20 Years Since the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001

A statement by ‘Il Partito Comunista’ (Florence) / ‘The Communist Party’

This month marks twenty years since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The workers of the United States can expect a flood of patriotic drivel to mark the anniversary. Indeed, September 11 remembrance is a cottage industry in the United States, encompassing everyone from the media personalities who drone on about the tragedy every year to the sensitive entrepreneurs who sell 9/11 mementos to tourists in New York City. One only needs to spend a few minutes at the World Trade Center Memorial in Manhattan to experience this ghoulish, sanctimonious, for-profit remembrance.

This twisted form of national memory obscures the real meaning of the attacks. The events of September 11 were of great world-historical significance. This fact is especially clear on their twentieth anniversary, as the United States’ occupation of Afghanistan crumbles in front of our eyes. The September 11 attacks represented the first obvious crack in United States imperial power after the end of the Cold War. It has continued to disintegrate in the two decades since, and now nears collapse.

The US Rout from Afghanistan

Statements and analyses from internationalist sources

The announced withdrawal by the USA and its allies from Afghanistan after 20 years of direct military presence has led to a takeover of the country by the Taliban with unprecedented speed in the last few weeks and days, leading, among others, to dramatic and chaotic scenes of mass flights that are presently reported in the world’s media by the hour. This blog post references and documents (first) statements by internationalist groups and circles on these events and their wider implications and significance. Continue to read an updated list of statements and analyses.

The editor, August 16, 2021.

Last updated: September 9, 2021.

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