September 11 attacks Archives

Who was Ayman al-Zawahri? Where does his death leave al-Qaida and what does it say about US counterterrorism?

Who will replace the man who replaced bin Laden? Visual News/Getty Images Haroro J. Ingram, George Washington University; Andrew Mines, George Washington University, and Daniel Milton, United States Military Academy West Point Ayman al-Zawahri, leader of al-Qaida and a plotter of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has been killed in a drone strike in the Afghan city of Kabul, according to …

20 years after 9/11, the American colossus has gone and the Middle East remains strife-torn

Tony Walker, La Trobe University The 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington carries with it two punctuation marks. The first are the attacks themselves on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. These shocked a country that was both psychologically and physically unprepared for such a brazen assault on American soil. The second …

Calculating the costs of the Afghanistan War in lives, dollars and years

Heading for the exit. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images Neta C. Crawford, Boston University The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to destroy al-Qaida, remove the Taliban from power and remake the nation. On Aug. 30, 2021, the U.S. completed a pullout of troops from Afghanistan, providing an uncertain punctuation mark to two decades of conflict. For the past 11 …

20 years of ‘forever’ wars have left a toll on US veterans returning to the question: ‘Did you kill?’

Every soldier has a different story. Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images Marian Eide, Texas A&M University Military service members returning from America’s “forever” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have often faced deeply personal questions about their experience. As one veteran explained to me: “I’ve been asked, ‘Have you ever killed anyone in war? Are you messed up at all?’” “I …

What schools teach about 9/11 and the war on terror

A survey of U.S. history teachers found they teach about 9/11 primarily on the date of the anniversary. Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images Jeremy Stoddard, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Diana Hess, University of Wisconsin-Madison The phrase “Never Forget” is often associated with the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But what does this phrase mean for U.S. students …