I hear lots of calls for us to always remember 9/11, and that's right

[Eva Libre]

Nicholas Kristof

I hear lots of calls for us to always remember 9/11, and that's right. I saw the towers burn that day and will never forget the horror of that day and of subsequent days. So on the 25th anniversary, we rightly remember the evil of 9/11, as first reports of a small plane crash morphed into two and finally became a terror attack with hijacked passenger planes. We recall the horrific scenes of people jumping from the towers. We should also remember the heroism: the fire fighters climbing stairs to their doom, the passengers on Flight 93 fighting back. We should recall that unity that Americans felt afterward in shared grief and outrage. But one more thing we must remember: how in that unity we made historic mistakes and turned to torture and waterboarding, and to an invasion of Iraq that cost $3 trillion and countless lives while benefiting Iran. That is the full legacy of 9/11: So much evil, so much heroism, so many mistakes and lessons for us today. Your thoughts? (photo via AFP/Getty Images)

Nicholas Kristof