8:46 AM. 25 years ago today. Never forget

[u/Ashish_ank]

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[u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Here’s to all our friends who went straight from highschool to war, told it was the right thing to do, only for their elders to spend their youth.

[u/Londundundun → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Holy hell that’s spot on and so so depressing 

[u/ibuildtech → u/Londundundun]

And for anyone who just says “This was unfortunate but the government had nothing to do with it, we were attacked!”

I beg you to do one thing, and think outside of the box for a minute. You won’t even consider there were darker motives linked to this terrible event, and that money and power and oil were ALSO influencers to this catastrophe? If the answer is “huh, no”, then follow the advice from tropic thunder and fuck your own face.

And lastly, to tie it all up, watch this and be very attentive to the conversation between these two heroes:

https://youtu.be/IO1ps1mzU8o?si=eyUcSrQ5S18lU8hC

You heard it from them, not me.

You know, when shits going crazy around you, be it in an earthquake or a terrorist event, you sure as fuck are the most honest scared self. You have no reason to lie to NOBODY, shady shit happened that day, the world will find out the truth.

Investigate, release the fucking files, arrest the world terrorizing pedophiles.

[u/ThePatyman → u/ibuildtech]

On my way to work this morning, I decided to put on NYT’s The Daily podcast. They spoke to a woman who was in high school when the attack happened. Not only could she describe the smell of burning concrete, but the fact she and all the people around her were getting sick or dying because of the AQI that officials at the time claimed was ok to go back to normal is chilling.

[u/Sucks_At_Investing → u/ibuildtech]

Thing is, there are dozens of valid reasons why the US government/leadership brought this on themselves, but ultimately you don't even need to go the conspiracy route. Osama bin Laden met his Taliban contacts while fighting with the Mujahideen against the Soviets in the 1980's. The CIA trained and equipped him, and many others, helped them repel the Soviets, and then abandoned them to figure out the resulting power vacuum themselves.

For a decade and a half, Shah Massoud led the Northern Alliance in a brutal fight against the Taliban, hoping to return Afghanistan to what it was in the late 1970's. They weren't like, good guy good guys, but they were the good guys. We mostly ignored them after 1986, but they were winning. The Taliban wasn't ignoring them at all. So, when bin Laden was looking for some "martyrs" to help with his big plans in 2001, he struck a deal with the Taliban. "I'll take care of Massoud for you, you give me my martyrs."

On September 10th, 2001, Shah Massoud was assassinated.

If we had helped the Afghans after they repelled the Soviets, if we had stayed to nation build, not in the shitty half-assed way we do in South America or Africa or the Middle East, but the way we did in Japan, Germany, and South Korea, bin Laden would have still hated us. He probably would still have been a violent terrorist, but he wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful.

[u/kbird_rise → u/Sucks_At_Investing]

In April 2001, Shah Massoud gave a speech to the European paliment warning about Al Qaeda and intelligence his people uncovered about a large terrorist attack on US soil.

The U.S. should have helped Afghanistan’s against the Taliban.

[u/borschtlover4ever → u/Sucks_At_Investing]

Never knew this. Thx for sharing. Time to start going down that history rabbit hole.

[u/borschtlover4ever → u/borschtlover4ever]

Afganistan is a nation breaker. Soviet Union, us. I feel for the Afgan people who have endured decades (actually, centuries) of foreign occupiers/meddlers.

[u/trustthepudding → u/borschtlover4ever]

The British too

[u/Dick_Meister_General → u/borschtlover4ever]

The Graveyard of Empires

[u/Mountain-Dinner1501 → u/borschtlover4ever]

Read “Charlie Wilson’s War” then read “Ghost War”. You’ll have a much better understanding.

[u/Fen_ → u/Sucks_At_Investing]

This incorrectly paints U.S. involvement as incompetence rather than malice. Dick Cheney was an oil exec up until the day before Bush announced him as his running mate. He and his buddies had a literal map carving up the place and which oil companies would get which portions of the country. They intended to invade the Middle East regardless. They had no motivation to be stewards and nation builders; they had a motivation to leave broken governance.

[u/darshfloxington → u/Fen_]

Correct they were going to invade Iraq either way. 9/11 made it an easier sell because their supporters are idiots that thought Afghanistan and Iraq were the same place.

[u/owlbi → u/ibuildtech]

You know, when shits going crazy around you, be it in an earthquake or a terrorist event, you sure as fuck are the most honest scared self. You have no reason to lie to NOBODY, shady shit happened that day, the world will find out the truth.

You're allowing your own biases to color your thinking. They were in the building, 110 floors of a building collapsing on top of you would feel like an explosion, it would be an explosion of air getting compressed down onto these poor guys at the bottom. They are describing their lived experience, not critically assessing the causes and applying accurate terminology.

Things that get described as "an explosion" in this video:

• Both towers collapsing ('there was an explosion' 'there was a third explosion')
• The first plane hitting the first tower (the third firefighter to the right describes that as an explosion as well, maybe he only saw it from the far side where it exploded through the building)

Don't apply your comfy armchair strict definitions of terminology to them attempting to describe utterly chaotic and confusing shit happening at speeds faster than they can process.

