Solidarity  —  Our first duty is to stand together against bin Ladenism.  —  Never mind where I was standing or what I was doing this time five years ago.  (Because really, what could be less pertinent?)  Except that I do remember wondering, with apparent irrelevance, how soon I would be hearing one familiar cliché.

The 2,996 Project  —  I am kicking off 24-hour 9/11 anniversary coverage today with my entry for the 2,996 Project.  —  As I mentioned last month, the project launched by D.C. Roe involves more than 3,000 bloggers who have joined together to commemorate each and every one of the victims of 9/11 on this fifth anniversary.

Situation Called Dire in West Iraq  —  Anbar Is Lost Politically, Marine Analyst Says  —  The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country's western Anbar province are dim …

FIVE YEARS LATER — WE WILL NOT FORGET  —  SEPTEMBER 11, 2001  —  "The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger.  These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat.

Worried CIA Officers Buy Legal Insurance  —  Plans Fund Defense In Anti-Terror Cases  —  CIA counterterrorism officers have signed up in growing numbers for a government-reimbursed, private insurance plan that would pay their civil judgments and legal expenses if they are sued or charged …

A new low in Bush-hatred  —  SIX YEARS into the Bush administration, are there any new lows to which the Bush-haters can sink?  —  George W. Bush has been smeared by the left with every insult imaginable.  He has been called a segregationist who yearns to revive Jim Crow and compared ad nauseam to Adolf Hitler.

War's Critics Abetting Terrorists, Cheney Says  —  He Cites Allies' 'Doubts' About U.S. Will  —  Vice President Cheney offered a veiled attack yesterday on critics of the administration's Iraq policy, saying the domestic debate over the war is emboldening adversaries who believe they can undermine the resolve of the American people.

I'M WATCHING "THE PATH TO 9/11" NOW: Ed Driscoll offers an interesting quote from a 2001 New Yorker article: … After the pants incident, its hard for me to respect Berger, and easy for me to see him as overly concerned with how things will play in the press.  Read the whole thing and form your own opinions.

Muslim Candidate Plays Defense  —  Lead Shrinks as Minnesota Democrat Repudiates Association With Farrakhan  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Keith Ellison is a Democrat running for an open House seat in a heavily Democratic district.  But what once looked like a cakewalk has turned into a bruising campaign …

The Emperor's New Clothes: How 2nd graders saw what the American media wouldn't report  —  George W. Bush is a man on a mission today: To remind the American people how they felt five years ago, when the public was understandably frightened by the killing of nearly 3,000 fellow citizens …

For Democrats' Hopes, Less Promise in New York  —  Kirsten Gillibrand campaigned with Hillary Rodham Clinton last month.  She is trying to unseat Representative John E. Sweeney, a four-term Republican.  —  In a year when Democrats hope to take control of the House of Representatives …

Symposium: 9/11: Five Years Later  —  On this fifth anniversary of 9/11, Frontpage Symposium has assembled a distinguished panel to discuss the significance of that terror attack, what we have done right and wrong since then, and what steps must now be taken to confront our enemy.

Proposal for Autonomous States in Iraq Creates Tension  —  An agreement struck 11 months ago by Shiite and Kurdish leaders to win Sunni Arab support for a new constitution is fraying, causing concern among some political leaders that it could jeopardize Iraq's fragile governing coalition.