In the terrible ruins of the fallen towers of Ground Zero 20 years ago, came Hour Zero, an opportunity to start all over again.
World affairs were abruptly rearranged that morning of blue skies, black ash, fire, and death.
In Iran, chants of “death in America” quickly gave way to candlelight vigils to mourn the American dead. Vladimir Putin intervened with substantial help as the United States prepared to go to war in Russia’s region of influence.
Libya Moammar Gadhafi, a murderous dictator with a poetic streak, spoke of the “human duty” to be with the Americans after “these horrible and impressive events that will force the awakening of human consciousness.”
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From the first terrible moments, the former American allies joined enemies forever in that singularly galvanizing moment. No nation with a world position encouraged stateless terrorists. How rare is that? Too rare to last, it turned out.
Civilizations have their allegories for rebirth in times of devastation. One of the world’s favorites is the phoenix, a magical and magnificent bird that emerges from the ashes. In the infernal landscape of Germany at the end of World War II, the concept of Zero Hour, or Stunde Null, offered the opportunity to start all over again.
For the United States, the zero hour of September 11, 2001 meant an opportunity to reshape its place in the post-Cold War world from a high perch of influence and goodwill. This happened only a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union left America with the moral authority and the military and financial muscle to be arguably the only superpower.
These advantages were soon squandered. Instead of a new order, 9/11 fueled 20 years of war abroad. In the United States, it resulted in the angry, outraged, and self-proclaimed patriot, and increased vigilance and suspicion in the name of common defense.
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It opened an era of deference to the armed forces as lawmakers withdrew from oversight as presidents gave the military primacy over law enforcement. It provoked an anti-immigrant sentiment, aimed primarily at Muslim countries, which persists today.
What most nations agreed on was a war of necessity in Afghanistan, followed two years later by a war of choice, as the U.S. invaded Iraq with false claims that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction.
Thus, the deep and deadly axis of mines of the “wars forever” was opened. The convulsions swept through the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy (a long ballast force) gave way to a radical shift from Bush to Obama to Trump. He relies on American leadership and reliability declined.
Other parts of the world were not immune. Far-right populist movements were sweeping Europe. Britain voted to secede from the European Union. China rose steadily in the world sting order.
Now, President Joe Biden is trying to restore confidence, but there is no easy way. The war is ending, but what comes next? In Afghanistan, in August, the Taliban took control with threatening rapidity as the Afghan government and security forces that the United States and its allies had spent two decades trying to build collapsed. The US showed no firm hand in the disorganized evacuation of Afghans desperately trying to flee the country.
In the United States, the 2001 attacks had sparked a cry for revenge for the will to blood. A strip of American society embraced the binary perspective articulated by Bush – “Either you’re with us, or you’re with the terrorists” – and has never left.
Factionism hardened, in school board fights, on Facebook posts, and in national politics, so opposing views were treated as propaganda by mortal enemies. The concept of enemy also evolved, to include both immigrants and terrorists.
The threatened patriot became a personal and political identity. Trump would use it to help him win the presidency.
For the United States, the presidencies since the Bush wars have been marked by an effort to withdraw the military from the conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The perception of a U.S. backlash has allowed Russia and China to gain influence in the regions and has left American allies struggling to understand Washington’s place in the world. The notion that 9/11 would create a lasting unit of interest in fighting terrorism clashed with the rise of nationalism and a U.S. president, Trump, who scornfully spoke of NATO allies that the 2001 had met for the American cause.
Certainly, the succession of American presidents since September 11th has achieved important successes in promoting security, and so far the American territory has remained safe from international terrorism. largest at any 9/11 scale.
Globally, U.S.-led forces have weakened al-Qaeda, which has failed to launch a major attack on the West since 2005. The invasion of Iraq undid the world from a dictator-assassin to Saddam.
Still, deadly chaos soon followed its overthrow. The Bush administration, in its rush of nation-building, had failed to plan for the maintenance of order, leaving Islamist extremists and rival militias to fight for dominance.
Today, the legacies of 9/11 are multiplied by obvious and unusual shapes.
More directly, millions of people in the United States and Europe do their public business under the constant gaze of security cameras, while other surveillance tools capture private communications. The government included post-9/11 bureaucracies in law enforcement to support the apparent security apparatus.
Militarization is more evident now, from big cities to small towns that now own military vehicles and weapons that seem too disproportionate to any terrorist threat. Government offices have become fortifications; airports a security maze.
But as profound as a 9/11 event was, its effect on how the world has been ordered was temporary and largely undone by domestic political forces, a global economic recession, and now a lethal pandemic. .
The awakening of human consciousness predicted by Gadhafi did not last. Gadhafi did not last.
Osama bin Laden has been dead for a decade. Saddam was hanged in 2006. Wars have forever ended or are ending. The days of Russia tactically allowing the United States and China not to get in the way are gone.
Only the phoenix lasts.
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