Opinion | We’ve Forgotten the Most Important Lessons of 9/11 (Gift Article)

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o... #Blues

"[I]n responding to threats, we are potentially our own worst enemy. This story is well enough known, but worth repeating. We didn’t need to go to war in Iraq. Unscrupulous politicians can exploit our lesser instincts for their own ends, often to our detriment." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

We’ve Forgotten the Most Important Lessons of 9/11 by Peter Bergen www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o... Good piece by Peter Bergen.

“The next uncomfortable fact is that we Americans created the post-9/11 quagmire in the Middle East, not bin Laden” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

"Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudis, and that was not an accident. Bush officials said comparatively little about Saudi Arabia’s role in promoting its hard-line Wahhabi ideology at home and globally, and the influence that had on Bin Laden."

Leo Tolstoy (and Mme de Staël) to the contrary notwithstanding, it is *not* true that "tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner". Nonetheless, thorough understanding is a desideratum. This contributes in that regard. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

From Peter Bergen www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

"We Americans created the post-9/11 quagmire in the Middle East, not bin Laden." Peter Bergen on some "uncomfortable facts" about 9/11 and its aftermath — which don't actually seem that uncomfortable or forgotten, unless you look at the US and the world through some very rose-tinted glasses.

🎁🔗 Peter Bergan NYT today. “Over the past 25 years, the causes and consequences of the 9/11 attacks have faded from memory…new facts have come to light, some of them uncomfortable for what they reveal about our enemies, our allies and ourselves.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

We’ve Forgotten the Most Important Lessons of 9/11 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

We’ve Forgotten the Most Important Lessons of 9/11

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, former journalist and terrorism expert Peter Bergen writes it is important to remember the brutal lessons of that day (and the ensuing years of global conflict). First and foremost, the “fundamentally religious” motives of the attackers.

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

We’ve Forgotten the Most Important Lessons of 9/11 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

“Fanaticism, religious or otherwise, can drive dangerous, nihilistic attacks by those who don’t care what happens to them or their followers.” The call is coming from inside the house www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

"As the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaches, it is important to set the record straight so that we can avoid self-inflicted mistakes and renew our efforts to prevent a similar attack from happening again." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

Peter Bergen was the first to bring OBL to light with a soft touch amplification of the Fatwa that would lead to 9/11. Here he demonstrates MSM to a fault. He inches up to Saudi with some vague inferences without blowing everything skyhigh. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

Opinion | We’ve Forgotten the Most Important Lessons of 9/11 - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

We’ve Forgotten the Most Important Lessons of 9/11 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

Peter Bergen www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...