Once in a generation – sometimes once in a lifetime – a singular event blindsides the entire planet. 25 years on, does the memory of the 9/11 attacks on New York's Twin Towers, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania fade into history, or is it still as raw and vivid as on that sunny September morning?
Back then, the world was still processing the end of the Cold War. Western spies who had learned Russian suddenly had to take Arabic lessons. There was also the element of surprise compounded by the shock of non-state actors killing thousands on US soil. Each big anniversary since has been a marker of its own time.
Ten years ago, it was in the wake of the Paris attacks and Isis' bid to establish a caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Five years ago, it was during Covid when the whole planet faced a whole new unforseen common challenge.
We ask our panel how the present informs the past and the past informs the present – one that is more connected and plugged in, but also more fractured, with the balance of power between old allies and rivals currently in flux. What can we learn from September 11th?
Produced by François Picard, Maya Yataghène, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Andrew Hilliar.