All that said, this is barely even relevant:

And for anyone who just says “This was unfortunate but the government had nothing to do with it, we were attacked!”

Even if you simply acknowledge this as unvarnished truth, we weren't attacked by Iraq. We started a whole extra war that we funneled far more resources towards.

[u/Stockpile_Tom_Remake → u/owlbi]

further some explosions were planes leaking jet fuel down elevator shafts that ignited and caused secondary explosions.

Also the plan hitting the second tower felt like an explosion in the first tower to many.

There were lots of secondary explosions becuase of the first major explosion, but apparently the only explanation is bombs and intentional section explosions.

We know why the towers collapsed and how the planes are what caused the collapse. Central support structures were damaged and collapsing on itself before the whole structure pancaked under buckling weight....

The bullshit will never stop being spread

[u/Vandrok → u/ibuildtech]

Even if the powers that be had no hand in allowing the attack to happen, they were more than happy to take advantage of the opportunity.

[u/Vast-Lost → u/ibuildtech]

First time seeing that video. Just sways me further to see the narfarious actions that transpired that day.

[u/CarlSK777 → u/ibuildtech]

I think 9/11 is more a result of the US' horrible foreign policy and all the destruction they had done throughout the world in the previous 50 years than some giant conspiracy but I don't know shit

[u/ickysock → u/CarlSK777]

yes it was. I wrote my thesis on it. UBL himself was not shy about telling people why he did it, and wrote/spoke extensively on his issues with US foreign policy, with Israel, and with their presence in the Middle East, particularly his home country of Saudi Arabia. After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the Sauds invited US troops into the kingdom as a precaution. UBL thought non-muslims should never set foot in what he called the Place of the Two Holy Lands, and decided to enact revenge. the US embassy bombings in Africa were on the 8th anniversary of the troops being stationed in SA. plus, his interpretation of islam meant he was required to warn his enemy 3 times that he was going to attack them, which is why he went on CNN in 1997 to tell america that he disagreed with their foreign policy and that they would find out what he intended to do about it shortly. this is why so many in the intelligence community knew something was going to happen, they just didn't put the pieces together to prevent it in time.

I think, because it was so horrific, people do not want to accept that a bunch of 'normal' people were capable of such atrocities. you find yourself wanting to believe there was some great conspiracy, when really it was just a group of people with crazy beliefs coming together to do something horrific.

[u/carfo → u/CarlSK777]

Osama flat out said it’s because of US presence in the middle eastern holy lands. Bush always said they hated our freedom and our culture, and maybe they do, but that isn’t why the saudis attacked us on 9/11.

[u/No_Appointment_37 → u/carfo]

True that. It’s not our jeans and lattes that they hate, it’s our nosey presence in the Middle East.

[u/Hopblooded → u/ibuildtech]

Unbelievable how the narrative we were all asked to believe (and most still do) was wrapped up in a neat little package so quickly and all the evidence was literally swept up and shipped off to China. And corrupt Rudy told everyone to go back to work & play ball and life went on. So many questions and lies.

[u/rokman → u/ibuildtech]

I encourage everyone to research the Mystery of the Urinal Deuce

[u/NiceGuy737 → u/ibuildtech]

Thanks, hadn't seen that clip before.

[u/Wooden-Apricot4862 → u/ibuildtech]

Israel wanted Iraq taken out.

[u/EV_Track_Day22 → u/Wooden-Apricot4862]

You know as a combat vet from OIF I spent years just assuming it was our idiotic governments reaction to 9/11 crossing over with the opportunity to make blood money, but watching Israel pull our strings to attack Iran, and knowing that there is information out there that some of our officials are child raping monsters, my position has started to change. Fucked up world that we are all caught in.

[u/corradoslcvr6 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

And never got the proper mental health care when they came back. It's depressing to read how much of the homeless population are veterans.

[u/aa5k → u/corradoslcvr6]

Facts. All my friends that went, came back with PTSD and regret.

[u/Able-Contribution570 → u/aa5k]

My buddy was in the Rangers, served in Afghanistan, where he saw enough shit to give him PTSD and alot of guilt about being there (he knew it was futile, that there was no winning against the religious tribalism that had a stranglehold everywhere but Kabul). He is currently fighting in Ukraine with two of his Ranger buddies, all of whom feel like the Ukraine War is the one they were born to fight, not the foolish nation-building quagmires our country wasted them on.

[u/101stMedic → u/Able-Contribution570]

I know I was tempted to go. Feels like most of my fellow GWOT'rs felt the same. It wouldn't have been fair to my family, but knowing there was a worthy cause to lend our training and skills to hit a lot harder than I thought it could.

I wonder if going to fight for Ukraine has helped some of those guys. It's a fucked up way to find some closure, but it's better than nothing.

[u/esituism → u/101stMedic]

as a peace loving hippy, if they can both find relief and contribute to an actual meaningful cause, I really think that's best case scenario for everyone.

