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Write key words, phrases and quotes from the people that capture the Human Story. Explain what these uncover about the day from the human perspective.

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Write key words, phrases and quotes from the people that capture the Human Story. Explain what these uncover about the day from the human perspective.

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What is the timeline of events. How did the day unfold? 

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What is the timeline of events. How did the day unfold? 

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Note for screen reader users: once expanded, the first four items of the navigation menu have some associated content which may provide additional information of interest. These sections can be located by jumping to the level 3 heading which follows each sub-menu.

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From the archives: George W. Bush's Oval Office speech on 9/11

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On September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack claimed the lives of almost 3,000 Americans. NBC News goes to the archives to revisit President George W. Bush's address to the nation from the Oval Office.

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Write key words and phrases and quotes from the people that capture how this event creates and fits into a Global Story. Make links here to terrorism in a global sense

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Write key words and phrases and quotes from the people that capture how this event creates and fits into a Global Story. Make links here to terrorism in a global sense

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Research and investigate how this event changed America and the world. What is the new story 20 years on?

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Research and investigate how this event changed America and the world. What is the new story 20 years on?

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World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.

As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767-United Airlines Flight 175-appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor.

The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.

Osama bin Laden

The hijackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by the al Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in the operation.

Where Did the 9/11 Planes Take Off From?

The 19 terrorists smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports-Logan International Airport in Boston, Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. and Newark International Airport in New Jersey-and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

Pentagon Attack

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m.

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

Twin Towers Collapse

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke.

The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel.

At 10:30 a.m., the north building of the twin towers collapsed. Only 18 people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of the collapse survived. Most were with a group of FDNY firefighters in the North Tower's Stairwell B, which remained intact. One woman survived after the stairs she was rushing down disintegrated around her. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

Flight 93

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane- United Flight 93-was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground.

Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger-Todd Beamer-was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

All 44 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

How Many People Died in the 9/11 Attacks?

A total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes. Citizens of 78 countries died in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.

At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

America Responds to the Attacks

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who was in Florida at the time of the attacks and had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House.

At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Operation Enduring Freedom, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began on October 7. Within two months, U.S. forces had effectively removed the Taliban from operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, then-President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan; it took until August 2021 for all U.S. forces to withdraw.

Department of Homeland Security Is Created

In the wake of security fears raised by 9/11 and the mailing of letters containing anthrax that killed two and infected 17, The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the Department of Homeland Security. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002. Today, the Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet responsible for preventing terror attacks, border security, immigrations and customs and disaster relief and prevention.

The act was followed two days later by the formation of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The bipartisan " 9/11 Commission," as it came to be known, was charged with investigating the events that lead up to September 11th. The 9/11 Commission Report was released on July 22, 2004. It named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind behind 9/11, "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks."

Mohammed led propaganda operations for al Qaeda from 1999-2001. He was captured on March 1, 2003 by the Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and interrogated before being imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay detention camp with four other accused terrorists charged with 9/11-related war crimes. The use of torture, including waterboarding, during Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's interrogation has received international attention. In August 2019, a U.S. military court judge in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba set a trial date for Mohammed and the other four men charged with plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks to begin in 2021; it was later postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic Impact of 9/11

The 9/11 attacks had an immediate negative effect on the U.S. economy. Many Wall Street institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, were evacuated during the attacks. On the first day of trading after the attacks, the market fell 7.1 percent, or 684 points. New York City's economy alone lost 143,000 jobs a month and $2.8 billion wages in the first three months. The heaviest losses were in finance and air transportation, which accounted for 60 percent of lost jobs. The estimated cost of the World Trade Center damage is $60 billion. The cost to clean the debris at Ground Zero was $750 million.

Victim Compensation Fund

Thousands of first responders and people working and living in lower Manhattan near Ground Zero were exposed to toxic fumes and particles emanating from the towers as they burned and fell. By 2018, 10,000 people were diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer.

From 2001 to 2004, over $7 billion dollars in compensation was given to families of the 9/11 victims and the 2,680 people injured in the attacks. Funding was renewed on January 2, 2011, when President Barack Obama signed The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act into law. Named for James Zadroga, a New York City Police officer who died of respiratory disease he contracted after rescuing people from the rubble at Ground Zero, the law continued health monitoring and compensation for 9/11 first responders and survivors.

