20 Years After 9/11 Terror, America Fears Internal Enemies More Than External Ones [Correspondent Diary]

Former President Bush Who Started the Afghan War
"Terrorists and Extremists Are Children of Evil Spirits" Criticism
Failed to Stop Extremism Spread Despite 'Big Brother' Presence
Trump, Who Encourages Extremism, Announces Next Presidential Bid

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The 2021 memorial ceremony for the September 11 attacks in the United States marked the 20th anniversary of the event, with a more profound atmosphere of remembrance than ever before.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump (second from right) is visiting the 17th Precinct Police Station in New York on the 11th (local time), the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, to encourage the officers. Instead of attending the memorial ceremonies at Ground Zero in New York, the site of the attacks, or at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Department of Defense memorial near Washington DC, Trump made surprise visits to police and fire stations in Manhattan, New York. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Coinciding with the conclusion of the Afghanistan war, which began as a result of the 9/11 attacks, the event was expected to carry significant meaning amid partisan debates.

President Joe Biden, who decided on the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, visited three memorial sites in succession on that day: New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon. It is unprecedented for a U.S. president to visit all three sites honoring the victims of the 9/11 attacks on the same day.

President Biden did not speak at the memorial sites that day. It is customary for attendees of the 9/11 memorial ceremony not to make speeches. Former presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also silently remained in attendance.

The speech that moved the hearts of Americans that day came unexpectedly from a former president: George W. Bush.

Former President George W. Bush is giving a speech in Shanksville.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Former President Bush delivered a speech in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, calling for American unity and strongly criticizing domestic extremists.

As the president during the 9/11 attacks, Bush began, "After 9/11, I was proud to lead a nation that was remarkable, resilient, and united. Today, the unity in America seems distant compared to those times."

Former President Bush’s criticism was directed at the country’s extremists. He emphasized, "They are the offspring of evil spirits, like the terrorists, and confronting them is our ongoing duty."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former President Bush argued that extremists share common traits: contempt for pluralism, disregard for life, and desecration of national symbols.

The plane that crashed in Shanksville holds special significance. The passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 fought against the terrorists.

The terrorists aimed for the U.S. capital, Washington D.C., but the passengers and crew bravely confronted them, causing the plane to crash in a field near Shanksville. Without the sacrifice of Flight 93’s passengers, the White House or the U.S. Capitol might have been destroyed by the attack.

Former President Bush created a dramatic contrast by highlighting the harm caused by extremists who seek to plunge America into crisis, in front of those who selflessly sacrificed their lives to confront the nation’s peril.

Equating the threat from external terrorists with internal division and extremism resonated deeply within American society.

Despite the coercive policies promoted by former President Bush, the U.S. failed to prevent the spread of domestic extremists and "lone wolves." Instead, they expanded their influence by communicating through social media and the internet, spreading fake news.

After the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration strengthened surveillance of Americans through the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act allowed the FBI to access individuals’ communication records and transaction details without a court warrant. Even without evidence, individuals could be sentenced to prison or charged as terrorism suspects based on circumstantial evidence.

U.S. surveillance activities under the Patriot Act were exposed to the public through Edward Snowden’s revelations, causing shock worldwide.

The USA Freedom Act, enacted to replace the temporary Patriot Act, also permitted tracking and surveillance of terrorism suspects and homegrown terrorism suspects within the U.S., but it failed to prevent the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Edward Snowden

Despite the erosion of America’s spirit of freedom, the country’s safety remains unguaranteed and may even worsen.

Former President Donald Trump, criticized for encouraging extremism and inciting the Capitol riot, visited a New York City police station on the 9/11 memorial day.

When asked if he would run in the next presidential election, he replied, "That’s an easy question. I know what I have to do. Maybe you’ll be happy too." U.S. media interpreted this as a hint that former President Trump plans to run in the next election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.