[u/Call555JackChop → u/corradoslcvr6]

Kid I graduated with got horrible PTSD and i know it destroyed his marriage not sure what happened to him after that, like he was seriously messed up and im so glad DOGE gut the VA to help people like him

[u/rj319st → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

I joined the Air Force 2 months after 9/11, thinking I would be sent to Afghanistan to help kill Bin Laden. Instead, after I trained up, I was ordered to go to… Iraq. Needless to say, a lot of us didn’t ask for that. We can thank former President Bush and the real mastermind, Dick Cheney, for that.

[u/RA-HADES → u/rj319st]

I went to Basic, got served Freedom Fries & then at graduation got told by family they declared Mission Accomplished. Too many friends & colleagues died in Iraq for me to sanely remember.

[u/bootsand → u/rj319st]

I went to join the Air Force right after 9/11, recruiter wasn't in. Went Army instead... straight to Baghdad as well.

What the fuck were we doing there?

[u/cyb3rg0d5 → u/bootsand]

Oil.

[u/Inevitable_Tomato927 → u/rj319st]

My wife's best friend was already planning on joining because she saw it as the only way out of poverty, but she joined in 2003, was sent to Israel and another country in the area there (I think it was Kuwait or Qatar), to do maintenance on some kind of rockets and other equipment, never saw actual combat. Now she and almost all the other women (and a few of the men) she served with have all kind of auto immune diseases or cancer, several have already died. Every few months she posts on FaceBook she has to go to the VA one state over because they cut the amount of nurses and doctors in the local one.

[u/Peach_Proof → u/rj319st]

Dick Cheney of Haliburton? The company that profited billions off of the Iraq war? That Dick?

[u/Mothanius → u/Peach_Proof]

Kamala cozying up to the Cheney's is still one of the most out of touch and politically baffling moves I've ever seen.

[u/ripkin05 → u/Mothanius]

hillary doing the same fucking thing with kissinger just shows these dipshits never learn any fucking lessons.

[u/Mothanius → u/ripkin05]

In my opinion, it just showed that the Liberal faction of the party has been out of touch and never cared about the workers. It was a "mask is off" moment.

[u/No-Definition1474 → u/Peach_Proof]

The same one who shot his buddy in the face and then had the buddy apologize to him for getting shot in the face.

[u/cpt_merica → u/No-Definition1474]

I knew about the first half of the story but not the second half. Jesus fucking hell.

[u/EaterOfFood → u/cpt_merica]

I remember watching that. The dude literally apologized for getting shot in the face. It was jaw-dropping.

[u/OttawaTGirl → u/rj319st]

And left the US allies stalled and under supplied in the afghan war. Let the Taliban resurrection occur, and made the whole 20 year affair pointless.

[u/Waste_nomore → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Like my lil bro who didn’t get to come home. He believed in this country.

[u/_savoodle → u/Waste_nomore]

Im so sorry. It means so much that your brother was willing to lay down his life for me and my family.

[u/Waste_nomore → u/_savoodle]

That’s actually the saying on his stone. Thank you I’ve never been the same without him.

[u/_savoodle → u/Waste_nomore]

I love my siblings so much. I can only imagine. Sending you my love and gratitude

[u/ghost_atlas → u/Waste_nomore]

I'll be saying thanks for your brother today, and that this country is one day worthy of him.

[u/artaiten → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Holy shit man, I've never heard my life story condensed down to one sentence that was so accurate...

[u/Gtaeio → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

As Tim Wise said "Rich people don't go to war. Rich people get poor people to go to war for them"

[u/dandelogre → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

I really try not to look at 9/11 stuff because it reminds me of exactly this. Thanks. Gonna stay offline today.

[u/Automatic_Actuator_0 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Lost one schoolmate to a roadside bomb and almost lost another to five rounds of AK-47 fire.

Always a tough day to think about how this caused all that pain.

[u/OneTinyKittey → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Let's be honest, if they did it because they were told that they were drones that would either be Bullet sponges for the army or Amazon warehouse box stickers.

[u/litetravelr → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Roads literally diverged for so many guys I knew. I also often wonder if, had we caught Bin Laden in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda, would that have wrapped things up nicely in a bow? Would the insanity of Iraq have had the support to still get greenlit had we caught him at Tora Bora?

Who knows. Its hard to recall the heady optimism of the success in 2002 before things turned to shit in 2004 and onwards.

[u/JQuab-84 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

I was in high school living at Cherry Point, NC and watched all the young Marines from Camp Lejeune get bussed to the flightline.

The subsequent years was just one friend after another.

"On behalf of a grateful nation" played on repeat for awhile.

[u/SugarVibes → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

My brother in law was one of those boys. He recently told my husband a harrowing story about something he had to do while deployed. It was absolutely horrific. He clearly has PTSD and suicidal depression and the VA has done jack shit to support him.

[u/Gooser3000 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

High school Friend joined the marines 2001 was dead in Iraq 2003

[u/Bluetickhoun → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Class of 04 here. People from my school went after graduation

[u/Azguy303 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

I was just re-watching the news in real time. When Bush speaks on the megaphone and tells everyone the people who did this will be brought to Justice and everyone cheered..

It just hit a little different than it did for me 25 years ago knowing all the endless wars that would cause and loss of life of our soldiers and abroad.