In 2015, funding for the treatment of 9/11-related illness was renewed for five more years at a total of $7.4 billion. The Victim Compensation Fund was set to stop accepting claims in December 2020.

On July 29, 2019, then-President Trump signed a law authorizing support for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092. Previously, administrators had cut benefits by up to 70 percent as the $7.4 billion fund depleted. Vocal lobbyists for the fund included Jon Stewart, 9/11 first responder John Feal and retired New York Police Department detective and 9/11 responder Luis Alvarez, who died of cancer 18 days after testifying before Congress.

Anniversary and Memorial

On December 18, 2001, Congress approved naming September 11 "Patriot Day" to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In 2009, Congress named September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The first memorials to September 11 came in the immediate wake of the attacks, with candlelight vigils and flower tributes at U.S. embassies around the world. In Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth sang the American national anthem during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Rio de Janeiro put up billboards showing the city's Christ the Redeemer statue embracing the New York City skyline.

For the first anniversary of the attacks in New York City in 2002, two bright columns of light were shot up into the sky from where the Twin Towers once stood. The "Tribute in Light" then became an annual installation run by the Municipal Art Society of New York. On clear nights, the beams are visible from over 60 miles away.

A World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was held to select an appropriate permanent memorial to the victims of 9/11. The winning design by Michael Arad, "Reflecting Absence," now sits outside the museum in an eight-acre park. It consists of two reflecting pools with waterfalls rushing down where the Twin Towers once rose into the sky.

The names of all 2,983 victims are engraved on the 152 bronze panels surrounding the pools, arranged by where individuals were on the day of the attacks, so coworkers and people on the same flight are memorialized together. The site was opened to the public on September 11, 2011, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum followed, opening on the original World Trade Center site in May 2014. The Freedom Tower, also on the original World Trade Center site, opened in November 2014.

Sources

"Study Confirms 9/11 Impact on New York City Economy." The New York Times
"September 11: nearly 10,000 people affected by 'cesspool of cancer.'" The Guardian.
"Congress passes 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund extension championed by Jon Stewart." CNN.com
The Encyclopedia of 9/11. New York Magazine.
FAQ About 9/11. 9/11 Memorial.
September 11th Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
9/11 Death Statistics. StatisticBrain.com.

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September 11 Attacks: Facts, Background & Impact

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On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

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On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was faced with a historic decision. Should he inform President George W. Bush, who was speaking that morning at an elementary school in Florida, that a second plane had crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center? Card knew that America was in the middle of an emergency. He had to decide what to tell the president -- and how. But he didn't want to provoke a reaction or cause a response from the president as he was sitting in front of the news cameras surrounded by elementary school children. Card decided that his message would be short and direct. He told the president, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."

In doing so, Card activated one of the most covert and never-before-used plans of the federal government: Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), which was stipulated in Presidential Decision Directive 67 by the Clinton administration in 1998.

The directive laid out the response of federal executive branch agencies during a national emergency. The Sept. 11 attacks were the first test.

Under the COOP plan, federal agencies are assigned different functions to protect federal government operations. The Secret Service, under 18 USC 3056, has the prime responsibility to protect the president, the vice president and other leaders in the government. On 9/11, the Secret Service was thrust into the very real scenario of an unknown actor possibly targeting the president and trying to decapitate the government.

The attacks also put the president's Secret Service detail leader as commander of any government assets, including the Department of Defense. For the Secret Service, the first goal was to get the president back on Air Force One.

In Washington, D.C., Vice President Dick Cheney sat in the White House with others trying to manage the attacks in a building that was now considered a target. Down the street from the White House, Secret Service Director Brian Stafford, a Vietnam veteran, oversaw the Director's Crisis Center, which became the defacto control point for the relocation of every Secret Service protectee.

As officials in the Director's Crisis Center worked to get their arms around the crisis, the Secret Service office in New York at 7 World Trade Center was holding a planning meeting for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly when the planes hit the North and South Towers. Agents raced down to the streets and assisted other first responders with evacuating civilians, triaging the wounded and fighting fires. Some agents ran into the burning towers, including Tom Armas and John Buckley, who ran 40 flights up into the North Tower.

Back in Washington, the White House Incident Notification System (WHIN) system was alerted. An aircraft near the nation's capital was thought to be headed toward the White House. Special Agent Jimmy Scott of the vice president's detail burst through Cheney's office door and said, "Mr. Vice President, we've got to leave now." Before Cheney could respond, Scott moved behind the vice president's desk, put one hand on his belt and another on his shoulder, and propelled him out of his office toward the "PEOC," the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, located beneath the White House.

