Essay: For 20 years since 9/11, the U.S. has staved off any comparable attack on its homeland. Will its counterterrorism measures hold for the future, too?
Twenty years ago, the 9/11 attacks killed almost 3,000 Americans. Since then, the U.S. homeland hasn’t suffered any comparable terrorist assault, nor even one a tenth of the size. The total death toll from jihadist attacks inside the U.S. over these last two decades stands at 107—still too high but far lower than almost all of our leaders and counterterrorism officials feared it would be in September 2001, when visions of a follow-on strike, perhaps with weapons of mass destruction, loomed.
Yet jihadism itself remains strong, as the Taliban’s recent takeover of Afghanistan demonstrates. The U.S. has also suffered some scary near misses over the years, such as when the “underwear bomber” almost detonated a bomb on a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day, 2009. The vast majority of plots in the U.S. have been unsophisticated, however, involving untrained volunteers inspired by ISIS or al Qaeda propaganda.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ex-DHS chief Chad Wolf recalls his 9/11 experience, says threat to homeland has evolvedChad Wolf, who headed the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration between 2019 and 2021, said the 9/11 attacks had a 'lasting impact' on his life.
Read more »
CDC finds unvaccinated 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19“Vaccination works,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC’s director, told a White House briefing Friday. “The bottom line is this: We have the scientific tools we need to turn the corner on this pandemic.”
Read more »
4 kids of firefighter who died in 9/11 discuss continuing his legacy at FDNYFour kids of firefighter who died in 9/11 discuss continuing his legacy at FDNY.
Read more »
Biden calls for unity as US marks 20th anniversary of 9/11US President Biden honours the memories of those killed in 9/11 attacks and the thousands more injured, as well as the firefighters, nurses and many others who risked or gave their lives.
Read more »