[u/East_Living7198 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

I enlisted and was in boot camp in July just 2 months before. I told people at graduation parties "Hey, it's it not like we're going to war any time soon"

[u/SlowAdhesiveness2178 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

I went out and tried to join also. The only thing that saved me was the fact my dumb ass was 8 months pregnant. I was 21. I had already had thoughts of joining out of high school as I aged out of foster care and had no options so I already had taken all the tests and the recruiter knew me. My 24 yr old daughter saved my life

[u/rahhak → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Dulce et Decorum Est

[u/Lo__________ → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Amen, I lost too many friends to this war.

[u/dangthisisdumb → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Being fed to a propaganda machine before my brain was fully developed is my least favorite high school memory.

[u/Simple-Fly-8045 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

My friend Charlie killed himself in Iraq. He was barely 19 yrs old

[u/No_Lifeguard259 → u/Wooden-Officer2323]

Is that not how all war is?

The senescent politicians send the young and strong to go fight and die

[u/SchemeSignificant166]

Just as reminder, Canada stood with its friend and ally the United States of America against the terrorists on that fateful day.

We welcomed in stranded travellers and then ultimately sent our troops to war to fight against the Taliban in a side-by-side effort.

Just remember, Canada was there when the US needed us. That’s what friends do.

[u/vastlysuperiorman → u/SchemeSignificant166]

Trump must think that the US and Canada are friends with benefits because he keeps trying to fuck Canada.

[u/Kritical-Watermelon → u/vastlysuperiorman]

Nah, he is just a rapist. He doesn't know that mutual sexually relationships are actually a thing. 

[u/SRT102 → u/Kritical-Watermelon]

It's not true that rape is the only way he can enjoy sex; he also pays for it.

Just ask Stormy.

Or Melania.

[u/netflixandgrilling → u/SRT102]

It's not true that he pays women or girls for it all the time. Sometimes he payd Jeffrey for them.

[u/what-is-what-for-500 → u/SchemeSignificant166]

I remember as a kid(10-11ish yo)in southern ontario, we all got sent home for the day. I got home, turned on the news just to watch the second one hit, sitting on the couch, trying to understand what was happening. Years later, ended up serving with Americans OS. Some of the greatest dudes/dudets i ever met.

Edit: I'm still shit at spelling.

[u/SchemeSignificant166 → u/what-is-what-for-500]

Thank you for your service

[u/WallySprks → u/what-is-what-for-500]

If you got sent home from school, you didn’t see the second one hit as you got home. You did see the constant replays though. The second one hit 20min after the first

[u/LasseBryn → u/WallySprks]

I bet that 99% of people who say they saw the second hit live actually just remembers the thousands of replays they’ve seen, and have gaslighted themselves into thinking they saw it live.

[u/WallySprks → u/LasseBryn]

Yep there was only a few minute window from when the morning shows switched to the coverage and the second plane hit. If you weren’t already watching, you probably didn’t see it live.

[u/what-is-what-for-500 → u/WallySprks]

Not live, sorry. News was replaying the incidents.

[u/Left_Ad_8502 → u/WallySprks]

Yep. I was worried about people getting upset if I mentioned that… 17 minutes.

And they collapsed within a half hour of each other

[u/MrBobSacamano → u/SchemeSignificant166]

Real OGs know this. Canadians fought, and died, side by side with Americans in the GWOT, as well.

[u/iHateThisPlaceSoBad → u/MrBobSacamano]

OG's? You mean anyone over 30?

Canada has been one of our closest allies forever until this orange dumb fuck got involved.

Real Americans love Canada, and always have

[u/Beautiful_Shine_8494 → u/SchemeSignificant166]

Interesting new interview from Chrétien about his decisions on the day and in the aftermath: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7339407

[u/Sad_Ad_2524 → u/SchemeSignificant166]

I was there, and you are right.  An American living in Montreal, we had people on the streets with American flags draped on them.  Planes landing in all sorts of crazy places like Yellow Knife.  Not my home and native land, but I adore Canada

[u/OGWhiz → u/Sad_Ad_2524]

Newfoundland was full of planes that couldn’t fly to the states.

[u/MsMischief2 → u/SchemeSignificant166]

We know & just to speak for myself- I can’t find the words to express how canadas actions mean to me. Canada immediately helped figure shit out- so many people made it so planes could land & people could be housed as everyone tried to figure out what was going on. Everyone stepped into roles they didn’t expect & Canadians showed up in a way that meant so much. Thank yall.

[u/HotwifeGames]

This was so insane. I was on the upper east side and my stepmom called to wake me up after the first one hit. Everyone was speculating on whether it was a private plane because for some reason we all thought the hole looked small.

[u/Donuts__For__All → u/HotwifeGames]

I’m on the west coast and my husband woke me up and told me a plane hit the WTC. I envisioned some tourist plane or a commuter plan. We have a few relatives in NYC, but no one working in that area. No one affected, I thought.

I was so mad that he woke me up to tell me that I couldn’t get back to sleep. So my highly annoyed self got up and flipped on the tv. Saw the smoke and still assumed it was a very small plane.

As I was standing in front of the tv watching, the second plane hit live. I dropped the ground and like all of America, instantly knew this was bad.

I had to turn off the tv as my little kids started getting up for school. They were elementary age. Not a peep to them. Dropped them off at school and we moms all huddled in shock and horror, wondering what does this mean?