Secret Service personnel were also evacuating the White House to ensure that if an aircraft struck it, there would be minimal loss of life.

Aboard Air Force One, Secret Service Assistant Special Agents in Charge Dave Wilkinson and Eddie Marinzel knew there had been an incident but not much else. The communications system on Air Force One was spotty. Air Force One was also not equipped with cable TV and email was unavailable. The agents had to compete with an already clogged cellphone network that day.

The Secret Service agents aboard Air Force One knew that going back to Washington was not an option. President Bush protested, but ultimately, if the Secret Service felt the situation could not be made safe, the president couldn't override them. As Wilkerson put it, "[T]he Secret Service has to protect the president. The wishes of that person that day are secondary to what the law expects of us."

The president was moved to secure military installations including Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Once there, Bush made the statement confirming that the United States was at "war" but also, despite Secret Service protestations, he would return to Washington. To do so, the Secret Service not only had ensure the White House was secure but that the route there was also safe.

After returning to the White House, Bush meet with Cheney, Card, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Special Agent in Charge Carl Truscott in the president's Emergency Operations Center -- commonly referred to as "the bunker" -- to discuss America's response and his speech to the nation later that evening.

From the passengers on the highjacked aircraft to first responders and civilians in all three target locations, heroism was on full display during the Sept. 11 attacks. Americans ran toward danger, including the many unsung heroes in the Secret Service who held to their oath that no matter what, America and its symbols would stand.
Donald J. Mihalek is an ABC News contributor, retired senior Secret Service agent and regional field training instructor who served as a police officer and in the US Coast Guard. Opinions expressed in this piece do not reflect those of ABC News.

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'America is under attack': Reliving the Secret Service response on 9/11: OPINION

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On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was faced with a historic decision. Should he inform President George W. Bush, who was speaking that morning at an elementary school in Florida, that a second plane had crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center?

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Bush Advisor Recalls Telling Bush About 9/11 Attacks | MSNBC

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8:46 - Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower

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8:46 - Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower

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8:50-54 - Flight 77 is hijacked and flown into the pentagon

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8:50-54 - Flight 77 is hijacked and flown into the pentagon

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9:03AM - Flight 175 crashes into the south tower

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9:03AM - Flight 175 crashes into the south tower

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10:28 am – The World Trade Center’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

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10:28 am – The World Trade Center’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

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“Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honour those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.” — Barack Obama
- This quote from the president of the United States from 2008-16 shows that everyone banded together for years following to remember those who fell on September 11th

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“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”-David Leviathan

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"On September 11 I always take the day off.  I want to be in a peaceful quiet place praying.  It is a day I both mourn and celebrate." - 9/11 survivor

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“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”
—Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in 2002

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“The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom.”
—Then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani

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“I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” George W Bush

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“It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.”
—Senator John Kerry

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“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend―even a friend whose name it never knew.” — George W. Bush
- This quote contrasts the view of Obama as Bush decided to take military action on 9/11 and create an ongoing war, but after the event had happened Bush shared his views of the sadness of tragedy and loss of this event

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The Twin Towers were brought down by explosives not planes

Within just a few hours of the attacks on the Twin Towers, perhaps the most well-known of all the theories had already surfaced in an Internet chat room. The author of that post likened the collapse of the North and South Towers to an act of controlled demolition due to the way the buildings fell so quickly and perfectly into their own footprint. After the dust had settled, theorists raised further evidence in the form of witness testimonies, citing reports of explosions being heard before the Towers collapsed and debris visibly shooting out from the lower levels of the buildings.

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9/11 changed America in several ways:
1. There has been ongoing wars for 20 years between America and Afghanistan as America attempted to dismantle Al Qaeda. America in 2017, had approximately 10,000 troops in Afghanistan.
2. Immigration and deportation laws have changed as The Bush Administration created the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, a cabinet-level office that merged 22 government agencies. The Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Customs Service, both formerly part of the Department of Justice, were consolidated into the newly formed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agency has overseen a massive increase in deportations; they have nearly doubled since 9/11.
3. Surveillance has heavily increased as America boomed in the wake of 9/11. The growth resulted in a marked increase in government oversight, primarily through a vast, clandestine network of phone and web surveillance.

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What happened to Osama Bin Ladin after 9/11?

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How did 9/11 impact the world?

