Thoughts on the ABC's "The Path to 9/11" Special. What America might learn.

I just finished part one of two, of the ABC 911 special - The Path to 9/11. While the story is familiar to news wonks, I think many people may come to realize just how many times we allowed key terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden, to slip through our fingers. Understanding how we failed to act is important when it comes to balancing the powers government leaders now seek, versus their necessity. Quite simply, even without a Patriot Act, or other sweeping powers, Osama and his network were within our striking distance on many occasions, we just failed to act decisively.

In ABC's docu drama, Sandy Berger and Madeleine Albright were not portrayed in the best light, and I think deservingly, based upon, at least, the actions and inactions of the Clinton Administration as a whole. Monica Lewinsky was part of the problem, but the real culprit was the long standing general lack of support for the intelligence community and the military by the Clinton Administration.

In short, what I think we Americans can learn from a TV show like this, is that decisive action is necessary to protect lives. Further, that those decisive actions must be decided upon in real time, and with reasonable tolerance for error and collateral consequences. We must also temper this power by remembering that the pursuit of freedom cannot become a legitimate reason to cede our fundamental freedoms back to government.

To borrow a cliche' Freedom is not free, and maintaining it isn't either.