Two decades ago today (09/11/2001) was a day that changed the course of history.
4 airplanes were hijacked and were aimed at buildings associated with US American economic and military power.
2 planes crashed at the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City!
1 plane crashed at The Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense.
1 plane crashed in the fields of Pennsylvania after the passengers confronted the hijackers on United 95. It was believed that the hijackers intended to aim that plane towards somewhere in Washington DC, maybe the Capitol or the White House.
The hijackers were associated with Al Qaida, a terrorist group that is aligned with jihadi movements around the world. Al Qaida was led by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire that already masterminded other terrorist attacks including the attack on US embassies in Kenya & Tanzania, USS Cole. and attempted assassinations of various political leaders around the world.
Osama bin Laden was believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, a landlocked nation with a lot of mountains. At the time, Afghanistan was run by the Taliban, a fascist group that enforced a very strict observation of Islamic rules. They were very notorious for their strict enforcement of gender norms even to the point of banning the education & employment of women and forcing them to wear burquas.
After the 9/11 attacks happen, US Americans wanted revenge! There was barely any room for pacifist thoughts to be expressed! This was war!
A few months later, the US military invaded Afghanistan. The main goal was to find Osama bin Laden. The side goal was to rebuild Afghanistan into a more modernized country that would no longer harbor the likes of the Taliban & Al Qaida. Overthrowing the government run by the Taliban was the easy part. The hard part was eliminating them completely. Remember, Afghanistan is mostly mountains, and the Taliban were trained in guerilla warfare.
In fact, the US government once helped Osama bin Laden and what later became the Taliban when they were fighting the Soviet invasion from 1979-1988. This was the downfall of the Soviet Union.
After the US military invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden found his way out of Afghanistan and escaped to nearby Pakistan. The US military found him in 2011, executed him on the spot, and dumped his body into the ocean.
But even then, the US military remained in Afghanistan with the goal of keeping the Taliban out of power.
Over time, the US general public was already losing patience with US military adventures overseas. The US military adventures in Iraq, Syria, and Libya created a power vacuum that was exploited by terrorist organizations like ISIS. Also, people are were demanding that the US focus its resources at home.
The last straw for US public support of military adventures overseas was the coronavirus crisis. This crisis exposed the extreme inequalities and inadequacies when it came to economic & public health policies. Why be getting involved in foreign battles when many people in the US have inadequate access to health care? Why be getting involved in foreign battles when many people were struggling with poverty and unemployment during the lockdowns?
Trump negotiated a withdrawal from Afghanistan to take place in 2021. Biden became president in 2021 and had months to prepare for a safe and smooth withdrawal. However, he didn't anticipate a quick collapse of the pro-US Afghan government in the face of fierce Taliban attacks. He didn't adequately prepare the evacuation of pro-US collaborators among the Afghan population.
And to add insult to injury, the scene at the last US-controlled airport in Kabul was a reminder of the Fall of Saigon in 1975, when the communist overthrew the pro-US government of South Vietnam and the US embassy in Saigon had to be evacuated.
The Fall of Kabul, with the visual images of refugees trying to hang on to the wings of the planes, will resonate for a very long time. It is a major guarantee that this will be featured in anti-Biden ads if Biden chooses to run for re-election in 2024. Even if Kamala Harris runs for president in 2024, the fact that she's Biden VP is enough for opponents to associate her with the chaotic scene at the airport during the Fall of Kabul.
What Vietnam and Afghanistan had in common was that the US took the side of a very disorganized government up against a well-organized opponent skilled in guerilla warfare. It didn't matter that the US had the most well-funded military of all time, or that we had the most sophisticated equipment. Disorganized and unreliable allies will nullify those advantages in the face of a well-organized enemy. The troops in the US military just want to go back home. To the Viet Cong and the Taliban, this was their home. Meanwhile, the incompetent leadership that was running Saigon & Kabul were rich enough to evacuate to safer grounds, while the general public remained vulnerable to a vicious & vengeful movement taking over!
