Five years after

I found these two of the more interesting commentaries on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. People keep saying the "war on terrorism" is one that will go on forever. But is it possible we've already won?

The difference is that for many years, it was fighting an adversary who was not really fighting back. In the fall of 2001, al Qaeda found, to its shock, what it was really up against.

At the time, the Sept. 11 attacks looked like the opening salvo of a formidable foe. By Sept. 11, 2011, we may see them as the last spasm of doomed fanatics. That may sound overoptimistic. But judging from the last five years, optimism looks like realism.

And it is true that the world has changed dramatically in the last five years. But:

We lived through history on Sept. 11, 2001, and this has been an important and potentially portentous period in national and world history. Everything changed. But history reminds us of another important lesson. Everything always changes.