China News Service, September 11th, title: 20 years after the "September 11" incident, the United States still can't get out of the "longest day"?
Author: Guo Xinwei and Liu Cong
On Tuesday 20 years ago, Police Officer Moira Smith in New York, USA, bid farewell to his husband and 2-year-old daughter and went to work at the 13th Precinct in Lower Manhattan.
At 8:46 in the morning, when she was on duty, she heard a thunderous noise above her head. She looked up at the blue sky and saw a wide-body Boeing 767 dived, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and disappeared in a fireball. .
On September 11, 2001, a plane hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center building.
It is believed that Smith was the first police officer to report the disaster via radio.
Seventeen minutes later, another hijacked flight crashed into the South Tower.
After helping a man escape from the disaster scene, Smith returned to help others, but he lost his track in the South Tower forever.
For 20 years, her daughter Patricia could only piece together the image of her mother by listening to relatives and friends and looking for clues in search engines.
On September 11, 2001, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
"September 11 is the longest day ever," said John Phil, a construction worker in New York, USA.
He was one of hundreds of people who rushed to the scene to search for victims after the incident.
"For those who have lost their loved ones, for those who have become ill and have not healed, and for those who have died, this day is not over."
He was hit to his foot by 8,000 pounds of steel at the scene and suffered serious injuries.
In order to help people who suffered from lung disease, cancer, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other diseases due to "September 11", he established a foundation.
He also lobbied Congress to provide compensation for these people.
Phil was 34 when he was injured, and now he is about to celebrate his 55th birthday, but "in many ways it feels like yesterday."
On September 11, 2001, firefighters went into rescue near the World Trade Center.
The smoke around the Twin Towers finally dissipated, and the parts of the Pentagon that were damaged in the attack were repaired, but the "September 11" incident continued to echo.
Former U.S. Attorney General Gonzalez said, "It has changed the way our government works. It has changed the focus of protecting the American people. It has changed the way Americans live today."
According to US media, it is difficult to find the parts of American lives that were not affected by September 11, 2001.
From the strengthening of airport security to the militarization of police affairs, to the war that has lasted for many years, and even the composition of the American national character, it has its shadow.
Data map: In Illinois, USA, people erected 3,000 American flags to commemorate the approximately 3,000 victims of the September 11 incident.
That day not only changed the United States.
On October 7, 2001, the United States launched the war in Afghanistan.
Former U.S. President Bush Jr. vowed that "terrorism will never shake the United States," but he would not have thought that this war will eventually span the terms of the four U.S. presidents and will just end at the end of August 2021.
On September 8, 2021, local time, the staff of the "9.11" World Trade Site in Ground Zero, New York, USA made rubbings on the stone platform of the names of the victims of the terrorist attack to the families.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
This war killed bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist attack on Al-Qaida, and ousted the Taliban regime that the United States identified as sheltering Al-Qaida;
This war resulted in the death of 2,352 American troops and more than 20,000 wounded;
This war also displaced 4 million Afghans and 2.7 million Afghans fleeing overseas...
At the end of the war, the U.S. troops hurriedly withdrew and the Taliban regime returned to Kabul.
The chaotic Kabul airport was hit by a terrorist attack, and 13 American soldiers were killed, 4 of whom were born in the year of the "September 11" attack.
This long echo lasting 20 years, the ending sound is not peace, but new turbulence.
On August 31, local time, after all US troops withdrew from Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban Badri Special Forces arrived at the Afghan airport.
The rebuilding of Afghanistan promised by the United States is far away, and terrorism continues to grow in the Middle East.
Why did the United States, which had promised so much at the beginning, rather swallow this ending and leave?
Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told Chinanews.com that during the 20-year war on terrorism, the United States spent trillions of dollars in lavish funds.
At the same time, the American people are worrying about their own employment, falling income, welfare and other issues.
The American people have gradually become bored with the national policy on the war on terrorism and expressed various dissatisfaction.
The statements of "withdrawal" of successive US presidents are in response to this kind of public opinion.
Data map: The people put their grief in front of the World Trade Site in New York, the United States.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
The political elite in the United States also understands that the 20 years in Afghanistan is a "loss of money."
Today, they still have to seek American hegemony and have to readjust their strategic deployment, shifting their focus out of Afghanistan and to the Western Pacific.
In fact, since 2001, the United States has launched a war on terrorism and has participated in wars in at least 24 countries.
The United States has participated in anti-terrorism operations in 85 countries, accounting for 44% of the world's total.
On September 8, 2021 local time, roses on the stone platform with the names of the victims of the terrorist attack on the "9.11" World Trade Site in Ground Zero, New York, USA.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
These wars caused a total of about 800,000 deaths.
In addition to the visually visible casualties and damage, the 20-year-long US anti-terrorism operation has unknowingly left one root of the disease after another.
The thorny immigration issue caused by the anti-immigration policy, the reshaping of the intelligence system has triggered controversy over privacy protection, and the lack of funds has put the U.S. infrastructure projects on hold and the welfare of the people has declined, etc...
Li Haidong pointed out that for a long time, the United States' anti-terrorism plan has created a comprehensive crisis for itself.
Political polarization, ethnic strife, and even identity crisis.
The Americans themselves wondered, "Whose America is this America?"
In the past 20 years, the terrorist threat faced by the United States has changed from an external threat to an internal threat.
On May 27, local time, more than a thousand people gathered in front of the San Jose City Hall, California, USA to participate in a vigil to mourn the 9 victims of the shooting the previous day.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
From the Boston Marathon bombing to the Las Vegas Music Festival shootings, from the white police "kneeling" and killing African-American men to Trump supporters attacking the US Capitol, local terrorism, extreme ideological trends, racial discrimination...Various "Virus" is eroding the world's most powerful country.
"Twenty years ago, we were the real United States of America. Today, we are a'divided America'," said Jack Weinstein, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant. Terrorism is growing in the United States.
When he talked about the changes brought about by this sensational disaster, he exclaimed, “The world has changed in 20 years, but the biggest change happened in the United States itself. On September 11, 2001, we showed the best. On the other hand, we are terrible now."
When will the United States end this "longest day"?
(over)