As the world marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, questions remain about the enduring legacy of the events that targeted New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field. Two and a half decades after that sunny September morning, the central inquiry is whether the memory of those attacks has faded into history or continues to exert a raw, vivid influence on contemporary global affairs.
At the time of the attacks, the geopolitical landscape was still processing the aftermath of the Cold War. Western intelligence agencies, whose operatives had previously focused on Russian language and dynamics, were suddenly forced to pivot toward Arabic and the complexities of non-state actors. The shock of thousands of deaths on U.S. soil, combined with the element of surprise, fundamentally altered the international security paradigm.
Since then, each major anniversary has served as a mirror for its respective era. A decade ago, the commemoration occurred in the wake of the Paris attacks and the Islamic State’s attempt to establish a caliphate across Syria and Iraq. Five years prior to that, the world was navigating the unprecedented global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing a common challenge that transcended borders.
In its upcoming episode of “The Debate,” France 24 will explore how the present context informs the understanding of the past, and vice versa. The discussion will address a modern landscape that is simultaneously more interconnected and increasingly fractured, characterized by shifting power balances between traditional allies and emerging rivals. The program aims to extract lessons from September 11 that remain relevant today.
The program features a panel of experts including Craig Copetas, columnist for Türkiye Today; Karim Emile Bitar, Professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut and Sciences Po Paris; Reed Brody, former New York State Assistant Attorney General; and Jocelyne Cesari, Chair of Religion and Politics at the University of Birmingham. The segment is produced by François Picard, Maya Yataghène, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, and Andrew Hilliar.
Twenty-five years and we’re still navigating the fallout. It feels less like history and more like an ongoing condition now.
The panel looks solid. Bitar’s perspective on Beirut will definitely add nuance to what is usually a very Western-centric debate.
Do you really think the trauma still drives policy, or are we just stuck in old patterns? Seems like we forgot the lessons.
It’s wild to think the pivot from Cold War focus to counter-terrorism happened so abruptly. Everything shifted overnight.