10 Years Since 9/11

9/11 was an event that changed the course of history in many ways. Many of us went from being trusting and open to being wary and suspicious. And it impacted us more than we possibly even know.

I was reminded about the attacks thanks Fred and Joanne Wilson’s posts. Joanne’s, in particular, touched me.

As you would probably know from my post 2 days ago, I lost my Dad 2 days prior to September 11, 2001. And I vaguely remember watching news broadcasts of the attacks. Everything in the outside world did seem very irrelevant and disconnected then.

As time passed though, I found myself revisiting the incident particularly when reading ‘Leadership’ by Rudolph Guiliani, the famous Mayor of New York who led the city through the crisis. Very few events have the kind of impact on our lives that this event has had. I watched as America launched wars on Iraq and Afghanistan in their bid to capture Osama Bin Laden and wondered at times if such an approach was warranted. I also remember breathing a sigh of relief when Bin Laden was killed in April. Closure is always a relief.

I also remember the discussion I had with a friend about whether America had done the right thing in launching this global war. I remember not being sure.

And as if to remind me, The Economist wrote a lovely article titled ‘10 years on‘. I hope you read it. There is one line I would like to highight here.

‘And yet those who say blithely that it overreacted to the attacks of September 11th will never know how much more devastation the jihadists might have wrought if America had not pursued them into the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, shredding their networks and forcing them into hiding.’


That was timely. May the souls who lost their lives rest in peace.