Better than I could say - though I have a comment

Wow...this is a very eloquent piece regarding 9/11 +2

LILEKS (James) The Bleat on 9/11

I don't agree with every IMPLICATION made in the piece – specifically that it is bad to question why such attacks occurred, including what part, if any, our own collective actions played in the lead-up to the attacks. For my part, the first weeks after the attacks, I hardly focused on any of that –I mean what was the point? We were all busy trying to recoup and regain out mental strength, absorbing the loss and the outrage of these purely evil actions (I promise I don’t say evil much – those attacks fit the bill for me, though – I can’t rationalize that – just how I feel).

But eventually, people ask questions. It’s normal and Americans are allowed to do it. As far as 9/11 goes, I really do feel there was absolutely no justification for the attacks. None. No "but"s. There were certainly reasons - there are always reasons for things. But no excuse for massive civilian death, especially in a time when we have not made any declaration or action of war. None. Even now, when there is war, an attack clearly directed at the general, unarmed public is one of the most reprehensible things I can think of. (To be fair, that includes our own actions in the past, even though we felt it to be necessary. As far as I know, we have not deliberately, intentionally targeted a purely civilian target since the 1970s.)

I think its right that at least some Americans question our behavior (collective or individual) if it's warranted. For instance regarding the fallback quote of pseudo-patriotism, "My country, right or wrong," consider the following two quotes:

1) 'My country, right or wrong' is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.' "
--Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936), British author. The Defendant, "Defence of Patriotism," (1901).
The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. http://www.bartleby.com/66/4/12204.html

and

2) "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
-- Senator CARL SCHURZ, remarks in the Senate, February 29, 1872, apparently in direct response to the statement "My country right or wrong" by a fellow senator from Wisconsin.
Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989. http://www.bartleby.com/73/1641.html

It is the business of Americans who disagree with another American’s views to openly, vocally state their opposition. Not to beat them up or shout them down.

Specifically, if some people want to view the 9/11 attacks - or (God forbid!) a new attack on us - as the result of our policies or our collective behavior, that is totally fine. I personally believe in the case of 9/11, such a view is completely simplistic and – oh yeah - tactless.

However, Mr. Lileks says of such people " the same people were crowding the message boards of internet sites on the afternoon of the attacks, eager to blame everyone but the hijackers. They hate this nation. In their hearts, they hate humanity. "

I'd say that's a bit simplistic, too. Well I imagine there are some people like that. For some people, no matter what happens, there is a knee-jerk reaction to place every event in the context of your own personal perceived wrongs in the world. And, by the way, there are knee-jerkers of all stripes:

(As in the infamous Rev. Jerry Falwell quote: God Gave U.S. 'What We Deserve,' Falwell Says, Washington Post Friday, September 14, 2001; Page C03

'Then Falwell broadened his blast to include the federal courts and others who he said were "throwing God out of the public square." He added: "The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.' " '
Note: He did subsequently apologize.)

So, a long-winded comment about one point of disagreement in a beautifully written piece.