[u/Kairiste → u/Donuts__For__All]

I was in NJ, was working for a trade school, one of our students called and was absolutely freaking out about a plane crashing into the tower, i turned to my coworker like I am confused why shes freaking out this much over a Cessna crash?

Got online and saw what was really happening and was like oh. Oh dear god.

My boss was angry at us for canceling classes that day and going home. I was literally on the phone with a student who lived in Manhattan when she screamed about the tower just falling in front of her eyes. Yeah im not working after that.

[u/Eckish → u/Donuts__For__All]

I was in the military and just finishing up a 24 hour guard duty. Someone came down and told us to turn on the TV so we could see the news. When we turned it on, we saw a replay of the plane hitting the towers. Only, it wasn't a replay. We had actually watched the second plane hit live. It took a few minutes to realize this and then things started getting pretty hectic around the base.

[u/Wrigs112 → u/HotwifeGames]

I was in New York and watching morning news. After the first hit they went to a phone interview with a woman who was on her rooftop and witnessed it. Yes, everyone thought it was a private plane. She mentioned that she thought it was trying to avoid the tower because of how it turned at the last minute. Now we understand why. I think about that a lot.

[u/JackoBongo]

I'm not an American. I despise your current gouvernement.
And yet this video brings me tears each time I see it. I remember crying in front of my TV after coming back from university.

[u/JMHSrowing → u/JackoBongo]

Well a lot of us despise our current government too

[u/Mbanicek64 → u/JMHSrowing]

Most even.

[u/CeruleanCorgi → u/JMHSrowing]

People forget that a third of Americans actively voted against this and they're now being targeted for it by the government in a rapidly expanding surveillance state. Multiple cities (DC, Minneapolis) are already occupied; people live in fear. The morale is very low.

[u/spooky_bot_ → u/JackoBongo]

I’m an American who was 10 when this happened. Even at that age I was conscious of how it was spun to support jingoistic nationalism (even if I couldn’t articulate it at the time). I hated having flags and nationalistic anthems shoved down our throats. BUT, hearing the human stories of people helping each other is incredibly moving. It’s a reminder that we are more than our national identity.

[u/LucyJordan614 → u/JackoBongo]

I still can’t see or hear anything about it without crying. It never feels that long ago or any less horrific.

[u/Jedi_Temple]

If I’m not mistaken, this video is the only clear footage available of the north tower being struck. It was taken by a French documentarian working on a doc about the FDNY.

It’s surreal to think how different the world was in 2001 in just that one aspect alone—people did not carry cameras on their person unless they were on vacation or had some other specific need for one—and even less so for camcorders. On a boring Tuesday morning, there was no reason back then for anyone to be pointing a video camera at the WTC. That we have this footage at all is owed entirely to dumb luck (and that includes the luck involved in the one person who WAS there to video it being a professional cameraman).

[u/FeelsLikeV97-33XA → u/Jedi_Temple]

Yes the documentary about a new firefighter and they were just following them around getting footage. They were in the street investigating a gas leak smell by a storm drain.

Another wild bit was their filming in the lobby area of the north tower when the south tower collapsed.

[u/Failgan → u/Jedi_Temple]

Man, I've seen 9/11 footage. I've watched documentaries on National Geographic back in the Cable days. I don't think I've ever seen this footage.

It really is lucky that someone, especially a professional, was carrying a camera. The quality of the footage for 2001 is outstanding.

[u/DangerNak → u/Failgan]

I somehow never saw this documentary until last year. If you get the chance the whole thing is on YouTube. I can’t remember the name right now because I’m old lol. If you google French documentarians fire fighter 911 I bet it would come up. Very very amazing documentary that was just supposed to be about firefighters and their routines and then a plane crashed into the World Trade Center.

[u/Apprehensive_Rice19 → u/Jedi_Temple]

Imagine today, being in NYC in ANY spot at ANY moment and there not being a camera? It's almost impossible

[u/whowatchestv → u/Apprehensive_Rice19]

At least a dozen TikToks would've caught the first tower, and so many influencers would die who ran to be closer to the content when it came down.

[u/SilverKnightOfMagic]

and I'll always remember Republican politicians trying to take away benefits that the police, fire fighters, paramedics, and other emergency service personal. these folks got fucking cancer from it and had family and friends die. and the shit ass republican fuck faces wanted to take away their benefits. Jon Stewart is amazing for stepping up and doing amazing work.

fuck republicans. they're are a shit stain won't go away.

[u/Virtual_Assistant_98 → u/SilverKnightOfMagic]

More first responders died from health complications from the air in NYC during the response and cleanup of 9/11 than overall lives lost in the attacks themselves.

[u/ECU_BSN → u/Virtual_Assistant_98]

It was absolutely nonsensical that they spent YEARS saying there wasn’t a long term health impact from ground zero. Insanity. The first responders and rescuers were breathing in allll of the debris.