The US government was totally unprepared in evacuating refugees. Based on Afghanistan's landlocked location, it would be harder to get them out as compared to Vietnam. The US government was also unprepared for a resettlement program for Afghan refugees coming to the US. Add to the fact that this is going on during a pandemic, we would also have to vaccinate incoming refugees and quarantine them until they are fully vaccinated.
There is one major advantage in having Biden as president instead of Trump! Trump thrived on racist fear-mongering, especially against refugees from Muslim-majority countries. Even though Biden made politically incorrect statements in the past, I don't think he has hatred in his heart towards people from Muslim-majority countries. I think he'll encourage the American people to treat the refugees with dignity.
========
As for life in the US, the general public is less naive than it was back in 2001.
Back in the summer of 2001, the US was feeling at the top of the world. The Cold War was over for a decade! We had peace & prosperity at home (at least for most people). It was the dawn of the internet age. It was easy to take progress for granted.
(note: here's an article on life in the summer before 9/11
Dan Zak and Ellen McCarthy, “The Summer Before 9/11: Freewheeling. Foreboding. Then came the fall.,” Washington Post, September 03, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/09/03/summer-before-9-11/.
--
But now in 2021, the US has been humiliated in front of the world with the Fall of Kabul. We are still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, with many people still refusing to get vaccinated. Our hospitals are overwhelmed. Those who were unemployed due to the pandemic are struggling to get their life back together. People in major urban areas are dealing with an increasing cost of living, leaving many homeless. There also seems to be less optimism about race relations as compared to when Obama won in 2008.
And now China seems to be becoming the new world power. If China wants to re-conquer Taiwan, who is going to stop that?
Businesses are already scared to offend China's government. Film companies from outside China are afraid to make any movie critical of China's government. The NBA doesn't want players, coaches, or managers to express sympathy towards the victims of China's government oppression.
And even where I'm at in Hawaii, people are conflicted between
- recognizing it was wrong for the US to take over Hawaii in 1898
- meanwhile fearing a US withdrawal would mean China takeover of our strategic location
And even if Hawaii becomes independent, China could still pressure Hawaii to not establish relations with Taiwan or else. China already applied that pressure to other Pacific islands.
At this point, the best we could hope for is that Taiwan could be the trap for China the same way Afghanistan & Vietnam was the trap for the US.
==============================
And now for the usual "where were you when 9/11 happened?" questions.
The 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center happened around 8:48 am New York time. Hawaii is about 6 hours behind. That means it would be 2:48 am in Hawaii. I was sleeping when it all occurred.
At the time, I was living in the dormitories at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. I was ready to get rid of the TV in my dorm because it wasn't working. At the time, there was no smartphone that most people check when they wake up.
Around 6am, I was wakened up by a phone call from my mother saying something about an explosion at the World Trade Center. I thought it was just going to be like the bombs that exploded there back in 1993 that caused some casualties but didn't cause anywhere the near damage that occurred on 9/11.
Learn more at
As I mentioned, the TV wasn't working. My roommate was sleeping and didn't want to wake him up. I did listen to the radio (with headphones) for the latest news.
I later went to the cafeteria and someone said there could be an attack in Hawaii being that Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941.
Classes went on as usual on campus.
The first class I had that day (sociology class on ethnic relations), the professor briefly mentioned the terrorist attack, and then went on with the planned lesson for the day. I actually agreed with his approach. Acknowledge the event, but also that we shall go on with the plans for the day. After all, we were not in direct danger.
In the second class (intro to theatre), the class was cut short.
In the university's Campus Center, there was a Big Screen TV. It was just press conferences. But even then people were huddled around the TV paying close attention.
I didn't see a video of the actual attacks until days later.
Remember, this was before YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram existed.
And later that day, I was working at the dormitory's reception desk. I was already employed by UH Student Housing, but it was my first day at that specific building I was working at.
---------
At the time, I didn't have a set schedule to shave my facial hairs. A few days later, I was meeting a friend I knew from my high school days and he said my unshaven face could make me mistaken as someone from the Middle East. (I'm actually of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Portuguese and German ancestries). Being that hate crimes have been committed against those who are or look Middle Eastern in the days following 9/11, I did shave my facial hairs as soon as I got home. Luckily I wasn't confronted by racists over this at the time. But I know that not everyone had that luck.
