or al-Qaeda. No weapons of mass destruction were found. What's worse? We're still in Iraq today while Afghanistan has become increasingly unstable.

In 2004, our Presidential election played the fear card. You're safe with Republicans. If John Kerry is elected, the terrorists will follow us home. What we now know is the Bush Administration and New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani were grossly incompetent and negligible leading up to 9/11. Giulianni had the emergency response center inside one of the World Trade Center towers. Condolezza Rice received a memo on Aug. 9, 2001 headlined, bin-Laden determined to strike U.S. Communications at ground zero in NYC were severely hampered as a result of Giuliani's disastrous blunder even after the 1993 attack on the WTC. Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress allocated funds for emergency response equipment to small communities opposed to those who need it like NYC.

Today, Republicans still insist they know what's best for our security. "We haven't been attacked again. Bush should be praised." Tell that to all the veterans returning home who aren't receiving benefits and can't get jobs. Tell that to the Iraqi people who still live in fear or were forced to leave their country. Tell this to the American people who have turned to depressed, raging alcoholics after their jobs have been shipped overseas. We still see record profits rolling in for Exxon-Mobil and more contracts awarded to unscrupulous defense contractors like Dick Cheney's old ties to Haliburton and religious zealot, Eric Prince's Blackwater. Most important, history shows wars don't defeat terrorism.

Keith Olbermann summed up the disgraceful actions by these Republicans and their supporters last night. This comes down to an election about hope and promise against one driven by fear. Any person with half a brain should know this by now. For Republicans, it's not country first, it's me first. Here's Olbermann's rivoting Special Comment he delivered on his show last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PERKBFgg_I