united states of conflict

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the American tragedy known as 9/11. The catastrophic disaster of September 11, 2001 changed New York, the people of the United States, and the world forever.

Tribute in Light - 9/11 commemorative public art installation - photo by Jin S. Lee

The recent pull out of American forces in Afghanistan has forced us all to question actions and consequences arising from this. How it has changed our world and how each of us were affected in its wake. 

How would our response have been different had Mister Rogers been president of the US instead of Bush and Biden? 

Fred Rogers: look for the helpers

We commemorate 9/11 because of the lives lost and the trauma suffered by the United States. Yet, we generally omit the part where we, in turn, multiplied that day’s horror and inflicted it on equally innocent Iraqi and Afghan civilians.

Finally facing the debacle of those two invasions, we now wonder what we might have done differently with the trillions of dollars squandered, to say nothing of the wasted treasure in human lives.

Twin Towers, Sep 11, 2001

It is a reasonable question but ultimately leads nowhere. Our Congress has proved incapable of putting national interest above partisanship and there is no guarantee additional resources would have addressed real priorities. The question we ought to be asking is: Are America’s enemies tired of winning, yet?

New 2 WTC B.I.G. design - Credit: Bjarke Ingels Group

We need to remember 9/11, all of it. Honoring those who died is an important part, but so is emulating Eisenhower’s moderation and his confidence in the power of our ideals and decency.

There will be more crises, some as a result of terrorism. They may tempt us to confuse violence with power. Opting for democratic suicide should not be our first response.

9/11 Memorial ~ New York City

Ambassador David Robinson (Ret.) is a former emissary to Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Venezuela, Bolivia and Guyana. He was assistant chief of mission in Afghanistan in 2013-2014 and served as assistant secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations in the Obama administration.