On September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists snuffed out the lives of 3,000 Americans in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.

But within less than a month, American warplanes began carpet-bombing Afghanistan, whose rogue Islamic “government” refused to surrender Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the attacks.

By December, the power of the Taliban was broken–and bin Laden was driven into hiding in Pakistan.

For more than ten years, the United States–through its global military and espionage networks–has relentlessly hunted down most of those responsible for that September carnage.

On May 1, 2011, U.S. Navy SEALS invaded bin Laden’s fortified mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan–and shot him dead.

Now, consider these statistics of death, supplied by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence:

Every day–365 days a year

• 270 people in America, 47 of them children and teens, are shot in murders, assaults, suicides, accidents and police intervention;
• 87 people die from gun violence, 33 of them murdered;
• 8 children and teens die from gun violence;
• 183 people are shot, but survive their gun injuries;
• 38 children and teens are shot, but survive their gun injuries.

And what does all of this add up to?

• In one year, almost 100,000 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides, accidents, or by police intervention.
• Over a million Americans have been killed with guns since 1968, when Dr.  Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated.
• U.S. homicide rates are 6.9 times higher than rates in 22 other populous high-income countries combined, despite similar non-lethal crime and violence rates.  The firearm homicide rate in the U.S. is 19.5 times higher.
• Gun violence impacts society in numerous ways: medical costs; costs of the criminal justice system; security precautions; and reductions in quality of life owing to fear of gun violence.
• An estimated 41% of gun-related homicides would not occur under the same circumstances had no guns been present.

(This average annual estimated composite picture of gun violence is based on death certificates and estimates from emergency room admissions.)

And who, more than anyone (including the actual killers themselves) has made all this carnage possible?

The National Rifle Association, of course.

But unlike the leadership of Al Qaeda, that of the NRA is not simply known, but celebrated.  Its director, Wayne LaPierre, is courted as a rock star by Democrats and Republicans seeking NRA endorsements–and campaign contributions.

He frequently appears as an honored guest at testimonial dinners and political conventions.

The largest of the 13 national pro-gun groups, the NRA has nearly 4 million members, who focus most of their time lobbying Congress for unlimited “gun rights.”

The NRA claims that its mission is to “protect” the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

NRA members conveniently ignore the first half of that sentence: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State….”

For the NRA, the Second Amendment is the Constitution, and the rest of the document is a mere appendage.

At the time Congress ratified the Constitution in 1788, the United States was not a world power.

A mere 26 years later, the British seized and burned Washington, D.C., after repeatedly defeating American armies.  On the frontier, settlers had to defend themselves against hostile Indians and marauding bandits.

Only after World War II did the country maintain a powerful standing army during peacetime.

But World War II ended 66 years ago, and today the United States is a far different country than it was in 1788:

• It boasts a nuclear arsenal that can turn any country into thermonuclear ash–anytime an American President decides to do so.
• It boasts an Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps that can target any enemy, anywhere in the world.
• Its Special Forces–Green Berets, Delta Force and Navy SEALS–are rightly feared by international terrorists.
• American Intelligence has have come a long way since 9/11. The FBI’s top priority is to prevent another such terrorist attack, not simply investigate it afterward.
• And waging war on criminals generally are about 836,787 full-time sworn local/state/Federal law enforcement officers.
• If a criminal flees or conducts business across state lines, powerful Federal law enforcement agencies–such as the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration–can put him out of business.

But apparently the NRA hasn’t gotten the word.

• The NRA has steadfastly defended the right to own Teflon-coated ”cop killer” bullets,” whose only purpose is to penetrate bullet-resistant vests worn by law enforcement officers.

• The NRA and its lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action, is responsible for the “stand-your-ground” ordinances now in effect in more than half the states. These allow for the use of deadly force in self-defence, without any obligation to attempt to retreat first.
• The NRA rushed to the defense of accused murderer George Zimmerman, the self-appointed “community watchman” who  ignored police orders to stop following 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and ended up shooting him.
• Police did not initially charge Zimmerman because of Florida’s “Stand-Your-Ground” law, which the NRA had rammed through the legislature.

Here we go again.

• Midnight vigils for the victims of yet another spree-killer.

