Lessons from 9/11 ( by Anish Esteves) Disclaimer: This is an edited version of my letter that was published in 'O Heraldo'. Views from two experts have been added....
Today 11th September marks the twentieth anniversary of the ghastly terror attacks that shook America and the world. Twenty years have passed, and America, which set out to reshape the world order in the aftermath of the attacks, finds itself in a difficult position. The war on the Taliban by the U.S. which began well turned out to be hopeless and messy. We now have a situation where the Taliban is back. So, what lessons have the world learned from 9/11? Here are three lessons we cannot forget. One, September 11 was the worst disaster experienced in centuries. It showed us that every country is vulnerable. The traumatic events of that day reverberated across the globe and found the world wanting. The events of 9/11 showed the people of the world that they are indeed under threat from Terrorism. They still are. Perhaps, a responsive system needs to be created for countries to deal with threats in the future. Two, the world community has understood the need for collaboration. This means that governments and law enforcement agencies work hand in hand to eliminate the threat of terrorism. The rise of sophisticated technology means that sharing of information has become much easier than before. Three, the fight against terror continues. The fight against terrorism is far from over and this is the biggest lesson we draw from 9/11. A lot has been done and a lot needs to be done to eliminate the catastrophic threat of terrorism. No country can afford to ignore the threat of terrorism. Says Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the U.S., “The U.S. had lost all interest in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal. The lesson of 9/11, which seems to have been forgotten now, was that walking away from a problem does not end it. Islamist terrorism followed America home from remote Afghanistan and the threat is not over just because Americans want to believe it is over.” “The biggest lesson is that overreacting and overreaching in response to terrorism gives terrorists exactly what they want. We need to respond to terrorism but not in a way that doesn’t undermine core values of our societies,” says Steve Clemons, a foreign policy commentator. As we remember the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, we keep in mind the people we've lost to terrorism since the attacks. We only pray that the world becomes a better place in times to come.