illusionofjoy | Revisiting the 9/11 Commision Report

This Monday is the fifth anniversary of the September 11^th attacks on New York and Washington D.C. In times like this I like to remind people that Iraq had nothing to do with the events of that day and that, even though we still haven't captured Osama Bin Laden, it probably wouldn't help to do so at this point anyhow - his radical ideology has become too powerful, fuelled by the United States' continued occupation of Iraq.

Regardless, five years ago no one expected a misadventure in Iraq or even the loss of life that September 11, 2001 would hold. The 9/11 Commission Report was an attempt to analyse and explain the events of that day as well as offering advise towards preventing a repeat performance. At 585 pages, it is a daunting work. Visual aids are few and far between and, despite the importance of the report, one can find themselves quickly drowning within the text.

While such complaints may seem downright ignorant, it is useful to remember that most information is best absorbed through stimulation of multiple senses. To this end, Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón have created A Graphic Adaptation of The 9/11 Report. Slate has been running it on their site, claiming that September 7^th (yesterday) is the last day it will run. Admittedly, I am late to the game (there was an NPR report about it on August 22^nd), however one would hope that Slate would leave the archives up through September 11^th. Should they decide not to, my reading of the first chapter has already cemented my opinion that this book is a worthy purchase.