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George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People

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How many people died/ got injured?

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Immediate responses to 9/11 included greater focus on home life and time spent with family, higher church attendance, and increased expressions of patriotism such as the flying of American flags.

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The War on Terror Began

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Air Travel Was Transformed

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Copy of Global Politics Unit 2: Global Connections

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Find two articles from traditional media that report DIFFERENTLY about this issue. You may want to find one more localised and one more international media source

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Find two articles from traditional media that report DIFFERENTLY about this issue. You may want to find one more localised and one more international media source

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What have you seen on your own socials? Find two - five different examples of different ways this story has been depicted on social media

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What have you seen on your own socials? Find two - five different examples of different ways this story has been depicted on social media

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9/11 Conspiracy Theories | Considering multiple narratives

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https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/08/16/around-the-halls-the-taliban-retakes-afghanistan/

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Nearly 20 years after the United States intervened in Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power, and in the wake of President Joe Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops, the Taliban's stunningly rapid reconquest of the country reached its denouement Sunday, August 15 as its fighters entered Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani left the country. Brookings experts reflect on the latest developments and offer recommendations on how the Biden administration should proceed.

MADIHA AFZAL (@MadihaAfzal)
David M. Rubenstein Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy and Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology:

This weekend saw a stunning tragedy unfold in Afghanistan, at a staggering speed and scale. Afghanistan's cities, and ultimately Kabul, fell like dominoes to the Taliban. We have seen haunting images of Afghans flooding Kabul airport, desperate to leave their country, of planes taking off around them. These will endure.

There is plenty of blame to go around, and no doubt we will spend a great deal of time trying to understand who went wrong, where. President Donald Trump negotiated a feckless deal with the Taliban. President Biden insisted on an unconditional withdrawal, which ensured the Taliban had no incentive to talk peace. President Ghani's corrupt government and his military leaders failed to lead the Afghan security forces. The rapidity of the American withdrawal this summer meant the rug was pulled out from under the Afghan security forces, who depended heavily on U.S. intelligence and air support. And there's more, including the influence of Afghanistan's neighbors. What is clear the day after the fall of Kabul is that the world has collectively failed the Afghan people.

Biden, both on the campaign trail and as president, promised a responsible withdrawal. This has been anything but. Throughout the weekend, I looked for a word of reassurance to the Afghan people from the Biden administration - but beyond trying to help those who had worked directly with the U.S., there was nothing, not even a mention of humanitarian support. They've been abandoned to an unknown fate, to be ruled by those who terrorized them.

President Biden should establish immediate access and safe havens for the millions of Afghan civilians fleeing Taliban rule. Forming an international coalition dedicated to this effort may offer respite to the most vulnerable, including activists, journalists, and members of civil society who may now be targeted for working with the United States. The Taliban is a violent religious fundamentalist group. It will pay lip service to human rights but its promises should not be taken at face value. In violating the terms and spirit of the Doha peace talks, it has proven to be a dishonest negotiator, exploiting these talks to establish a lull in conflict that allowed it to reinforce its supply lines, organize its fighters, and prepare the staging ground for its offensive. Its atrocities over the coming period, including revenge killings and the violent suppression of women and other vulnerable communities, will require a unified response from the U.S. and its allies. Qatar, which facilitated the peace talks and could now have substantial influence over the Taliban, may be critical to any such strategy focused on pressuring the group and containing its transgressions. The Taliban will see little incentive to establish a peaceful transition, much less an inclusive political order, if the U.S. is unable to convince Pakistan, Russia, and China to isolate the group. Focus will be on how Washington can foster a response in tandem with its allies, but it is also imperative that Biden mobilizes a response in consort with Islamabad, Moscow, and Beijing.

As the Taliban gain control of Afghanistan, one of the most important questions for the United States is whether al-Qaida will again use the country as a base for terrorist attacks, as it did in the pre-9/11 era. The Taliban has not broken with al-Qaida, despite tremendous pressure to do so.

At the same time, however, the risk for the Taliban of a high-profile al-Qaida attack against the United States is high, and the Taliban may prefer al-Qaida focus on what remains of the anti-Taliban resistance and other local enemies. Pakistan, too, has an incentive to push the Taliban to keep al-Qaida on a short leash. The al-Qaida core itself is weak, and in recent years has focused on regional civil wars more than international terrorism.

