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The national flag of the United States of America around One World Trade Center in New York, U.S., September 11, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
By Anthony Moretti
Ask Americans who are at least 30 years old "where were you on 9/11 when the first plane hit the first World Trade Center tower?" and they will answer with clarity and conviction. As one example, I was driving to Ohio University, where I had just started the second year of my doctoral program, when I heard on the radio news what was unfolding in New York City.
Before that dreadful day had ended, three more commercial airplanes had been used as death machines. My fellow Americans and I did not know what would happen next, but we had already concluded that the country we had known had forever changed.
History has informed a worldwide audience what has taken place since then. We know world leaders from every corner of the globe quickly sent their good wishes of peace and support to the U.S. We know then U.S. President George W. Bush delivered the right words in the immediate aftermath of the events. We know Americans began to experience what many thought were strict, but necessary, requirements before getting on an airplane.
And then the wars started.
In rapid succession, America and its coalition partners went to war in the Middle East and South Asia. In one case, Iraq, either misguided or intentionally false information was used to sway the august United Nations to support a military plan aimed at removing the country's leader. In the other, Afghanistan war was deemed a necessary war of self-defense for U.S.
Neither war ended well. U.S. forces exited Iraq at the end of 2011, and they left a hellhole behind. Saddam Hussein was dead, but political stability did not result. The country's infrastructure was battered, and promises made by the Iraqi government were not fulfilled, which soon led to the expansion of the Islamic State. Meanwhile, it was not until 2021 before the U.S. left Afghanistan. Rampant corruption continues to be uncovered in Afghanistan, which aided the extremists in denouncing the Afghan government and further delegitimized what the U.S. was doing.
The wars created problems at home, too. Granted, U.S. cities were not demolished and innocent people were not killed, but the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan started the fraying of America's social fabric. Conservatives suggested that anyone who dared not rally around the troops was un-American, while liberals responded with reminders that spilling blood around the world was part of the DNA of America's military. A litmus test, intentional or not, had been created: either unquestioned support for the government and the military or furious denunciation of war? Americans had to pick one.
Those camps solidified and the social fabric frayed further when Barack Hussein Obama became the country's 43rd president. Some media outlets, especially FOX News, joined with rapidly developing social media platforms to falsely suggest Obama was a closet Muslim and perhaps not a real American at all. A noted businessman from New York, Donald Trump, contributed to that effort to attack the then president, and soon Trump was making even more waves by suggesting Muslims, Hispanics and others were invading the country and destroying America's way of life.
So, what are the lessons upon which Americans should reflect on their anti-terrorism wars? The wars showed that democracy could not be implanted in places where they had no history and be expected to thrive. Perhaps more importantly, the conflicts offered early signs that the 20th century paradigm of Western hegemony might not be part of the new century.
Finally, they also questioned America's commitment to humanity. How could a nation create such destruction and not commit itself to be at the forefront of cleaning it up? Iraq is an afterthought in Washington's mind, and the president refuses to allow Afghan financial assets frozen in the U.S. to be released so that they may aid the Afghan people.
It requires Americans to consider what they want their country to be at home and abroad. There is much to think about.
Anthony Moretti, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University.
