September 08, 2011

Command Post: "Did the U.S. Overreact to 9/11?"

By Eric Schmitt

It's a fair question as the 10th anniversary of the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon looms. After all, it was the most shocking macro-event most Americans alive have experienced. It changed our way of life, or at least our way of living. It also triggered two costly and continuing wars. If we did overreact, how should we recalibrate? This week, on Command Post, we're looking into the post-9/11 U.S. national-security mindset with Eric Schmitt of the New York Times -- co-author of Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against al Qaeda -- and Margaret Harrell, a military manpower expert with the Center for a New American Security. I'm joined by fellow questioner John Nagl, CNAS's president.