September 11 attacks seared in our memory, 20 years on

As we said in this space 20 years ago, the world had just “witnessed one of the great crimes against humanity … terrorists have struck the heart of America, leaving thousands dead and freedoms we all hold dear smouldering in the rubble”. Lash out at the perpetrators hard and unrelentingly, we urged, “to send a message reasserting the primacy of civilisation over bastardry”. A formidable coalition of nations did. The immediate aim of deploying Western forces into Afghanistan, under the NATO banner and led by the US, was to ensure al-Qa’ida could no longer threaten the world from the political and security vacuum that country provided. That aim was achieved. The power of al-Qa’ida was blunted, although like-minded terror groups made parts of the ensuing 20 years diabolically hard, which was expected.

Hundreds more innocent people going about their daily lives have died at the hands of Islamist terrorists, including 88 Australians in the first Bali bombings in 2002 and four in the second atrocity in 2005. Commuters were blown to smithereens at peak hour in Madrid in 2004 and in London in 2005; about 170 guests in and around a Mumbai hotel were killed in 2008; more than 130 mainly young people out and about in Paris on a Friday night in 2015 suffered the same fate. The world has seen the rise and demise of Islamic State. Neither have we forgotten the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania; a cafe in Sydney; a police station in Parramatta; mosques in Christchurch; London Bridge; Bourke Street in Melbourne; a promenade in Nice; or the end of a marathon in Boston, to name just a few, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews writes online.

Twenty years after our nation woke to what had seemed unthinkable – footage of the burning World Trade Centre towers, felled by civilian planes that had been hijacked by terrorists – some Australians grieve for loved ones lost that day. Stuart Knox, for instance, is apprehensive about his 50th birthday next year. He will pass the milestone without his twin, Andrew, who was at a meeting in the restaurant at the top of the north tower. The twins were then 29.

The 9/11 attacks and subsequent events have changed how we live and especially how we fly. Border security and the screening of immigrants took on fresh importance. People under 30 know little of that freer, more relaxed world before September 11, 2001. For those who will never forget feeling numb all day and in subsequent days, the memories have taken on fresh poignancy after the shambolic departure of the US-led coalition from Afghanistan. The Taliban’s return to power justifiably raises fears that a new generation of jihadists, set on the destruction of liberal democracy and modernity, have recovered their safe haven.

The war on terror has achieved much. The impact of jihadism has been blunted, especially in the West. John Howard, who was in Washington on 9/11, is right when he says the world has become safer from such attacks. It is now well understood that the best antidote to terror attacks is timely intelligence. Major attacks, including in Australia, have been thwarted as security agencies have gained vital expertise. The Bali attacks and a lethal underbelly of Islamist fundamentalism in pockets of Indonesia drew Australia and our northern neighbour closer, especially through intelligence sharing. And co-operation on counter-terrorism between Indonesia and Australia will be more critical in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, as Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in Jakarta on Thursday night.

The war on terror also drove us to reconsider the cohesion of our own society, as former ASIO chief Duncan Lewis wrote on Friday: “For the first time, we discovered within our own community a very small number of our citizens who would wish us harm. September 11 was an attack on us all and it was an attack on our way of life.’’

Lewis, who also served in the Australian Defence Force for 33 years, including as commanding officer of the SAS Regiment and commander of the Special Operations Command, summarised the vital lessons for the future learnt during the 20-year war on terror. They include the value of alliances – especially ANZUS, the cornerstone of our security – and other global partnerships; the value of intelligence; and the need to build a more resilient nation, including militarily.

Formidable challenges related to the victory of the Taliban over the Afghan government and the current numerical strength of groups such as al-Qa’ida lie ahead, David Kilcullen warns on Saturday. China, he notes, is poised to become a key economic player in central Asia, linking Afghanistan with its allies in Pakistan and Iran. Iran has gained influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen as a direct result of the post-9/11 conflicts. On 9/11, al-Qa’ida had about 25,000 members, mostly in Afghanistan, Africa and Southeast Asia. It now has about twice as many. Shia militants such as Lebanese Hezbollah are stronger, better armed and more influential than on 9/11. Russia exploited Western errors in Syria to restore its role in the Middle East and transform its relations with Turkey, weakening NATO’s position in the process.

Much has been speculated about US power and influence across the past gruelling 20 years. So often in the past, however, enemy states have found they have underestimated the superpower at their peril. Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan spoke for many New Yorkers when she said it felt “too much to bear’’ when the twin towers, symbols of free trade and enterprise, were reduced to rubble. The US’s quick climb back, however, was testimony to its resilience. While Islamists levelled the World Trade Centre, Henry Ergas wrote on Friday, the constitutional democracy they despise remains our civilisation’s shining jewel and the most enduring monument to those who lost their lives on that fateful day.

Scott Morrison is right when he says the anniversary is a reminder that freedom is fragile. As Ronald Reagan said, the Prime Minister noted, it “must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation”.