25 Years After 9/11, Trump and the U.S. Have Moved on to Other Fears

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States has significantly shifted its focus from foreign terrorism, which once dominated national security policy, toward domestic extremism, mass violence and other threats.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks at the Pentagon on Friday, while former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden are expected to gather in New York to commemorate the attacks at Ground Zero.

The contrast reflects a broader change in American politics. The administrations of the four former presidents were shaped to varying degrees by the war on terrorism launched after 9/11. Under Trump, however, counterterrorism is no longer the central organizing principle of U.S. policy.

According to The New York Times, the threat environment confronting the United States has also changed. Domestic terrorism has become a greater concern, including the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year and antisemitic attacks against synagogues.

Trump has also broadened the definition of terrorism. His administration has designated drug cartels and transnational gangs as terrorist threats and has carried out military strikes against suspected cartel-linked boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The administration has also emphasized what it describes as violent left-wing extremism, while critics argue that right-wing extremism has received less attention.

Trump's administration has separately waged war against Iran, a major state sponsor of terrorism. However, the president has primarily framed the conflict as an effort to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons rather than as a campaign focused on dismantling Iran's network of regional proxies.

Nick Rasmussen, a former senior U.S. counterterrorism official who served under Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden, told The New York Times that terrorism no longer appears to be the administration's primary focus. He also warned that government cuts and reorganizations could weaken institutional expertise and resources.

Daniel Byman, director of the terrorism program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, similarly said counterterrorism no longer occupies the same central position in the president's daily agenda that it did under previous administrations.

The shift partly reflects the success of U.S. counterterrorism efforts since 9/11. The country has avoided another attack on the scale of the destruction of the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon. However, terrorism experts have warned that reduced attention could eventually create new vulnerabilities.

Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University terrorism scholar, told The Times that the United States faces a more complicated threat environment today, involving al-Qaeda, ISIS and its affiliates, Iranian networks and domestic extremists.

Public attitudes have also changed. A Reuters/Ipsos survey cited by The New York Times found that only 20 percent of Americans considered foreign terrorism the biggest threat to ordinary Americans. By comparison, 33 percent cited domestic terrorism and 42 percent identified random violence, including mass shootings, as the greatest threat.

The Trump administration's counterterrorism strategy, released in May, identifies three major categories of threats: narcoterrorists and transnational gangs, Islamist terrorist groups and violent left-wing extremists, including anarchists and antifascists.

The strategy represents a significant departure from the post-9/11 approach, which focused heavily on overseas militant organizations and U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump's decision to commemorate the 25th anniversary at the Pentagon rather than Ground Zero has also attracted attention. Unlike the traditional ceremony in New York, where political speeches are generally not delivered, Trump will be able to address the audience at the Pentagon.

Trump has rejected suggestions that his decision was motivated by a desire to give a speech. He said simply that he would be at the Pentagon and did not explain why he could not attend events in both locations.

The anniversary highlights the evolution of U.S. counterterrorism policy over the past quarter century—from a global campaign against al-Qaeda and other foreign militant groups to a broader and more politically contested focus that includes domestic extremism, organized crime, mass violence and state-sponsored threats.

For many Americans, the fear that dominated national life after 9/11 has receded. But terrorism experts continue to debate whether the decline in attention represents the natural result of improved security or risks creating complacency.

As Hoffman told The New York Times, whether the country has become weaker as terrorism has been given a lower priority is a question that only time will answer.

Source : Peter Baker, The Newyork Times