• Makeshift memorials of flowers, candles and teddy bears.
• Grief counselors for students at elementary, junior high and high schools.
• And, of course, the inevitable question: “Why?”

We’ve seen it all before–too many times before:

• After the San Ysidro McDonald’s shootings, 1984: 21 dead, 19 wounded.
• After the 101 California Street shootings in San Francisco, 1993: 9 dead, 6 injured.
• After the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, 1999: 15 dead, 21 wounded.
• After the Virginia Tech shootings, 2007: 32 dead, 23 wounded.
• After the Tucson shootings, 2011: 6 dead, 13 wounded.

And now after the massacre at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado: 12 dead, 58 wounded.

People who wanted nothing more than to see a movie they were eagerly anticipating: The latest addition to the “Batman” franchise: The Dark Knight Rises.

Snuggled into their seats, some eating popcorn or candy, others sipping sodas. None of them expecting that the violence on the screen would suddenly consume them in real-life.

It was a scene of which nightmares are made:

• A sudden eruption of smoke and fire as a tear-gas canister explodes.
• A lone gunman–-brandishing a Smith & Wesson AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 12-gauge Remington Model 870 shotgun, and a G23 .40 caliber Smith & Wesson Glock pistol.
• First he blasts the ceiling with a shotgun, and then opens fire on the audience, stopping only to reload his weapon. He begins aiming at the back of the room, and then targets people who are scrambling to escape in the aisles. Some bullets penetrate the wall of the cinema and injure people in an adjoining theater, where the same film is being screened.
• Adding to the nightmarish quality of the scene: The appearance of the gunman–dressed all in black: a ballistic helment, vestand leggings; a throat protector; a groin protector; a gas mask; and black tactical gloves.

As terrible as the massacre was, it could have been worse.  Police arrived in about two minutes and arrested the shooter, James Holmes, in the parking lot of the Century 16 Theater he had just ravaged.

Still, the statistics are terrible enough:

• Twelve people–several of them heroes who died shielding others with their bodies–will never return to those who loved them.
• Of the 58 wounded, an unknown number will almost certainly be physically scarred for life.
• Some may never walk. Or see. Or use their arms or hands.
• Certainly almost all those who were in that theater–-even those who escaped without a scratch-–will be emotionally tormented for months or years to come. Some may never      escape those moments of murderous insanity.

It’s possible that Holmes, 24, an honors graduate of the University of California Riverside, became that most lethal specimen: The genius who slides into madness.

Holmes moved to the University of  Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora in May, 2011, to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. He had always excelled in his studies, but earlier this year, his grades took a sharp decline. In June, he told the college that he was going to drop out.

Meanwhile, he was amassing an arsenal of weapons and ammunition. He bought two Glock pistols, a semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun over the last two months from local gun stores and 6,000 rounds of ammunition via the Internet–-all purchased legally under state law.

In early July, Holmes ordered the paramilitary bulletproof clothing and gas mask that he intended to wear on his rampage.

Finally, he dyed his hair a shocking red-orange and rigged his university apartment with trip-wires and homemade booby-traps. When he was arrested, he told police: “I am the Joker.”

Commentators have asked why Holmes chose to snuff out the lives and dreams of so many people.

But a better question is: “How did he do it?”

We may never finally know why he did it. But how makes it clear that he could not have done it without access to the awesome firepower he was legally able to purchase.

• The AR-15 semi-automatic rifle is designed for easy reloading. “Even without the grand-sized mag[azine]s, many people who are practiced can reload in 1½ to 2 seconds,” said Steven Howard, a Michigan attorney and security and firearms expert.

•  The AR-15 is a weapon of war. Its only purpose is to kill large numbers of people–quickly. Its 100-round drum magazine allowed Holmes to fire 50 to 60 rounds within one minute.
• The Glock pistol uses a 15-round clip. When it’s done the shooter simply ejects the empty clip and slams in another one, and he’s ready for more killing.

And who has made all of this mayhem not only possible but politically invincible?

Who ultimately bears responsibility not only for those murdered and maimed on July 20 at an Aurora theater but for the almost 100,000 people who are killed or wounded every year from gun violence?

Your friends at the National Rifle Association.