The September 11, 2001, attack on the Twin Towers (and the Pentagon) remains in memory as a trauma to the West. For the images of brutality and for the 2,977 deaths that were claimed. We witnessed a perfectly coordinated and executed act of war in the heart of Manhattan, broadcast live and in full view of anyone, against the foundations of the triumph of capitalism and the splendor of the American century, sustained on the glorious interventions of the United States in the two world wars.
The administration Bush he vowed revenge against the perpetrators of the massacre. So much so that the United States forced the occupation of Afghanistan, placed al Qaeda in the center of the bullseye and promised to hunt down the ideologue of 9/11, Osama bin Laden, At whatever price. Ten years passed until they found him, and there were no images of the execution and no burial.
Twenty years after the occupation, and in light of the disastrous departure from Kabul, we find that Bin Laden partially achieved his goal. After all, he was the one who pushed the first chip in the American decadence. We see it clearly now, that we are witnessing the continuation of his work: the Taliban are back in the Afghan government and they boast of it without hesitation on the twentieth anniversary of the attack.
All in all, these two decades provide the right perspective to confirm that there have been many achievements since then, and that they illuminate the need to continue fighting terrorism inside and outside our borders. The West, especially Europe, will make a mistake if it ignores this reality. Because while we are living in a truce with interruptions from jihadism, the war on terror is far from over.
Terror at home
Europe has suffered the ferocity of jihadist terrorism in its own flesh. With the ten bombs that exploded on a commuter train on March 11, 2004 in Madrid. With the explosions in the London Underground in 2005. With the Bataclan massacre in Paris in 2015. With the indiscriminate abuses in Nice, Cambrils and Barcelona in 2016 and 2017.
The West has invested billions of dollars and sacrificed the lives of thousands of soldiers to prevent terror from entering our doors more frequently. And the police forces and intelligence services have done an extraordinary job to detect and appease any seeds of evil that may germinate on our borders.
So that slowing down or giving up these efforts would be an unforgivable mistake that we would pay too dearly at this point in the race. If terrorism feeds on anything, reduced to actions of lone wolves in recent years, it is dthe withdrawal of companies. And this is a luxury that our countries cannot afford. Not if we aspire to effectively contain threats to national security to guarantee social peace.
New board
The unstable situation in the Sahel, which marks the first security frontier for European interests, is worrying. The frequency of jihadist attacks has increased sevenfold in four years and armed groups are expanding their areas of influence and control. France, which serves as a retaining wall in the region, shows signs of withdrawal and exhaustion, and the migratory and terrorist threat against our borders is increasingly real.
Nor does the return to power of the Taliban with the backing of Pakistan invite tranquility. Afghanistan threatens to become the port of departure for the next great migrant exodus and the true hotbed of international terrorism after the relentless failure of the West. China, immersed in the super-project of the Silk Road, wants to take advantage of the abandonment. And in all likelihood he will face the challenge of not becoming the next target of jihadism on the new board.
Be that as it may, the post-9/11 experience has taught us that the war on terror requires resources and the pursuit of our enemies wherever they may be. As the attack on the Twin Towers reminds us two decades later, the West cannot lower its guard. It would be unwise, in short, to rest on our laurels and destroy the efforts of so many years.
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Reference-www.elespanol.com