Osama bin Laden would be happy to see the state of the US today

The al Qaeda leader aimed for discord and division — and as Trump and Biden meet for a September 11th joint event, it’s obvious how successful he’s been

The controversies that surround Trump and Biden have caused rifts across the country, across families and between friends (Getty Images)

Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be in the same place, sharing the same stage, on Friday.

The Democratic presidential nominee will get a chance to look the man who has accused him of slipping into senility at best and full-blown dementia at worst directly in the eyes. And a president who has been called “unfit” for his office and charged with a “dereliction” of duty over his now-public comments about the coronavirus to Bob Woodward versus his very different public tone will have the same opportunity with his accuser.

The political drama will be high for sure. But the odds of major fireworks between the two rivals is highly doubtful.

That’s because the two White House contenders won’t be in Shanksville for dueling campaign rallies. Biden won’t be speaking before a socially distanced and masked crowd of union-backed electrical workers. And the president won’t be leading a crowd of not-at-all distanced and unmasked supporters in a “lock her up!” chant.

They will be attending a 9/11 anniversary service in the tiny rural community to commemorate the terrorist attacks at the United Flight 93 memorial there. The day, like all the rest, comes around once a year. America has other solemn commemorations: December 7th marks the day Japanese planes attacked US Navy ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, helping draw the States into the Second World War. On May 8th, some reflect on Victory in Europe Day, when the Allies formally defeated the Nazi-led Axis powers. Later that month, on its final day, Americans celebrate Memorial Day to honor their hundreds of thousands of fallen troops. 

But September 11th is different. The memories of that terrible morning remain fresh in most Americans’ minds. We remember where we were when we learned New York City’s iconic World Trade Towers were on fire. Something about planes crashing into them. We know exactly when and how we first saw the images of the smoking buildings, then watched in horror as they tumbled, killing thousands.

We gasped when television news reporters interrupted their stunned anchors to tell of panicked government sources warning another hijacked airliner had turned toward Washington, DC, and was racing towards the nation’s capital. The Pentagon across the Potomac River already had been hit by… something. Was the White House or Capitol next?

It was United Flight 93. Newark to San Francisco. Then a U-turn. Then a scuffle onboard. Then a crash in Shanksville. The 9/11 Commission concluded the passengers heard about the calamity in New York and Washington, and confronted the hijackers. Everyone died. But not without a fight, according to the bipartisan commission. 

Don’t expect any “Chopper Talk” on Friday morning as the president and First Lady Melania Trump depart the White House for the somber trip. Not even the bombastic former reality show host puts himself and his own political interests ahead of what Todd Beamer and co. did on that plane, likely sparing another iconic American building – and perhaps hundreds or thousands of more lives on the ground.

Perhaps Trump and Biden will manage a handshake or a gentlemanly nod in front of the cameras. The country could use a breather from this latest wild week of Trump-induced chaos and the first full one of the final stretch of the presidential race. It should get just that on Friday.

But it is unlikely to get more than a one-day respite. The country’s politics have become too acidic, too divided for that. 

And that division can be traced back to that terrible morning when Flight 93 crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside. 

Osama bin Laden, the late al-Qaeda founder and 9/11 plan mastermind, sent the hijackers. He wanted to weaken America on the global stage and cause internal stability that would distract the world’s lone superpower, upon which he and his followers blamed many of the problems in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

Nineteen years later, the United States has waged two wars in that region that delivered few strategic goals. It’s cost us billions in treasure and thousands of lives – with thousands more military troops permanently maimed as a result of their combat service. And our citizens are divided on just about every issue of the day, from whether Biden knows his own name to whether covering one’s mouth and nostrils can help prevent the spread of an airborne disease.

We take assault rifles to protests, and throw restaurant patio chairs onto the dinner plates of our fellow citizens if they are not participating. We skewer one another on social media, friendships and family relationships forever ended or altered if someone dares express a political or social view contrary to our own. Our elected officials cannot agree on how to help those most affected by a pandemic, and remain in a state of heated inaction.

Sadly, bin Laden continues to be the victor, even as his remains rest somewhere amid the depths of the Indian Ocean. No matter who wins in November, that’s not likely to change.

Politics is now a bloodsport, one funded by wealthy donors on the far fringes of both parties, influenced by cable news hucksters on one side and starry-eyed activists on the other. The middle never had much of a chance to hold, but a major event was needed to shatter it. Bin Laden sensed that. And we fell for it.  

We can still defeat the evil al-Qaeda leader. Turning the tide could start tomorrow in that Shanksville field.

But only if the wealthy Hollywood donors and the Fox News primetime hosts let us.