Twenty years ago, a beautiful September 11th ended in utter disaster. It didn’t start that way. As I drove west on I-94 past Detroit Metro Airport, I distinctly remember being thankful for such a gorgeous day. The cobalt sky, absent even a hint of clouds, really spoke to me. Within the hour, 8:45am, to be precise, the first jet plane carrying 20,000 gallons of fuel hit the North Twin Tower, followed by a second plane hitting the second tower. Al Qaeda, a Muslim terrorist organization, claimed responsibility.
My radio was off, so I arrived at my destination to learn what had happened, and that all aircraft had been ordered to the ground. The Pentagon was hit, and brave passengers forced the last plane to the ground in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, before it could hit its intended target. Over 3000 people died that day.
Now known as 911, it proved the worst attack on the US since Pearl Harbor, and it defined the newly minted presidency of George W. Bush. In remarks given last week, President Biden explained why he ordered the withdrawal of American forces and civilians from Afghanistan after 20 years — al Qaeda had been defeated 10 years ago. That was our objective — to rid the world of this group that wrought so much havoc, death, and destruction that fateful day.
People liken 911 to the day JFK was assassinated. Everyone old enough to remember knew where they were that day. Likewise, those of us old enough to remember 911 know where we were. I was in Ann Arbor, and I went outside and realized how eerie it was that no jets slashed their white streaks across the still bright blue sky.
A bagpiper showed up and started playing “Amazing Grace.” People began gathering, crying, hugging, anything to help process what had unfolded. We didn’t know if the attacks would continue. We knew almost nothing as the White House, military, and news agencies scrambled to get up to speed before it was too late, again.
And then the seemingly endless replays of the jet collisions with the Twin Towers began later in the day. I watched them exactly twice. I could not endure repeated viewings, but many people did. At some point days later, the replays ended, and I was relieved. As a nation, we had hit the wall with our grief, our outrage, and an unholy sense of vulnerability. Seeing the video of the carnage relentlessly had taken a back seat to how we would cope with the real-time state that we were in — we had to move on to recovery somehow.
We remember 911 because viciousness like that — violence on a grand stage such as Pearl Harbor, or the Dallas main street, or New York City — provides an opportunity for the villains to get everyone’s attention to “do the hate they do.” Rather than engaging in diplomacy, respectful conversation, or even heated negotiation, we instead suffered a dose of hate that we will never forget.
And, we must ask, could we have done more to investigate the grievances of these terrorists? This question angers a lot of people, I know, but anytime something of this scale happens, we must look at all sides of the issue, even our own potential involvement. Many, including then-President Bush, adopted a posture of refusing to negotiate with terrorists, and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden began.
Under President Obama, our military forces caught and killed Bin Laden and put an end to al Qaeda once in for all in 2011. Yet, we stayed in Afghanistan another 10 years, bringing us to this point in time. Images from last week troubled me deeply; they showed the chaos and fear as we evacuated Afghanistan. As I watched, I thought of 911, because this turmoil stems from that blue-skyed day that rained human beings in south Manhattan.
Hate and violence make for a wicked elixir. We got drunk on and got caught up in this cocktail of hate and violence to win back our “honor.” As our occupation in Afghanistan comes to a close, I can’t help but wonder if the seemingly incalculable cost of life, limb, and resources has been worth it.
What will become of the Afghani people under another Taliban regime, especially the women and girls?
Our counter-attacks to al Qaeda, our attempts to democratize a Muslim theocratic government have come to naught. We also fell into the first millenium trap of the Crusades, the “God v. Allah” wars. It has all proven to be a devastatingly expensive waste. President Biden consulted with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, etc., to extend the deadline for our final evacuation, and he said that they all supported the withdrawal by August 31st without an extension.
For our military families that have suffered invaluable loss and endless worry, I feel sadness, though I am grateful to those who answered the call to serve. I agree that we had to defend ourselves after the attacks. However, we must demand that such service is worth the cost it has wrought, especially if it results in a prolonged response. I think we’ve done a poor job in that assessment.
- In the future, how will we respond should we find ourselves under attack?
- How do we defend ourselves and also respond to the many surrounding issues created by violence and hatred?
- What more measured responses could we accomplish to get to the heart of the matter faster, effectively, and with as little bloodshed as possible?
I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I know that hate, violence, suffering and injustice are not solved by amping up the situation with yet more hate, violence, suffering, and injustice.
Love is the answer. Peace must be the ultimate goal.
So, let us honor our dead and do our best to acknowledge the unknown cost of 911, and the many lessons contained in these 2 decades. As a nation devoted to liberty, we have a great deal of reflecting to do on this chapter of our history. We owe it to our children and their children.
Let us remember, in the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that,
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that;
hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
