The images of September 11, 2001 were unheard of at the time

The power of the images of the terrorist attacks of September 11 – terrible, live, and repeated in loop – was unprecedented for the time, recalls a specialist in American policy.

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“We saw the towers collapsing, people throwing themselves down … [Pour ce qui est d’événements comparables], there was indeed Pearl Harbor, but it was not televised like that ”, underlines Frédérick Gagnon, director of the Observatory on the United States of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair.

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In fact, Hollywood screenwriters could hardly have imagined a more catastrophic scene than the one broadcast on all the major networks on this dark day.

“The highly dramatic nature of these images made the Americans want to support their president,” continues Mr. Gagnon.

“And very quickly George W. Bush said it was a declaration of war that needed to be responded to firmly.”

The death toll – almost 3,000 – and the symbolism of the attacks also convinced Americans of the need for a response.

After all, the financial (World Trade Center), military (Pentagon) and political (Capitol Hill was targeted by a plane that was rerouted) hearts of their country were targeted.

Thus, with an unparalleled 90% support rate in the months following the attacks, George W. Bush declared war on Afghanistan, in the hope of annihilating Al-Qaeda and bringing down Osama bin Laden.

“Terrorism has become the star guiding foreign policy. It is as if there had been an eclipse: all other international issues have become secondary, ”says Mr. Gagnon.

September 11, 2001 brought closer together, but also created friction between Canada and the United States.

Frédérick Gagnon recalls that Canada has hosted more than 200 commercial flights at its airports, since American airspace had been closed after the attacks.

Many Quebec and Canadian rescuers also lent a hand in the days following the attacks, not to mention that the country has deployed its troops in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, the attacks caused the tightening of security measures at the Canada-US border, and Jean Chrétien decided not to join the United States in Iraq.

“It was quite a test,” said Gagnon.