9/11 Ten Years On

It is somewhat hard to comprehend that the 9/11 attacks took place 10 years ago. It will forever remain a moment in history when everyone can recall where they were on that day. I for one was mid-way through my Year 11 work-experience! Today, as 11^th September 2011 approaches – when we will mark the 10^th anniversary of those horrific attacks – we are once again bombarded with footage on our TV screens and images in the newspapers of the moment United Airlines Flight 175 smashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan. However many times you see it, it never gets any less shocking.

Over the past decade much has been written about 9/11 – I focused my undergraduate dissertation on it – and there is likely to be a lot more. Over the past week there have been numerous television shows across the terrestrial channels that have each illustrated a different perspective from 9/11. The pick of the bunch for me was the ITV documentary that aired on Thursday 1^st September. It covered the movements of President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, Mayor Giuliani and other senior US Government officials. From watching those images it is clear to see that they were not prepared for those attacks; just as the world was not prepared for those attacks.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War there was a decade of relative global peace. Aside from the interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo and the threat of the IRA, Britain was not actively involved in conflict. 9/11 changed all that. Since 2001 the UK has been involved in long campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is yet unclear whether ground troops will find themselves patrolling the streets of Tripoli but the UK has been heavily involved, albeit diplomatically, in Libya and other uprisings during the ‘Arab Spring’. It is important to ensure that the lessons learnt from the past decade can be applied to any diplomatic or military action that the UK is involved with in the coming months and years.

The force of Al-Qaeda has been felt across the globe since 2001 with attacks in Bali, Mumbai, London and elsewhere. The threat level still remains high and it is unclear whether the death of Osama Bin Laden will have any effect on the future actions of the world-wide terrorist network.

Since that world-changing day in 2001 so much has happened: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; terrorist attacks in London, Bali and Mumbai; the killing of Osama Bin Laden; and the Arab Spring. I would like to invite you to join Generation 2 Generation and a panel of eminent speakers in London on 28 September to discuss the ramifications of those horrific attacks on 9/11. We'll discuss where we are now in the fight against global terrorism and how we can use the lessons from the past decade to make sure that the same mistakes aren't made in Libya, Syria and indeed, Afghanistan. For further information regarding this event please visit http://g2gglobalpolitics-eorg.eventbrite.com/

I welcome any comments and thoughts on this topic.

Generation 2 Generation is a non-partisan, not for profit organisation which organises talks and debates on current affairs for young professionals and students which feature leading figures from politics, business and the media. It aims to be a forum where today's leaders meet tomorrow's ones. Previous speakers who have addressed us include George Parker (Political Editor, The Financial Times), Liam Fox MP (Defence Secretary) Mary Dejevsky (former Washington and Moscow correspondent, The Independent), Lynne Featherstone (Equalities Minister) and Ed Vaizey (Culture Minister). You can find out more about us at www.g2gnetwork.co.uk.