America as Casualty of 9/11
by Nebojsa Malic
On a pastoral Tuesday morning, seven years ago, hijacked passenger jets crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In addition to a death toll of almost 3,000, there was a great deal of symbolism in the attacks, not just in the choice of targets – symbols of American power and commerce – but also the airlines whose planes were hijacked: American and United.
Nine months earlier, George W. Bush was inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States, after a controversial Supreme Court decision concerning the recount of votes in Florida. During the campaign, the Man from Crawford had promised a “more humble foreign policy” and spoke against his predecessor’s “nation-building.” Following September 11, he launched two foreign wars in rapid succession and asserted the right to attack anyone, anywhere, for any reason. The rest of the world was either “with us, or against us,” and the same stark choice was given to the American people. All of this was justified by a “war on terrorism.”Within less than a month, though, it became obvious that anyone “against us” was ipso facto considered a terrorist, while actual terrorists who were “with us” were given a free pass. The horrors of that September morning brought forth the apocalyptic vision of American Empire, now finally able to assert itself in a war without end.
Towards a Global Hegemony
There are those in Washington who in the aftermath of the Cold War believed that history had ended, leaving America in charge of the world. Bill Clinton had reasserted American dominance in Europe and over Russia by expanding NATO and intervening in the Balkans.
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