The United States has prepared to conduct attacks on al-Qaida (and Islamic State affiliate) bases and leaders in Afghanistan from nearby countries. This will be less effective than if the United States had a presence in Afghanistan, but it will still keep terrorist groups off balance. Aggressive intelligence gathering and regular strikes on terrorists using Afghanistan as a base will be even more necessary given the collapse of the Afghan government.

Afghanistan is also a failure of NATO and the European Union. The United States and its allies were aware of the consequences of U.S. withdrawal. Yet the allies left as soon as they could, the result of a lack of basic equipment and logistic capabilities. If Europeans were serious about strategic autonomy they should have shown it there. The U.S. administration should have pushed on its allies to keep protecting the jurisdiction of the government in Kabul, and slowly proceed to a withdrawal. At this point it is too late; the only thing the U.S. could do is attempt a coordinated action with the EU, NATO, or the United Nations, to assist the Afghan population and negotiate arrangements with neighboring countries for anti-terrorism and humanitarian operations.

The tragedy in Afghanistan has long been in the making. The critical weaknesses in Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and parochial, self-interested governance centered on corruption and politicking instead of the country's basic interests have been defining characteristics of Afghanistan for a decade and a half but were systematically unaddressed. Pakistan never stopped its multifaceted support for the Taliban. U.S. troops staying several years more would not have averted this moment, even if it would have delayed it.

The most immediate priority now is to maintain control of Kabul airport to assure U.S., international, and Afghan evacuations. The United States and the international community need to be engaging with the Taliban about preventing bloodshed in Kabul, delivering order and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced people without food and shelter, and avoiding purges and executions in months to come.

The United States should press for as much inclusivity in the Taliban government as possible, including of women, ethnic minorities, and technocrats. Washington should demand that women retain access to schooling and health care, at least some jobs, freedom to leave the household without a male guardian, and not be forcibly married off to Taliban fighters.

The U.S. has limited leverage, consisting of conditioning economic aid, recognition of the Taliban government, removal of sanctions from Taliban leadership, and allowing access to international financial systems and international institutions.

What lies ahead is not a happy picture. An Iran-like internal political and social order may be the best to hope for.

Years ago, during Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, then Syrian President Hafez al-Assad told the secretary of state why he was optimistic about the ultimate outcome of the Arab-Israeli confrontation. "You Americans walked out on the South Vietnamese," he said, according to what Kissinger told reporters on his plane. "You'll give up on Taiwan, and eventually you'll give up on the Israelis too."

President Biden's decision to "give up" on Afghanistan - apparently, a firm decision, unlikely to be changed, based on many years of disillusionment with Kabul's ineffectiveness - follows a familiar script delightfully satisfying to despots and deeply troubling to allies everywhere.

Is America any longer a really reliable ally, a leader capable of rallying the world to common, desirable goals?

Presidents and prime ministers from Europe to Asia must now be asking themselves that question, and worrying.

Biden is in a terrible mess, committed to easing the COVID-19 menace and rebuilding the economy but also promoting democracy in its global struggle against authoritarianism. Can he succeed on both the domestic and foreign fronts on roughly the same timetable? The current flight from Kabul strongly suggests no.

Biden has made his choice, the most fateful of his administration. The fallout will be ugly. Polls say the American people are still behind him. When Taliban brutality appears nightly on TV screens, will that support hold? Leading to another question: Are moral considerations any longer a cornerstone of American policy?

The chaotic, precipitous collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan marks an ignominious end to the U.S. intervention there, with dangerous implications for the region and for America's role in the world. That U.S. troops would withdraw was never in doubt - our role in Afghanistan's conflict had long lost support from both sides of our polarized domestic debate, two previous administrations sought a negotiated denouement with the Taliban, and President Biden himself has been consistent and transparent in seeking to end two decades of American military presence in Afghanistan.

But, as is often the case in foreign policy, the devil is in the details. The Biden administration's handling of our drawdown has been spectacularly poorly managed, leaving tens of thousands of Afghans who assisted the U.S. effort vulnerable to Taliban reprisals and a pivotal if perennially unstable country in the hands of a vicious religious cult. Biden is right to prioritize the urgent challenges posed by great power competition, the spread of techno-authoritarianism, the climate crisis, and other threats over sustaining a war that lost its purpose long ago. But his claims that "America is back" ring hollow against scenes of desperation as Afghans who put their faith in us scramble for any exit opportunity while Biden remains silent. And the catastrophe in Kabul undermines the central proposition of Biden's foreign policy - that the U.S. will champion values and allies. Our adversaries are watching and drawing their own conclusions about American will and capacity, just as they did before 9/11.