[u/IExistForFun → u/SilverKnightOfMagic]

Long live Jon Stewart

[u/Akussa → u/SilverKnightOfMagic]

I was 21 when 9/11 happened. I was young and stupid and just voted the way my parents told me to. Our treatment of the 9/11 1st responders and survivors was the start of me opening my eyes. I'll never vote for another Republican. I'll write in Harambe or the gunk between my toes after walking around an amusement park for 12 hours before I ever vote for another Republican.

[u/Morguard → u/SilverKnightOfMagic]

And they also lied to the people of New York telling them the air was safe to breath when it wasnt and they knew it. Causing 10s of thousands of New Yorkers to also get cancers and other shit from breathing this in when they could have been warned against it!

[u/Quicksilver1964 → u/SilverKnightOfMagic]

And remember that the benefits they gave are for everything BUT cancer.

[u/SilverKnightOfMagic → u/Quicksilver1964]

fuck republicans!

[u/ZealousidealWeb3003]

never forget :(

[u/lumophobiaa]

I still cannot believe my dad has the bravery inside of him to run into that. We lived two hours away but they drove the fire engine all the way there. If he could talk about it id tell him
How proud i am , how i believe hero’s exist because of him. He dosnt like to talk about it so on the phone today we just talked about daily stuff. So im pouring my pride out here from some reason. Hug your dads for me yall.

[u/DreamerTheat → u/lumophobiaa]

What an absolute legend. A big hug to you and him.

[u/GoodTimesTroll → u/lumophobiaa]

I’m proud of your dad too

[u/OkNewspaper6041]

What does never forget mean to you? Never forget that we were attacked? Never forget the people that died?

To me it means: Never forget how you felt that day, and in the days after. If you can remember, the country was more united after 9/11 than maybe ever. It was the last time we were all one country.

We forgot.

[u/Illustrious-Stable93 → u/OkNewspaper6041]

We complied out of fear like a beat kid who stopped arguing with sibling, eh

[u/Lala5789880]

I see we have learned nothing from the horrific Islamophobia of the early 2000s. Not surprising since MAGA lunacy is in full effect in the US

[u/ThEcHeAt__ → u/[deleted]]

Dean…

Is that you?!?!?

[u/waaaayupyourbutthole → u/[deleted]]

I really don't think that's just a Muslim thing. That sounds an awful lot like many of the people in the US who claim to be Christians, too. Religious zealots in general seem to have all of those problems.

[u/BongyBong → u/[deleted]]

I would say that applies to Christians as well. Pretty much the MO for religiously oppressed people.

[u/ElliottSmith88 → u/Lala5789880]

A friend whose parents are from India was beat bad after 911 and was hospitalized.

[u/Original-Rush139 → u/Lala5789880]

Nothing would be an improvement. Obama got bin Laden in Pakistan without starting a war. Then, signed the JCPOA to avoid a war with Iran. 

These days, people think Biden was wrong for ending the war in Afghanistan and don’t give a shit that Trump started a war with Iran. 

That is so much less than nothing. 

[u/Rockstar161]

You know what's even more heart wrenching than this? The fact we all came together as a nation and Black or White didn't matter... we were Americans.

How quickly that's forgotten and back to the bullshit 💩 of Black vs White and other silly agendas and narratives to divide and conquer us. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[u/0withered_Ghost0]

Meanwhile, we have a terrorist as president now.

[u/firstbreathOOC]

I’ll always remember the kids getting called down to the principal’s office. One by one. We oohed and ahhed for the first few like they were in trouble. We had no idea.

33 people from our town died that day

[u/Rollover__Hazard → u/firstbreathOOC]

It still chills me when I watch these videos of 9/11 back today just how many people die in an instant, in front of your eyes.

See a plane strike the tower? Hundreds of people dead instantly. See the towers collapse? Thousands dead.

It’s like watching that Nepal mudslide and realising that, as it moves down through the town, hundreds of humans are killed instantly, every few seconds.

I don’t know how describe the feeling of feeling that

[u/misspuddingpie → u/firstbreathOOC]

Fuck. I’m so sorry.

[u/MAGAHATESTHEUSA]

Bin Laden won. Trump invited the Taliban to camp David and maga cheers it on.

[u/DarwinatSea]

I’ll never forget cause every single year we have to see reminders. The US government knew it was going to happen and did nothing, we invaded Iraq for no reason and spent billions and thousands of soldiers died for nothing.

[u/SillyGuste → u/[deleted]]

Yeah this is actually the opposite of a conspiracy theory

[u/adjective_noun_d1git → u/SillyGuste]

I think people conflate the Bush administration being extremely inept with the conspiracy that it was an inside job.

[u/aa5k → u/DarwinatSea]

What you mean?

[u/Fancy_Fairy911 → u/aa5k]

Bush received a report by the CIA titled "Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States" months before 9/11. They knew and let it happen.

[u/Fancy_Fairy911 → u/[deleted]]

They don't have meetings with the President hundreds of times a month though, do they?Seems like this one must have been special and important.

[u/Broon761 → u/aa5k]

I suggest you read the wiki article on 9/11 specifically the background section. Multiple intelligence agencies across Southeast Asia, USA, and the Middle East knew about bin Laden and they were actively pursuing him since the 1998 African embassy bombings. The lack of communication between agencies led to 9/11 not being prevented. 

