9/11: Looking Forward and Back

Five years after that dreadful day, we explored how it might be viewed in 25 years, how freedom can triumph in the Middle East and why many Americans don’t think 9/11 was actually the work of terrorists. Readers argued over what’s been done, what’s left to do and what to believe from those in authority

Niall Ferguson’s vision of 9/11 from the perspective of 25 years hence was fascinating [Sept. 11]. He was wise to note that elections are not a panacea for the problems of the Islamic world. Ferguson’s vision of the U.S. restored to relevance by old-fashioned economic transformation was compelling. We face the challenge of combatting Islamic terrorism while creating a sustainable world economy. We must be able to meet current needs while preserving adequate resources and the environment for our grandchildren. Our economic goals may seem less urgent, but failing to meet them could be disastrous and create more problems than would losing the war on terrorism.
Chris Wiegard
Chester, Virginia, U.S.

“No question, 9/11 was an act of war,” said Ferguson. Actually, 9/11 was mass murder, and it should have been treated as mainly a challenge for the police and intelligence services. Interpreting the 9/11 attacks as an act of war demanding military reprisal has only helped up the ante of violence throughout the world.
Robert Malcolmson
Cobourg, Canada

The idea that the U.D. could help the development of democracy in Muslim countries by sending troops in, as it did in Iraq, sounds like a strategy Stalin would have used. But after World War II, it was the economic support provided by the U.S. through the Marshall Plan that saved countries like Italy from becoming communist states. Bolstering the economies of Muslim countries striving for democracy would have been a better response than exporting war.
Maurizio Muraca
Rome

Five years after 9/11, our nation ought to be as united as it was on that tragic day. We should have held on to the outpouring of global goodwill and support we received then. We should have remained laser-focused on rooting out and bringing to justice those responsible for the attacks. We should have remained committed to making our homeland more secure. After 9/11 our nation should have rededicated itself to the Constitution, the rule of law and respect for human and civil rights. Like most Americans, I remember 9/11 with sadness, a sadness that deepens when I think of what our country could have been five years after the day when we were all one.
Dorian de Wind
Austin, Texas, U.S.

“The nation that fell to earth” was helpfully provocative. Ferguson reminded us that geopolitical landscapes evolve through the interaction of many seemingly unrelated factors. Although it is impossible to predict the ultimate influence of 9/11 on the balance of international power, the article reminded us that, if the U.S. is to remain politically and economically strong, it must focus on more than fighting global terrorism. My only disappointment with Ferguson’s article was in his dismissal of the problem of climate change. Global warming has the potential to reshape the geopolitical landscape and cannot be ignored.
Katherine Richardson Christensen
Arhus, Denmark Changing the Middle East
Calling Max Boot’s “second opinion” rebuttal of Ferguson’s story an example of straw-man argumentation would be an insult to straw men everywhere [Sept. 11]. No credible analyst of the Middle East believes that democracy is not preferable to the tyranny of Islamic fundamentalism. The debate is over tactics. Perhaps the only human attribute more powerful than the yearning for democracy is the loathing of political change wrought at gunpoint. Boot’s signal example of democracy’s triumph over tyranny is the collapse of the Soviet Empire. But that victory was not achieved by U.S. forces unilaterally storming the gates of the Kremlin and tearing down the statue of Lenin. Rather, the Soviet Union rotted from within, abetted by a sensible and hard-nosed policy of political, economic and military containment by a true multinational coalition. If democracy flourishes in Iraq or elsewhere in the Middle East, it will be in spite of the Bush doctrine, not because of it.
Jeff Timberlake.
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

Boot’s article was just another example of neoconservative naiveté. According to Boot, all the U.S. has to do to rid itself of terrorists is find a list of nondemocratic countries that support jihadists and set the people of those countries free with democracy. In fact, Iraqis may not vote themselves free from sectarian violence, and Iranian people, if liberated, may not want to give up access to nuclear resources. The U.S., after several years of failure, should have learned that those issues have to be dealt with in a pragmatic, case-by-case manner.
Hanting Teng
Taipei

It is a leap of faith to assume that democracy in the Middle East will take root. Islamic culture is based on authoritarian tribal values and traditions. By what presumption does Boot think that this grand experiment by Bush will succeed?
Rajesh Singh
Watchung, New Jersey, U.S.

The 9/11 Skeptics
Re “Why the 9/11 conspiracies won’t go away” [Sept. 11]: Your story’s idea — that millions of Americans (36%, according to the poll cited) who question the official explanation of what happened on 9/11 are simply unable to deal with the magnitude of the atrocity and the randomness of life — was dismissive and shallow. What about those of us who simply approach life with a healthy dose of skepticism? I would feel much more optimistic about our nation if more people questioned what happened on 9/11. If people had been a little more skeptical, maybe we would have questioned whether Iraq really had wmd, whether the war and reconstruction would pay for themselves and whether 130,000 troops were enough. Maybe we would have questioned the need to elect George W. Bush to a second term.
Ryan Gielen
New York City

Is it one-third of Americans who are delusional, as your story suggested, or is it actually two-thirds? You admitted that there was “a lack of identifiable plane wreckage” at the Pentagon crash site yet asserted that “the remains of all but one [of the passengers] have been identified.” Does Time have a theory that explains why two-thirds of Americans are untroubled by such an outrageous contradiction?
Paul Holme
Paranaque, the Philippines

