War on terror goes on as we remember the 9/11 victims

THE 20th anniversary today of the terrorist attack, in hijacked passenger planes, on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will spark a chill of remembrance in all those around the world who witnessed this appalling act. It was, for many, the first truly global catastrophe played out live on TV. And its reverberations were felt in communities large and small across the globe.

Here in the Westcountry it had a direct impact on our large military presence, many members of which would go on to serve in Afghanistan, in the war on terror which followed the attacks. It was also keenly felt in the West Cornwall town of Hayle, birthplace of one of the heroes of 9-11, Vietnam veteran and World Trade Center security man Rick Rescorla, who helped hundreds escape from one of the towers and paid with his own life.

And, in the city of Plymouth, strong and long-established links with the United States, thanks to the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed to America on the Mayflower 401 years ago, meant the deaths of almost 3,000 people in New York and at the Pentagon were keenly felt on this side of the Atlantic too.

There is a horrible irony in the fact that as the world marks this grim anniversary the Taliban, who were accused of harbouring the al-Qaida terrorists who plotted the attack, are back in power in Kabul. But it would be quite wrong to see that extremely unwelcome development as evidence that the wrong choices were made in the aftermath of 9/11.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair may not be seen by everyone as the best man to take lessons from when it comes to the tactics for dealing with international crises, given the now widely discredited invasion of Iraq he ordered in support of the United States in 2003.

But his instincts two years earlier were spot on. He backed UN president George W Bush in going into Afghanistan when the Taliban refused to hand over the leader of alQaida, Osama Bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 atrocities.

And he was right yesterday, on the eve of the 20th anniversary, to be unrepentant for that.

Mr Blair said that the US and its allies had “no choice” but to invade after the Taliban refused to give up the al-Qaida leadership who were responsible. He and many others fear the build up of a new terror threat taking shape in Afghanistan now western allies have withdrawn and the Taliban is back in control.

Even as the prayers are being said for those who perished and the flowers are laid at memorials, including at our own Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, politicians, diplomats and military strategists need to be considering how best to neutralise that new terror threat.

US president Joe Biden may be following Donald Trump’s lead in backing an ‘America First’ policy that disengages the US from intractable global problems. But he – and Boris Johnson, along with other western leaders – need to be ready to commit resources to preventing another large scale terror attack, now more likely with the Taliban back in power in Afghanistan. The war on terror was not fought in vain. But the gains made could so easily be lost if we take our eye off the ball now.