9/11: Geopolitical Legacy 25 Years On

Twenty-five years ago today, Islamist terrorists hijacked four US passenger aircraft and attacked key symbols of American power. Nearly 3,000 people died. The attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon triggered lasting changes in international security and foreign policy. Europe’s press discusses the knock-on effects. Attack on the pillars of humanityJOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Basic human values took a severe beating in the wake of 9/11, Giuseppe Notarstefano and Sandro Calvani of the Toniolo Institute for International Peace Law lament in Italy’s Avvenire: “Along with the Twin Towers in New York, the very pillars of the rights and the dignity of every individual were severely damaged, to the point of bringing down even the towers of justice and peace that had been under construction since 1945, the year of the United Nations Charter. The terrorists not only wanted countless innocent people to die, above all they wanted to spread global terror. … Twenty-five years on, we can and should ask ourselves who has won, or whether we have not all lost something, all over the world, in a manner just as irreparable and inhumane as the attack itself.” Security mania has become entrenched El Periódico de Catalunya (Spain) criticises outdated security checks and excessive surveillance: “Some of the consequences of 9/11 continue to shape everyday security measures – from airport checks to surveillance and the exchange of information between states. The wars that began back then continue to affect entire regions, and some of the measures taken to combat terrorism have outlasted the threat that once justified them. Meanwhile, it remains unclear how societies can protect themselves against cross-border threats without turning exceptional measures into permanent practices or undermining the guarantees of the rule of law.” Other Topics of Interest Russian Official to Attend G20 Energy Talks in Houston Despite Previous EU Protests Moscow will send a representative to Houston after European officials protested Russia’s return to G20 ministerial meetings in the US. Caught in the revenge trap Trump and the US are now behaving exactly as the Islamists wanted them to all along, the Kronen Zeitung (Austria) emphasises: “It was a declaration of war by resurgent jihadism against the US, the global policeman. And the US fell into the trap of revenge: Iraq, Afghanistan – two lost wars. 9/11 marked the beginning of the end of the American century. A blind display of power against blind fanatics who had nothing to lose. The US fell victim to imperial overstretch, the loss of its deterrent capability, a complete derailment of policy, and a plunge into the delusional world of Donald Trump. A superpower is tearing itself apart – along with half the world (and its economy). This is exactly how the jihadists wanted it: David against Goliath, the sword against the atomic bomb. Reason has fallen by the wayside.” Yesterday’s proud sense of unity is no longer Today, the US would be powerless in the face of such an attack, Corriere del Ticino (Switzerland) surmises: “When Al-Qaeda terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers in 2001 killing almost 3,000 people, an America struck to its very core knew how to respond – united as one, with courage and determination. The West rallied round its most powerful, but also its most admired, democracy. With a steady hand at the helm. Islamist terrorism was ultimately defeated, even though it gained strength as a result of the disastrous Iraq War of 2003 and the failed campaign in Afghanistan. If, God forbid, such a tragedy were to happen again today, we fear that an America torn apart by divisions and mistrust would be unable to rediscover that dignified and proud sense of unity.” Wrong reactions only made things worse Russia’s Moskovskij Komsomolets examines the consequences of 9/11 for global politics: “Blatant fabrications served as a pretext for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 – and it was probably at that very moment that the hopes born of the collective shock of the 9/11 tragedy were dashed. ... Instead of bringing peace to the Middle East it brought only chaos, death and misery. The emergence of new terrorist networks. The destruction of states. The fiasco of American policy in Iraq. The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. And, looking ahead, an even harsher confrontation between the West and Russia than during the Cold War years.” Growing Islamophobia and anti-Americanism The terrorist attack marked a turning point for the US and the world, writes Visão (Portugal): “11 September 2001 was a watershed in terms of security, forever changing procedures at airports and in public places. It also led the US down a radically polarising path where traditional diplomatic language was swiftly replaced by moral and religious proclamations…The climate this created has ultimately redefined the social fabric, civil liberties and institutional architecture of Western democracies. And it has fuelled both Islamophobia on the one hand and hatred of America on the other.” No longer a bulwark of democracy The country has lost its way, Italy’s Corriere della Sera notes: “America has forfeited its role as a bulwark of Western democracies. Domestically, the drive for national unity that emerged following the al-Qaeda terrorist attack has crumbled, eroded by the Bush administration’s colossal and reckless ‘War on Terror’. ... An ‘imperial’ reaction and failed attempt to export democracy: both have damaged Washington’s image as the guarantor of the global balance of power in the eyes of both allies and adversaries, while setting in motion a series of undesirable developments at home that ultimately culminated in the sovereignist populism of an increasingly authoritarian Donald Trump.” Trump is a legacy of the war Lithuania’s Delfi columnist Liudas Dapkus comments: “Donald Trump’s first steps on the path to the pinnacle of power were also closely linked to the world that America began to shape in the wake of 11 September. Xenophobia, ideas about building walls, promises to drive out Muslims – this was the fuel that both he and the entire disaffected section of society whose expectations were later met by the Maga movement poured onto the fire... The chaos that Donald Trump is sowing across the world and all the events that still lie ahead are merely dominoes that are still toppling over following that sunny Tuesday morning when aeroplanes crashed into the skyscrapers of Manhattan. ... That was how war was declared on us. It continues to this day.” See the original here.