Conspiracy theorists know they have nothing. Press them for solid proof, and they claim they are just asking questions. Most conspiracies follow the same pattern. All evidence and expert testimony backing up the official story is “fake” or “planted,” while the lack of evidence backing up the conspiracy theory is merely “proof” that the evidence is being covered up. With no structural engineers or demolition experts backing up the conspiracy nonsense, the theorizers rely instead on a cast of characters who are nuttier than squirrel dung. They make for good comedy, if nothing else.
Jan Burton
Toronto

I was disappointed by the reporting on the conspiracy theories. Too many pieces of evidence about 9/11 cannot be explained within the framework of the official version. Where are the Watergate sleuths Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein when we really need them?
Inge Drucks
Breckerfeld, Germany Americans in the World
Re “One thing we need to do” [sept. 11]: Time‘s managing editor, Richard Stengel, was right — Americans should give more thought to foreign policy. Furthermore, it is not good enough for the U.S., the self-appointed world’s policeman, to reflect on what constitutes its own values and interests. The policeman should either reflect on the values and interests of the policed world — not necessarily the same as his — or stop being the policeman nobody has asked him to be. The polar opposites of isolationism and interventionism are not the only options. There is also the option of participating in world politics on an equal footing with other nations. Meanwhile, anti-Americanism is unfortunately growing where the U.S. would not expect it.
Rainer Lau
Brussels

Compliments to Stengel for his editorial. Unlike the other articles in Time on the aftermath of 9/11, his was the only one that raised some fundamental questions. When violence is countered by violence, regression is fighting regression. It is a double step backward. The question is not what we are willing to kill for but, as Gandhi said, what we are willing to die for. Nineteen young men answered that question in a terrible manner on 9/11. The passengers of Flight 93 answered it in a diametrically opposed, compassionate and extraordinarily caring manner. Both answers need to be analyzed and discussed and the results taught to every one of our youngsters. That is the only way we will eventually create a better world.
Michel Mortier
Zug, Switzerland

U.S. foreign policy needs a greater dose of realism. It should be more in tune with the world community rather than taking an armchair view and telling other nations to conform to the U.S. perspective.
Nirmal Kuamar Mishra
Patna, India

Words Unspoken
In “What Bush should have said” [Sept. 11], columnist Joe Klein suggested that the U.S. order the Iraqi Prime Minister to disband his coalition because of the influence of Muqtada al-Sadr. But if we are sacrificing American lives in the effort to establish democracy in the Middle East (whether Iraqis want it or not), we should at least allow the citizens of Iraq to enjoy the democratic right to select their own representatives. We should not dictate that the government be favorably disposed to us, as that would violate the basic tenets of the democracy we are ostensibly seeking to export to the Middle East.
Bill Gottdenker
Mountainside, New Jersey, U.S. Dressed for Success?
“The terror consigliere” [Sept. 11] painted a fascinating portrait of Fran Townsend as the President’s tough-talking adviser on homeland security who takes no prisoners. But equally or perhaps more telling was the stunning photograph that accompanied the text. It called into question Townsend’s common sense. What other woman in any Administration would pose for a photo as she emphasized her competency and conservatism in the White House while looking as though she were dressed for a night of revelry at an expensive watering hole? The skirt, well above the knees, and the array of expensive jewelry demonstrate an appalling lack of sensitivity to daytime business mores and intelligent political public relations.
Wes Pedersen
Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.

Maybe that glamour shot of Townsend was intended to convey her ability to “get a leg up” on the enemy. But could Townsend defend our turf from terrorists in those stiletto heels? I don’t think so.
Kathy Saville
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Minding Her Manners
In her review of the Tuscan hotel L’Andana [Sept. 4], Catherine Mayer says the general manager might remember her as “the Guest from Hell: high maintenance, capricious and, quite frankly, badly behaved.” She adds, “I was only doing my job.” But was it really necessary for her to engage in the absolutely obnoxious behavior she went on to describe? I’m sure that by the time she and her companions got through with the staff and management of L’Andana, the smug trio left behind more than a few bad feelings. I have close friends who own a bed-and-breakfast and can tell you that guests who push the limits are not welcomed back.
Robert Heylmun
Florence, Italy

Most travel writers are overly indulgent in their praise of the hotels they visit — and often boring. Mayer, on the contrary, definitely wants to be noticed. I was shocked by her misbehavior at L’Andana and can only imagine the utter disgust of the hotel’s guests and staff. I suspect that, as Mayer reported, L’Andana’s well-trained sommelier smartly guided Mayer and her company away from the most valued wines, knowing full well that serving it to them would have been throwing pearls before swine.
Janie Berquist Phellipon
St. Denis-La Chevasse, France

A Most Sacred Game
“It’s not just cricket” [Sept. 4] discussed the allegation that the Pakistani team had tampered with the ball during a Test match with England. Oh, Pakistanis, you can do anything — you can ridicule my government, you can scorn my religion, and you can even step on my blue suede shoes. But, please, do not force the holy gem of cricket into disrepute by ball tampering and match fixing.
Pam Howe
Idar-Oberstein, Germany