How America Lost the World’s Trust After 9/11

"But 25 years later, America's own mistakes have brought it closer to fulfillment than bin Laden ever could," the great Ali Soufan warns in @theatlantic.com. When Mr. Soufan speaks, listen.

America Has Forfeited Its Greatest Strength. Osama bin Laden wanted to eradicate faith in American power. Twenty-five years later, his dream is on the verge of coming true. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

America Has Forfeited Its Greatest Strength. Osama bin Laden wanted to eradicate faith in American power. Twenty-five years later, his dream is on the verge of coming true. By Ali Soufan **Gift article. No paywall**

America Has Forfeited Its Greatest Strength Osama bin Laden wanted to eradicate faith in American power. Twenty-five years later, his dream is on the verge of coming true. By Ali Soufan www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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The Atlantic (gift link) “Allies must trust U.S. leadership. Citizens must have confidence in their government. Policy makers must believe in America’s deepest norms and values. Over the past 25 years, the U.S. has frayed each of these bonds of trust” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Somehow both shocking and completely unsurprising: "In May, polling by the @ecfr.eu found that only 11 percent of respondents across 15 European democracies still considered the United States an ally."

…”The only way for the U.S. to rebuild its global leadership is by recommitting to the values our enemies hoped to make us abandon: truth, accountability, law, decency, & the protection of innocent life. Only then will we have escaped the long shadow of 9/11.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

management of savagery www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

America Has Forfeited Its Greatest Strength Osama bin Laden wanted to eradicate faith in American power. Twenty-five years later, his dream is on the verge of coming true.

(Gift) 👇👇👇 www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Gift link 😢 "...Allies must trust U.S. leadership. Citizens must have confidence in their government. Policy makers must believe in America’s deepest norms and values. Over the past 25 years, the U.S. has frayed each of these bonds of trust." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Ali Soufan. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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🎁🔗: America Has Forfeited Its Greatest Strength www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

This is the best article I've read to date about the aftermath of 9/11. Keen insights from somebody who knows. One takeaway: "Enhanced Interrogation" (torture) yields false confessions and bogus information, in addition to making a mockery of our values. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

“September 11, 2001, is a day that never really ended. Its consequences continue to be felt whenever America is tempted to risk the little trust that it still enjoys, whether by confusing vengeance w/security, impunity w/strength, or callousness w/patriotism… www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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"Allies must trust U.S. leadership. Citizens must have confidence in their government. Policy makers must believe in America’s deepest norms and values. Over the past 25 years, the U.S. has frayed each of these bonds of trust." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

"In the years since 9/11, a lack of accountability has become endemic across the U.S. government" Has it peaked yet? (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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As of 9/11 AQ likely had only a few hundred members, most of them based in Afghanistan. Today, the U.S. intelligence community estimates that the group has 15,000 to 28,000 members worldwide. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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“Allies must trust U.S. leadership, Citizens their government. Policy makers must believe in America’s deepest norms and values. Over the past 25 years, the U.S. has frayed each of these bonds of trust. This is exactly what bin Laden sought to achieve” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

And that lack of trust is worse now under what’s-his-name.😑 www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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Yep. Many, many of us knew he wasn't just trying to kill Americans. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

"The only way for the United States to rebuild its global leadership is by recommitting to the values our enemies hoped to make us abandon: truth, accountability, law, decency, and the protection of innocent life. " www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Americans no longer trust, the world no longer trusts. That trust is not coming back. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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Osama bin Laden wanted to eradicate faith in American power. The 9/11 attacks alone did not accomplish that goal. But 25 years later, America’s own mistakes have brought it closer to fulfillment than bin Laden ever could www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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Mission Accomplished “Osama bin Laden wanted to eradicate faith in American power. Twenty-five years later, his dream is on the verge of coming true” We did it to ourselves

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⚪ Semafor +0 → https://www.semafor.com/article/09/11/2026/a-painstaking-record-of-the-events-leading-up-to-911 🔴 The Atlantic -50 → https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/09/september-11-trust-america/688580/?utm_source=feed

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How America Lost the World's Trust After 9/11 ->The Atlantic | More on "America's post-9/11 credibility crisis" at BigEarthData.ai

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