America Marks 20 Years Since Sept. 11 Attacks
2021-09-11
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1The tragic events of September 11, 2001, took place in just under 102 minutes.
2On that day, 2,996 people died in the worst terrorist attack in modern history.
3What followed was nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan.
4The U.S. Department of Defense says there were at least 2,325 American military deaths.
5No one knows exactly how many civilians were killed.
6The Global War on Terror, as it was called, stretched beyond Afghanistan into Iraq and places as far away as Africa.
7In Iraq, the conflict killed nearly 4,500 U.S. service members and many thousands of civilians.
8On September 11, 2021, President Joe Biden is expected to try to mark the end of that period and America's longest war.
9Since withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan at the end of August, the Biden administration has sought to put the events of 20 years behind it.
10It has released many formerly-secret documents about the September 11 attacks.
11It appears to have accepted the return of Taliban militants, the Afghan leaders pushed out by the U.S. invasion nearly 20 years ago.
12On Saturday, Biden will visit the three places that were attacked.
13New York City is where American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
14Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the south tower.
15Biden will also visit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. defense department, outside Washington, D.C.
16That is where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed 34 minutes later.
17Separately, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will pay their respects at a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
18That is where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed.
19Jeremi Suri is a history professor at the University of Texas in Austin.
20"The president is drawing a line under the last 20 years," he told VOA.
21"And he's acting as a historian and saying we've ended an era, just like the end of the World War II era, and it's now time to make new decisions in the ways in which Harry Truman made new decisions after the World War II era."
22Harry Truman was the president of the United States from 1945 to 1953.
23Suri said historians understand why Biden is asking Americans to look forward and not back.
24"I think we are in a different moment after the 2020 election, and we are in a different moment with the rise of China," he said.
25"Twenty years on, our challenge is different," said deputy national security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
26"We have learned since 9/11 how to protect Americans from terrorism," she said, adding that those measures probably prevented another 9/11-style terrorist attack.
27Vanderbilt University historian Thomas Schwartz, however, does not believe we can easily call an end to the era.
28Pointing out that it takes two sides to have a conflict, one side cannot decide alone to end it, he said.
29"I think the words of President Biden - and the deeds - of a fixed time for withdrawal from Afghanistan were a mistake and were an error in judgment that I think could affect the United States over the coming years," he said.
30Norman Ornstein is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative public policy research group in Washington.
31He believes that Americans should look to history to understand our position.
32In 1983, President Ronald Reagan decided to withdraw American forces from Lebanon months after a bombing killed 241 U.S. service members.
33That decision, Ornstein said, shows the difference between the America of today and the America of past decades.
34"We did not have calls for Ronald Reagan to resign, or moves to impeach him," he said.
35Republican lawmakers have strongly criticized the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan and President Biden.
36Ornstein said Reagan's actions in 1983 were not considered for political reasons as almost everything is today.
37"And that is a disturbing element here that actually is at least as unsettling in terms of where the country goes in the future as some of these other threats that we face," he said.
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The tragic events of September 11, 2001, took place in just under 102 minutes. On that day, 2,996 people died in the worst terrorist attack in modern history. 2What followed was nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The U.S. Department of Defense says there were at least 2,325 American military deaths. No one knows exactly how many civilians were killed. 3The Global War on Terror, as it was called, stretched beyond Afghanistan into Iraq and places as far away as Africa. In Iraq, the conflict killed nearly 4,500 U.S. service members and many thousands of civilians. 4On September 11, 2021, President Joe Biden is expected to try to mark the end of that period and America's longest war. 5Since withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan at the end of August, the Biden administration has sought to put the events of 20 years behind it. It has released many formerly-secret documents about the September 11 attacks. It appears to have accepted the return of Taliban militants, the Afghan leaders pushed out by the U.S. invasion nearly 20 years ago. 6Three places 7On Saturday, Biden will visit the three places that were attacked. 8New York City is where American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the south tower. 9Biden will also visit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. defense department, outside Washington, D.C. That is where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed 34 minutes later. 10Separately, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will pay their respects at a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. That is where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed. 11Jeremi Suri is a history professor at the University of Texas in Austin. 12"The president is drawing a line under the last 20 years," he told VOA. "And he's acting as a historian and saying we've ended an era, just like the end of the World War II era, and it's now time to make new decisions in the ways in which Harry Truman made new decisions after the World War II era." 13Harry Truman was the president of the United States from 1945 to 1953. 14Suri said historians understand why Biden is asking Americans to look forward and not back. 15"I think we are in a different moment after the 2020 election, and we are in a different moment with the rise of China," he said. 16A different challenge 17"Twenty years on, our challenge is different," said deputy national security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall. 18"We have learned since 9/11 how to protect Americans from terrorism," she said, adding that those measures probably prevented another 9/11-style terrorist attack. 19Vanderbilt University historian Thomas Schwartz, however, does not believe we can easily call an end to the era. 20Pointing out that it takes two sides to have a conflict, one side cannot decide alone to end it, he said. 21"I think the words of President Biden - and the deeds - of a fixed time for withdrawal from Afghanistan were a mistake and were an error in judgment that I think could affect the United States over the coming years," he said. 22Lebanon in 1983 23Norman Ornstein is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative public policy research group in Washington. 24He believes that Americans should look to history to understand our position. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan decided to withdraw American forces from Lebanon months after a bombing killed 241 U.S. service members. That decision, Ornstein said, shows the difference between the America of today and the America of past decades. 25"We did not have calls for Ronald Reagan to resign, or moves to impeach him," he said. Republican lawmakers have strongly criticized the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan and President Biden. 26Ornstein said Reagan's actions in 1983 were not considered for political reasons as almost everything is today. 27"And that is a disturbing element here that actually is at least as unsettling in terms of where the country goes in the future as some of these other threats that we face," he said. 28I'm Bryan Lynn. 29VOA's Anita Powell reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 30______________________________________________ 31Words in This Story 32deed - n. something that is done; an act 33era -n. a period of time that is associated with a quality, event or persons 34challenge -n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do 35impeach -v. (law) to charge a public official with a crime done while in office 36disturbing -adj. something that is worrying or upsetting 37We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.