Twenty-three years ago, according to the world-wide media and information orthodoxy, two hijacked air planes flew into the Twin Towers in New York City, causing those buildings to collapse catastrophically.
The entire world was shocked and saddened, at such brazen acts of violence and the consequent loss of 2977 innocent lives.
Afghanistan was invaded by the United States of America, barely a month later, on the 7th of October 2001, as a direct consequence of the attack on the Twin Towers.
Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda was quickly identified as the culprit and the Taliban government in Afghanistan was accused of giving him refuge, hence the war on Afghanistan.
Ironically, the 9/11 Commission which was set up by Congressional legislation, to investigate the matter, was only started on the 27 th of November 2002, more than a year after the fact, the final report was released on the 22 nd of July 2004.
“The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9- 11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks…”
Usually, countries don’t go to war or invade each other, because a fugitive fled to or sought refuge across international borders.
The normal practice is a formal request for the capture and extradition of the said fugitive. Not only was this pretext for war and invasion unusual, but it was also absurd.
The war lasted 19 years between 2001 and 2021, with massive loss of life, great financial expenditure, and devastation to the country.
The Taliban government was deposed during the invasion of 2001 but has subsequently resumed the government of Afghanistan, on the 15 th of August 2021, after 19 years of insurgency.
In 2003 the USA waged war on and invaded Iraq, claiming that they had weapons of mass destruction and of being a state sponsor of terror.
The Iraq War lasted 8 years, between 2003 and 2011, with massive loss of life, great financial expenditure, and devastation to the country.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, rose from the ruins and devastation of Iraq, to cause even further devastation.
So-called Islamic terror emanating from ISIS went world-wide,causing great devastation on the so-called Arab Muslim countries particularly Iraq and Syria.
The so-called ISIS is operative in Mozambique as we speak, right on SA’s doorstep. We all remember Boko Haram in Nigeria, devastating the West African nation.
Europe and the West were not spared the violence and terror.
The West and Europe responded with terror legislation and enforcement, mainly focussed on the Muslims.
This caused the build-up of hostilities between the Muslims and the West. Ironically the wars in the Middle East led to mass migration from the Muslim lands to the West.
This mass migration will inevitably destabilise Europe and the West, it might even lead to their total collapse.
London is falling. 9/11, has changed the world, for the worse.
It has delivered us unto tight airport security world-wide and the mass surveillance of the public by their respective governments because any civilian might be a terrorist or become radicalised, according to their draconian logic.
This is what the War on Terror really means. It gave greater power to the Financial Action Task Force, which was established in 1989, from 2001 it focussed on “combating terror financing”.
It maintains a Black and Grey list of countries whose financial monitoring, control and enforcement is regarded as weak or who are deemed to be non-co-operative on the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
South Africa is currently on the Grey List. Personal and business bank accounts can now be frozen at a whim by the banks.
Countries around the world adopted terrorism related laws almost in unison, in South Africa we have the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act of 2004 amended in 2022.
This world-wide collaboration of governments was truly remarkable, only during the Covid-19 Lockdown did we see greater coordination and collaboration between the world’s governments.
As if the world’s governments are demonically possessed by some dark and hidden power, leading them willy-nilly by the hand.
Remember, remember the 11 th of September 2001, when most of the world believed that two airplanes made of aluminium alloy sheets shaped into a hollow cylinder, crashed into two dense concrete and steel structures, the Twin Towers, causing them to collapse into heaps of dust and debris.
The airplanes hit the buildings at the top, yet the structures underneath collapsed, as if their very foundations were shattered.
Twenty-three years later, we face a destabilised Middle-East, followed by a Migrant Crisis that is threatening to tear Europe apart and down to its knees.
ISIS-Mozambique operates right on SA’s doorstep, 95 Libyan nationals were arrested and deported on suspicion of receiving military training in SA.
All this while SA is still on FAFT’s Grey List. The world-wide surveillance and police state, proliferated in the wake of 9/11, has remained, and is even gaining pace.
How I wish we could all remember the 11th of September 2001, logically and not through the lenses of the absurd.
As Voltaire the French Philosopher said, “Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities”.
Ricardo Maarman is the leader of Azania Peaceful Revolution and author of the book: ‘The Subversion of South Africa’ (available at xarrabooks.com)