Each year, the United States commemorates the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Political leaders and media outlets use this occasion to remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the terrorist attacks in New York and Arlington. However, there's a deeper concern: the politicization of this event to further U.S. hegemonic aims over the past two decades.
Few historical moments highlight the historical amnesia embedded in U.S. foreign policy and the belief in American exceptionalism as sharply as 9/11. While the loss of thousands of Americans is undeniably tragic, it's crucial to acknowledge the millions of lives lost both leading up to and following the events of that day.
U.S. intervention in West Asia, especially in Afghanistan during its proxy war with the Soviet Union, planted the seeds for regional destabilization through extremism. Instead of reconsidering these interventionist strategies, some observers argue that U.S. leaders have entrenched themselves in new wars both domestically and internationally.
Within the U.S., political leaders across the spectrum fostered an environment of fear, portraying the nation as perpetually under threat. This led to intense surveillance and, at times, arbitrary detention of Arab and Muslim populations.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that intelligence agencies like the NSA, CIA, and FBI conducted widespread surveillance of civilians' digital communications. Additionally, significant government spending was redirected to militarize local police agencies, policies that continue to influence American political life today.
More controversially, the aftermath of 9/11 spurred a surge in U.S. interventionism. Leaders declared a \"War on Terror,\" leading to the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 under the guise of combating terrorism. However, these wars were perceived by many as efforts to expand U.S. hegemony globally.
Former NATO commander Wesley Clark noted that the U.S. administration under George W. Bush had plans to invade seven countries within five years after 9/11: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Sudan. Since then, many of these nations have experienced various forms of U.S. interference, costing millions of lives and destabilizing the region.
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9/11 commemoration: A reminder of the perils of U.S. unilateralism
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