TWENTY FOUR YEARS ON

The world arrives at the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 WTC and Pentagon terror attacks. We pay our homage to all the innocent lives lost on that day in particular, and also to those who left us in it's aftermath all these years...

Did the world really change on 11 September 2001? Well, I suppose it did to some extent. Enhanced surveillance at transport terminals becoming a norm, a rise in terrorist groups and anti-Islamic sentiments, and destabilization of Afghanistan and Iraq among other conflicts. And, after nearly two decades of relative quiet, the then ousted hardliner group clawed back to power yet again in 2021...

No one could have dreamt that at dawn on 11 September 2001 the US's reputation of being an invincible super power was going to be questioned, with a loss of around 3000 lives. Also, her retribution by way of invading two Middle East nations, on the pretext of wiping out terrorism and WMDs in addition to local development, didn't quite work out as expected...

While the person in charge then got a second term, he ensured enough work for three successive presidents to try and restore normalcy. Though the Al Qaeda chief was "removed", the war was far from over...

And when on Aug 31, 2021, a "resurrected" Taliban "chased" the foreign power out of the country in a 10-day takeover leaving US embarrassed after her longest war, the hearts of many such groups must have been gladdened beyond description, with a feeling of having avenged a retribution of a super power...

Though President Biden could try to take solace in claiming that the air evacuation of some 120,000 people out of Afghanistan as a kind of "victory", many experts consider this as a terrible blow to US's reputation to the extent of her military morale taking a beating at the hands of a much smaller terrorist group...

Right from Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, the lesson to be learnt of military overextension is that local insurgencies are capable of thwarting the most powerful foreign occupier. It also sends the message to nations to be wary of overconfidence, and to refrain from such misadventures...

Would the world see another 9/11? Experts point to the Afghanistan situation for the answer. Emerging again as a haven for terrorist groups along with severe curbs on information to the outside world, the nation continues to be on the radar of unpredictability. Also, the priorities of major powers and the wars in Europe and the Middle East have diverted global attention away from Afghanistan. This neglect could prove to be, God forbid, volcanic...

Although one may expect the present Taliban to behave differently, their obscurantist and repressive intentions are quite in evidence...

As the saying goes, "to never begin a venture if one isn't too sure of negotiating through the endgame", the big powers would do well to not turn a blind eye to it...

Prayers once again for all the 9/11 victims.
May the Almighty rest their souls in everlasting peace...

🙏🙏🌹💐