<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1662840050111,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000167-2d90-df7d-abf7-fddf2cc50001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1662840050111,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000167-2d90-df7d-abf7-fddf2cc50001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"rnrn
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_62840020", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"872589"}t}); rnrn","_id":"00000183-28fd-d8c7-a18f-2cfd86300000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedAt some point, annual remembrances of tragic events can get old. The 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks might seem like a good time to let the anniversary go unremarked — never even close to forgotten, of course, but no longer treated as a front-burner topic.
A back-burner treatment, though, would be a mistake.
In addition to wanting to remember those who died and those who acted heroically, there is a very practical reason we should keep the terrorism on 9/11 fresh in our minds. We should do so in order that we remain vigilant. We must remain vigilant because we once again are vulnerable.
In early 2021, the distinguished, bipartisan Afghanistan Study Group predicted that a withdrawal of allied forces from that nation, under the existing circumstances, would make a terrorist attack on the United States “likely” within 18-36 months of a Taliban takeover. And that assessment did not take into account just how disastrous the bug-out would be, leaving the Taliban not merely in a well-monitored control, but instead utterly dominant again with brutality levels near those of the pre-2001 era.
The botched and deadly exit into which President Joe Biden bumbled not only left the Taliban no reason even to respect the U.S., but also left the Afghan people with not a shred of confidence that resistance of any sort, much less intelligence aid to America, would be anything other than their own death sentence.
The successful July 31 operation that killed al Qaeda mastermind Ayman al Zawahiri was good news, of course, in that it almost surely set back the operational capabilities of the 9/11 terrorist organization. On the other hand, the fact that al Zawahiri was harbored, and apparently operating rather freely, in Kabul shows that the Taliban are not just hideous oppressors within their own country, but an ally again of organizations determined to practice terrorism abroad.
All of which means that, if anything, the likelihood is that the Afghanistan Study Group’s timetable of 18-36 months might move even faster. It has already been more than 12 months since the allied troop extraction. In sum, the West again is at risk.
This is a dangerous world, and the U.S. government does not necessarily have strong leaders to meet the challenge. We must remember 9/11 so that we are not caught unaware again.
Meanwhile, as we remember, let us also again express our sorrow and condolences for those who lost loved ones that day in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Let us remember the brave responses of firemen, police, medical technicians, and volunteers. And, of course, let us ever honor those on United Airlines Flight 93 who gave us the admirably defiant and deathless expression of resolve: Let’s roll.
Roll, indeed. And be determined never to be rocked again by a terrorist assault so brazen and so devastating.