The Taliban have penetrated Afghanistan's halls of power and are on the verge of returning the country to a theocracy run by thugs. Countless more women, men, and children face the prospect of death at the Taliban's hands or, should they survive, repressive rule.

The White House has limited options for meaningful impact that are also politically feasible. But there are steps it can take to head off even further bloodshed. These include using its skeleton diplomatic staff to evacuate local partners - NGO staff, military personnel, interpreters, and others - that the United States relied on for the past two decades.

More broadly, the Biden team should use Afghanistan's collapse as a moment to reflect on what it wants to accomplish - rather than say - in standing up for democracy overseas. We have begun to see a gap between the administration's rhetoric about making democracy central to its foreign policy, and what it has actually done on this front - from the events of the last week in Afghanistan to an insufficient response to Myanmar's coup.

While the administration parses an invite list for the recently announced Summit for Democracy, authoritarians are making gains the world over. Time would be better spent developing a clear strategy for supporting democracy overseas, complete with goals and metrics for success, and implementing it. Even if Afghanistan's democratic future is bleak, the administration still can meaningfully support the millions of other people pushing back on authoritarian governments and yearning for a better life.

ITAMAR RABINOVICH
Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy:

There have been no helicopters picking up refugees from the roof of the U.S. embassy, but the resemblance of the swift collapse of the Afghan army and the humiliating U.S. withdrawal to the end of the war in Vietnam is all too obvious. From a Middle Eastern perspective, there is a widespread concern that the " pivot away " from the region will be sweeping. If the Biden administration wishes to allay the concern of allies and partners in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other Middle Eastern countries, it will have to send a powerful signal or take effective action in the Middle Eastern context. It is important to remember that while the U.S. position and investment in Vietnam were collapsing, U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East was at its most successful. In 1975, Saigon was captured by the Viet Cong and the Israeli-Egyptian interim agreement over the Sinai was signed under Washington's auspices. The Arab-Israeli peace process is not a promising arena right now, but by achieving a breakthrough in the stalemated negotiation with Iran or putting together an alternative policy, the U.S. can send a powerful message to all those concerned with the extent of its departure from the Middle East.

As the Taliban takes control of the Afghan government, next week it will find itself flush with almost half a billion dollars of new financial resources with no strings attached. On August 23, the International Monetary Fund will disburse $650 billion in special drawing rights (SDRs) to all member countries, including Afghanistan. While disputed governments, like that in Venezuela, can be denied access to their SDRs, the Taliban's swift usurpation of power means that, no matter how distasteful, it will likely be treated as the de facto and de jure government of the country, and thus be entitled to roughly $460 million dollars it can use however it likes. The issuance of SDRs to countries suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic is a worthy effort supported by the Biden administration, but there are consequences of providing "free money." The U.S. must be clear-eyed that providing new funds without strings attached means that some of those resources will end up in the hands of regimes whose policies we detest. Some new SDRs will provide a respite to suffering. But others will almost certainly be used to line pockets of corrupt regimes, reward China for its debt diplomacy, delay necessary reforms, and ultimately help entrench some bad actors, including the Taliban. The U.S. needs be careful to not overly weaponize the dollar in the global financial system, but if there were ever a time to think twice about the benefits of allowing unfettered access to swapping SDRs for dollars, it might be now.

BRUCE RIEDEL
Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy and Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, and Director, The Intelligence Project:

President Biden's Afghanistan gamble is collapsing on his administration spectacularly. Reckless, hasty, poorly planned, and badly implemented, it was based on a disastrous agreement signed by the Trump administration last year which the Taliban openly flouted. Instead of insisting the Taliban break with al-Qaida, the Biden team kept Trump's inept negotiator.

Now we need the final act in Kabul to be as peaceful as possible and allow the evacuation of those most at risk. The key to that lies with the Pakistani army. The Taliban's massive offensive relies on Pakistani support. It is impossible to isolate the Taliban as long as they enjoy that support and sanctuary.

The problem is we have little influence on Pakistan. A nuclear power, it is China's closest ally, providing a land route to the Persian Gulf. China has already signaled it will support a Taliban Afghanistan. The U.S. has tried without success to sanction Pakistan for decades.

Biden has chosen to ignore Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a major mistake given Khan's prickly personality. Khan can place limits on the army; Biden has given him little incentive to do so.

