The stains and trauma of 9/11 linger a quarter century later

A generation after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on New York City and Washington, the enduring consequences of that event continue to shape global security and stability. | JUSTIN LANE / The New York Times

Sep 11, 2026

This week marked the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks on the United States, a day that is remembered around the world simply as “9/11.” Today, there is an entire generation with no personal memory of that tragedy, no reflexive instinct to recall where they were when they heard the first horrific reports.

Twenty-five years later, there are important questions about that day — what was the fourth plane’s target, what did the Saudi government know — even though its impact transformed the world, consuming governments and publics alike. As we remember the victims, we should also look hard at ourselves and what our reaction to this tragedy tells us about who we are.

On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 members of al-Qaida, an Islamic terrorist organization, hijacked four U.S. airliners. They crashed two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense and the fourth plowed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers learned of the unfolding situation and turned on the hijackers.

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