The U.S. Should Really Learn from 9/11

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. In the days preceding, every major U.S. city held a series of memorial activities. In fact, regardless of whether they are Americans or members of the international community, while people are mournfully remembering those who died during 9/11, people also ought to learn a lesson from that day. They should reflect deeply and restart a peaceful development process for the next 10 years.

Actually, in these past 10 years, during America’s war on terror, the U.S. has taken on the dual role of victim and aggressor. In the beginning, the U.S. gained sympathy and support as a victim. However, as the aggressor, the U.S. lost its morals and support, particularly because it used fighting the war on terror as an excuse to go rogue and have double standards, which only led to more terrorist activity. At the same time, following the expansion of America’s war on terror, U.S. debt has risen, the dollar’s power has dropped and so has Washington’s global influence. Over the next 10 years, the U.S. will be forced to return to a rational level, be committed to reviving its economy and start having practical, cooperative relations with China and Russia.

After 9/11, the war on terror gained the approval and support of the international community, to a degree. However, the U.S. used fighting the war on terror as an excuse to go rogue and have double standards, which only lead to more terrorist activities. These past 10 years, the U.S. has launched successive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, causing over 500,000 civilian deaths. All this, and yet the U.S. and the rest of the world have yet to feel secure. The Iraq War is soaked with civilian Iraqi blood and tears, causing Muslims everywhere to empathize with Iraqis. A few extremists have taken up many methods of terrorism to seek revenge, showing the wide range and global trend in terrorism. U.S. anti-terror sentiments have caused a double standard, which has also encouraged terrorism against China and Russia.

In these 10 years, the U.S. has sunk deeper into the quagmire of the war on terror. Launching the Iraq War and Afghanistan War and extending military and global strategy has already caused the U.S. to spend over $10 trillion. In other words, 70 percent of the $14.3 trillion debt has been spent on these wars. The U.S. debt crisis has become another threat to the development of the global economy. Sept. 11 is symbolic of the end of the U.S. superpower era. In these past 10 years, there has been a rise of emerging powers and the further development of a multipolar world. On the other hand, the pressure from the spending burden of these wars has only hastened the U.S. decline as a superpower.

In the past 10 years, the rest of the world has openly criticized America’s war on terror. The U.S. has not truly learned the lessons of 9/11. Currently, the U.S. economy is in recession and its military activities abroad are expansive. It seems as if the U.S. is still treading the same old unipolar, superpower path. However, circumstances are stronger than people. Ten years after 9/11, the economic downturn has become even more of a hot topic in the U.S. On Sept. 8 U.S. President Obama put forth his $447 billion jobs bill. Currently in the primary phases of the 2012 presidential election campaign, candidates are not discussing the war on terror. Instead they are talking about the economy and employment, showing that the economic difficulty the U.S. is facing is an urgent issue. Sept. 11 has already become part of history. In the next 10 years the U.S. mission is to revive its economy; seeking peace and development will become the theme for the next 10 years.