In early 1998, I was among a U.S. delegation that visited Kabul. Arranged by Pakistan, our discussions with the Taliban leadership to rein in Osama bin Laden produced nothing. In a driving tour of the city the only spot the Taliban pointed out was the lamp pole where they had hanged communist dictator Mohammad Najibullah. It was a reflection of their brutality and utter contempt for foreign opinion. That has not changed.

FEDERICA SAINI FASANOTTI
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology:

From the moment of its inauguration, the Biden administration promised "America is Back," ostensibly meaning it had returned to a commitment to a multilateral foreign policy based on strong alliances. Italy has been one of America's most faithful allies through multiple conflicts, so the message resonated. That said, President Biden's decision on Afghanistan, one taken largely without consultation with allies, has left Italy's leaders needing to explain how the country's years of investment in Herat has any meaning now. Italian and other NATO troops fought and died in Regional Command West, and Italy invested billions of euros in its commitment to the American-led mission in Afghanistan. That's all gone now. Herat has fallen; the Taliban have taken charge. As Italy's leadership will have a very difficult time explaining all this to the Italian people, especially the families of Italy's honored dead and those wounded and maimed, it will likely be a very long time before Rome will be inclined to join Washington on this kind of mission again.

Afghanistan is turning into an unmitigated disaster for the U.S. and for the legacy of the NATO commitment there. The human misery that will result from the Biden decision will be a stain on the alliance for a long time. So, as we consider how the Biden administration will proceed in addressing this crisis, a broader consideration must be what this decision has done to the credibility of the U.S. foreign policy among the allies who bled for this mission and to the idea that "America is Back."

It is impossible to write dispassionately about the devastating humanitarian disaster unfolding in Afghanistan. Memories from reporting trips intrude: the two proud teenagers in pressed jeans who opened an internet café in Kabul after the rout of the Taliban by Western forces, swirling flocks of chattering schoolgirls in Mazar-i-Sharif, the fiercely hospitable matriarchs of a small village near Kunduz - but also the malevolent looks from vendors in the bazaar in Ghazni. What will become of them? Overambitious and even deluded the West's two-decade-long effort to bring peace, development, and good governance to the Hindu Kush may have been, many mistakes were made. But much good for the lives of ordinary people was achieved, all of which is now imperiled.

There will have to be many reckonings for this - in Washington, for the disastrous implementation of President Biden's greatest foreign policy mistake; in Europe, for the shambolic performance by nation states and the complete absence of the European Union. But for now, only one thing matters: saving lives. With Western troops gone from Afghanistan, there is practically no way to prevent atrocities. What is required now is a full-on relief effort coordinated by the United Nations and its refugee agency, the International Red Cross, the EU, and NATO. We owe it to ourselves; but above all, we owe it to the Afghans.

SHIBLEY TELHAMI (@ShibleyTelhami)
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy

Scrutiny of the Biden administration's handling of its planned withdrawal from Afghanistan is necessary given the rapid collapse of the Afghan army and government, and the humanitarian disaster that must be addressed. Biden's handling of the Trump-initiated negotiations, his approach to Pakistan, and the intelligence failure must also be questioned. But one must not lose sight of the bigger picture: The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan itself after 20 years of huge investment in blood and treasure was not only reasonable, but also partly vindicated by the rapid collapse of the army that no one saw coming. The national conversation should go far deeper than Biden's decision to withdraw, addressing the factors that ultimately made withdrawal inevitable.

Surely, the nature of the mission, how it has evolved, and the tactics employed in the war and in assisting local allies must all be scrutinized. But the genesis of the problem goes back farther, demonstrated by the fact that the initial military campaign targeting those who attacked American soil on 9/11 garnered unprecedented international sympathy and support - even from American foes like Syria and Iran - only to be quickly diminished, initially by Washington's stridency and tactics following the rapid collapse of the Taliban regime. But one early decision impacted the prospects and the trajectory of the Afghan campaign more than others: the decision to wage an unnecessary war in Iraq without U.N. backing, which simultaneously diverted focus and resources from Afghanistan at a critical moment, and squandered unprecedented international sympathy and support.

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Around the halls: The Taliban retakes Afghanistan

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Nearly 20 years after the United States intervened in Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power, and in the wake of President Joe Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops, the Taliban's stunningly rapid reconquest of the country reached its denouement Sunday, August 15 as its fighters entered Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani left the country.