On This 22nd Anniversary
By Lilly Mazzocchi
It has been twenty-two years since the September 11th attacks. That day, 2,977 lives were lost on US soil. In 2001, four commercial airplanes were hijacked by Islamic jihadists whose goal was to demoralize and inflict a significant death toll on the American people.
Since that day, the United States has fought valiantly to combat the spread of terrorism around the world.
At 8:46 AM American Airlines Flight 11, the first hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center (WTC) North Tower, killing all passengers instantly and trapping employees above the ninety-first floor. At 9:03 AM, the WTC South Tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175 — completely upending American life in a span of seventeen minutes. At 8:20 AM, American Airlines Flight 77 departed from Dulles to Los Angeles along with its 6 crew members, 53 passengers, and 5 hijackers who sat amongst them. By 9:37 AM, Flight 77 struck the Pentagon’s northwest side in Arlington, Virginia, killing everyone onboard and 125 personnel inside the building. United Airlines Flight 93 took off from Newark, New Jersey at 8:42 AM that morning. After an hour in flight, 33 passengers and 7 crew members led a courageous rebellion against the four hijackers, but the plane ultimately crashed into a rural field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania by 10:02 AM. The original target of that hijacked flight is still unknown. Osama bin Laden was the mastermind of the September 11th attacks. One of al Qaeda’s founders, he publicly called for the aimless murder of Americans everywhere, naming us “the worst thieves in the world today.”
Bin Laden quickly became public enemy number one in the U.S. President George W. Bush famously declared after the attacks, standing on the rubble in Manhattan, “The people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”
They did. The utter shock, fear, and panic among Americans ignited a patriotism that reached every corner of the country. American flags went up on every doorstep and political disagreements suddenly seemed trivial. Many Americans flocked to jobs in government service and the armed forces.
The U.S. entered the Global War on Terror. This war was a duty of preservation, for the safety of all Americans and our allies both at home and abroad following the attacks. It aimed to combat al Qaeda forces and dismantle the terrorist regime and their protectors — the Taliban. Over time, it advanced to Operation Neptune Spear, the capture-kill mission of Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and to state-building operations in Afghanistan. It was a war that claimed thousands of U.S. lives.
Throughout the twenty years of the war, the question ‘Why?’ continually emerged.
Morale declined as time went on and U.S. casualties grew. The U.S. eventually weighed the risk of terrorism against nuclear-armed actors and great power competition, and the threat to the homeland from jihadists subsided from what they once were. The United States presence abroad began to decline following the terms of the Doha Agreements.
This agreement outlined the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and was one of many signals of the reorientation to the growing threats posed by China and Russia. There is only so much money, policy, and intelligence to contribute to a cause at a given time. Something must be moved to the back burner.
This brings us to August of 2021, when the withdrawal of the last remaining troops from Afghanistan officially culminated the Global War on Terror after twenty years. This choice enacted more than just the American troops or Afghan people. It altered the geopolitical climate of the region immediately — and as US forces left, Taliban forces grew in their place. The United States upheld commitments and withdrew American troops — this inadvertently left it in a similar state as it was found. Amongst the turmoil of the 2021 withdrawal arose the attack in Kabul at Hamid Karzai International Airport — an explosive device that detonated resulting in the death of thirteen US service members and nearly 200 civilians.
There are parallels between our entry into this war and our exit. It began and ended in chaos — following the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. We will never forget the lives stolen on that day in September, or the thirteen who gave theirs in Afghanistan at the very end of the conflict. We must reflect on the sacrices of all Americans who contributed to the cause. Twenty years of valiant service and sacrifice, born from bravery, humility, and love of country is why we are a beacon of leadership to the world. These sacrices were not in vain, and we must work hard to never forget them.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
Lilly Mazzocchi is a columnist at The Conservateur, and a recent graduate of Texas A&M University and the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.