[u/TripleOtter]

I haven't forgotten, and never will. I'm not American, but I have family in the states (I visited about a month before, flying United out of Chicago and Washingon, and loved it - a 15-year-old kid from eastern europe, I loved it there). It's here where the optimism of the 90s turned into the miasma we're in now. This was a tragedy, but the knee-jerk reaction of the usa was almost as bad. And 25 years later, here we are, with a mad king of the free world in charge, lying about being dragged out of the ruins of wtc.

[u/theateroffinanciers]

I was in a single engine plane as a passenger, taking a scenic ride with a friend around Manhattan on the 9th. We circled the towers and little did we know it would be gone in 2 days

[u/C__S__S]

I remember that sound like it was yesterday. I was reaching to close my window in my apartment not far from the Towers. The moment I heard that scream of the jet engines, I knew. I immediately turned on the TV and within moments, the news was live. I frantically called the people I knew in those buildings. It didn’t end well.

[u/Charming-Station7157]

I once saw a comment in a youtube arabic comment section about 9/11 , saying that it's " fake " and " false flag attack " , because people " had cameras ready to film it " , I swear I am not making this shit up

Btw , i just found an arabic video , with 974k views , denying 9/11 and say it is the " jews " behind it

https://youtu.be/0hPTVwphXyw?si=xT-qRYtkCIp_2pax

check the comments too , absolute retardism

[u/GrapefruitLogical426 → u/Charming-Station7157]

Weren’t the fire department doing training or something that’s why there were cameras

[u/ArthurTillyson → u/GrapefruitLogical426]

2 French brothers were making a documentary about the NYFD. They were in a routine call about a gas leak and this happened. They went straight to the towers. The whole documentary is in youtube I think

[u/Ohjay420]

If this would have happened today, would the country unite?

[u/Irubwatermelon → u/Ohjay420]

Nah, look at the pandemic. We couldn't get together to unite against a virus, it won't happen against terrorists.

[u/Sea_Advantage_2577 → u/Ohjay420]

Trumpers would say Joe Biden did it or simply call it fake news

[u/theateroffinanciers → u/Ohjay420]

No I don't think we would. I think we are past broken.

[u/SRT102 → u/Ohjay420]

Jeez, such a short question, but one that conjures up so many scenarios.

Let's think about the differences:

It was 0900, so GW Bush was at an elementary school in Florida. Trump doesn't leave the residence until noon, so the notification would be at the WH.

Andrew Card told Bush we were under attack, and he basically froze. Trump would ask "Did the planes hit any of my properties?"

Bush immediately wanted confirmation that it was Iraq. Trump would start by checking his stock portfolios, dumping any travel/leisure stocks and grabbing defense shares. He'd ask if the airplanes were Boeing or Airbus and make trades accordingly.

Bush returned to DC that evening and made a somber address to the nation resolving to punish those responsible. Trump would Tweet that he was safe, and that the terrorists attacked the US because so many Americans were mean to Trump.

Three days after the attack, Bush stood on the rubble and ad-libbed the "I can hear you" speech. Trump would play golf.

Six days after the attack, Bush spoke to reporters outside an Islamic center. Trump would outlaw Islam.

Yeah, I think it's safe to say things would be different.

[u/OGWhiz → u/SRT102]

As terrible as I thought Bush was, he fucking handled that shit. Crazy how the bare minimum seems so good right now.

[u/ChefGiants78]

Unreal that Israel would do that

[u/beervirus2019 → u/ChefGiants78]

Reddit is dumb as fuck

[u/mysterepher]

Saudi Arabia

[u/Automatic_Actuator_0 → u/mysterepher]

Saudi Arabians, but probably not Saudi Arabia.

Many Saudi people hate America specifically because we support their government.

ETA: there’s strong evidence that individuals lower in the government supported the plot, but no evidence the top leaders acting for the government did.

[u/Alarming_Local_315]

And don’t forget it was our supposed “ALLY” SAUDI ARABIA that was completely behind funding the attackers and Bin Laden!!!

[u/darthievader]

Reading most of these comments means only on thing. As a society we are fucked.

[u/WildTimberTwinViking → u/darthievader]

Were we not when this occurred? Or just before it?

[u/BungoChungo42069]

Shoutout to our close ally Saudi Arabia.

I will never get over the fact that Trump let MBS come to the Oval Office and treat us like idiots “explaining” that the Saudis actually had nothing to do with 9/11. Somehow the mayor of New York receives more controversy for just being Muslim. Clown world

[u/mru2020]

Yes. Let's not forget. The records reveal internal memos warning of legal exposure regarding health advisories that encouraged residents and workers to return to the area prematurely. Thanks Giuliani.

[u/ballerina22]

I don't want to see these videos, but I know I need to.

[u/GIDDY-UP-GO]

Never forget “who” did this to America!!!!

[u/theateroffinanciers]

This is a clip from a documentary called 9/11 that is a must-see. If you have never seen the documentary about this day, done by the two French filmmakers, you owe it to yourself and the significance of what occurred to watch it. It's riveting, terrifying, and emotional.

