September 11 and the "War on Terror": Redefining Security

September 11 and the "War on Terror"

An Event That Changed World Politics

September 11, 2001 — a date that divides modern history. Nineteen hijackers from Al-Qaeda seized four airplanes. Two crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon. 2,977 dead. The whole world watched the skyscrapers fall live on television. The feeling of vulnerability for the sole superpower was unprecedented.

The US response: the "War on Terror" — invasion of Afghanistan (2001), invasion of Iraq (2003), the "Patriot Act" expanding state surveillance, "enhanced interrogations" (essentially — torture) in Guantanamo and CIA secret prisons. These decisions had long-term consequences for international law and America's reputation.

The Iraq war of 2003 — based on false intelligence about weapons of mass destruction — destabilized the Middle East for a decade, created conditions for the emergence of ISIS, and claimed around 200,000 civilian lives according to independent investigations.

The Great Recession of 2008

The global financial crisis of 2008 became the largest economic shock since the Great Depression. Causes: the mortgage bubble in the US (subprime lending), securitization of toxic debts (CDO, CDS), excessive leverage in the financial sector, regulatory failures.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers (September 15, 2008) — the "Lehman moment": an instant freeze of credit markets worldwide. Response: unprecedented government injections ("too big to fail"), zero interest rates for a decade, quantitative easing.

Political consequences: the growth of inequality became obvious ("we are the 99%", Occupy movement). Loss of trust in both economic and political elites. Soil for populism both right and left, Brexit and Trump.

Question for reflection: The year 2008 showed that "smart people" in complex systems can create catastrophic risks. How does your organization identify systemic risks embedded in "normal" operations?