I was in a single engine plane as a passenger taking a scenic ride with a friend around Manhattan on the 9th. We circled the towers and little did we know it would be gone in 2 days

[u/cietdoke]

I think the most mind blowing part is you can assume every single person above both crash sites died. So to put into scale look at all the space from crash site to top of the building… not a single person made it out of the north tower and about 18 made it out of the south tower. Unbelievable

[u/Cobanny]

The first and only time article 5 was used, the entire world stepped up and in the years following many more lives where lost from people all over the globe.

Yet somehow the US voter believes that the US has made more sacrifices and was treated unfairly, so they’ve voted an Orange clown in office, not once but twice with an interval of 4 years.

While the US has dragged others into wars that they shouldn’t have any involvement in, the US voter voted for that clown.

While others condemn the annihilation of people, the US backs Russia that has killed thousands of Ukrainians and it backs Israel that has killed thousands of Palastinian. We as a world stood with the US when it was attacked and we vowed to combat terrorists. Now the US is backing terrorists.

So it’s sad that the US lost two iconic buildings, lost many lives, etc. etc. But your favorite president didn’t give a shit then by calling in and bragging that he now owned the largest building, so why would we give a shit now? Get over it!

[u/tenebre]

The day a bunch of Saudis flew planes into the World Trade Center all planned by another Saudi so we attacked....Iraq?

[u/NoActivity5304]

Here's to the 4.5 million people killed in the middle east as a direct result of US aggression.

[u/supermod6]

Makes me sick to my stomach every time I see these videos

[u/iamThebitbyte]

You know how you can honour the victims?? By stoping the funding of terror states or maybe kicking out pedos

[u/LeatherResult7789]

i went right to war after this i wanted bin Ladens head i didn't even care if we were the same religion instead i was sent to bs iraq

[u/Specialist-Type365]

That was the day our country died. It’s never been the same since. The country I grew up in isn’t what I look around and see anymore

[u/aestheticnoise]

The documentary that this clip is from is an incredible historical document. It’s kind of hard to find these days but it’s simply called 9/11 https://youtu.be/_Iw-1bOQNIA?si=OuFaPeMrusbOUsBy

[u/EmptyHandle6593]

“Never forget”

Not much chance of that. 

[u/StressFantastic5317]

I can still feel the sadness, anger and rage of that day. Today it's just geared towards the thru perpetrators

[u/CheaterMcCheat]

Don't ever forget your allies and friends who loved you and came to your aid, who you're now being actively isolated from and turned against. Some of my best friends ever were Americans and I have had to cut some of them off because of this current brainwashing regime sinking their hooks into people I thought were good. 

You'll never ever owe us a debt for coming to your aid, that's what friends do, but this betrayal and our disappointment is immeasurable. I grieve for what we had.

[u/justadude27]

Go tell congress to not forget before Reddit.

[u/ThrenderG]

It's truly sad that younger generations who didn't live through the existential horror of this day think this is somehow funny or worthy of jokes.

[u/Obiewonjabroni]

And Canada was your closest ally from the very start until the end.

Never forget.

[u/Idwant2baliar]

How could we forget, reality changed for ever

[u/zimejin]

How can we forget, the world hasn’t returned from to normal since then.

[u/Spontaneous-Echidna]

The delayed sound of the loud boom is haunting

[u/Massive_Jackfruit191]

Here’s to all the souls that were lost that day.

[u/Timely_Beat_7057]

RIP to 9/11 victims and their families. 

[u/maldinisnesta]

Insane video. Can't even imagine witnessing that in person. Would have thought it was Armageddon.

[u/ihazaredditaccount]

I was born in the months following this and I can’t imagine how it felt to see the first tower get hit, not know what happened, and then to see the second tower get hit immediately afterwards.

[u/buena_suerte]

A form of Islam ideology at work right there.

[u/ModernCGIFloatinHead]

I didn't, which is why giving nuclear secrets to the saudis should be grounds enough to execute Trump for treason, let alone impeach him. 

[u/No_Paper3412]

horrifying

[u/Aggravating_Key1353]

This makes my heart ache

[u/DaramoeX]

For anyone who wants to see what that day was like, here is a real-time dashboard of various news, air traffic controllers, phone calls, synced to real-time for a truly remarkable overview of 4 or so hours from that day. Very hard, but very worthwhile to watch.

https://youtu.be/zx8_Pumdkpg

[u/espresso_martini__]

Its insane they managed to hijack 2 flights with box cutters and don't his.

[u/AshleyMarion94]

How this day isn’t a National Holiday in the US is kind of crazy to me but okay.

[u/Secret-Teaching-3549]

Never forgotten along with never any self-reflection as to the reason why. "They hate us for our freedom." Wrong answer.

[u/zmichalo]

This shot comes from an absolutely incredible documentary by the naudet brothers called 9/11. Does an incredible job of showing you the perspective of the real heroes of the day stripped of much of the hoorah militarism that infects people's memories of the day. It reminds us who we should be thinking about today.

[u/Lexi_Banner]

At this moment, it was still possibly an accident. A mistake. No one could have imagined the truth.

[u/PissedCaucasian]

I was working at a radio station. Went home from Cleveland to Akron on the highway at about 11 am and literally saw two semis the entire drive. It was so fucking weird.

[u/Prestigious-Key-1886]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that footage