Remembering 9/11 and its impact here at home

Seventeen years ago, it was also a Tuesday and we were having our corporate worship at the Redemptorist Church with our charismatic organization Bukas Loob sa Diyos when my cellphone started blasting so many messages, I just had to open it…and I learned that one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center was hit by an airplane. Since we were almost done, I went home right away and turned on my TV and what I saw was something surreal, when another airplane struck and exploded in the other tower. The second plane hitting the second toward answered my nagging question whether or not the first one was an act of terrorism.

How the world has changed since 9/11 especially when the US attacked Iraq and Saddam Hussein and, at the end of the day, they did not find weapons of mass destruction. Sure they took out Saddam Hussein and eventually Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and it resulted in the so-called “Arab Spring” that removed the dictators of Egypt. Worse was the civil war in Syria which has brought Russia into the Middle East conflict, and yes, if you checked your Bible and read about the end of time prophecies you will be surprised to learn that the plains of Armageddon, which is in Israel, is not far from Syria.

Then after the US declared war against Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda and eventually killed him in Pakistan, another group surfaced calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the world has not rested. It was different in the days during World War I and World War II because there was total annihilation of states that occupied most of Europe, but since the days of 9/11, it’s been 17 years since we fought the War Against Terror. So the big question is will this ever end?

While we can say that the Philippines was not really affected by 9/11, the remnants of Al Qaeda and ISIS had its influence with certain groups within the Muslim communities here and in May last year, Marawi City was taken over by ISIS-inspired Muslim extremists who wanted to establish a caliphate in Marawi. Thankfully we had the right president in President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte who cancelled his Russian visit to attend to this threat to our security. In the end, the ISIS-inspired groups devastated Marawi City like what most of ISIS did in the Middle East countries, but at least they failed to establish a caliphate in the Philippines.

Four years ago, I went to New York City and visited the 9/11 Museum, where artifacts of that dreadful day are now considered a tourist destination. The Museum is situated at the bottom of the old Twin Towers where you can get a ticket for about $40 dollars. The 9/11 Museum has a growing permanent collection of artifacts, stories, photos, videos, and other materials that shape our shared history through interactive technology, archives, narratives, and a collection of artifacts. Learn about the two core exhibitions and see other areas of the 110,000 square feet of museum space. One of the most photographed artifacts is a Ladder 3 fire truck that was destroyed when the twin towers collapsed.

No, I won’t write about accounts of the 9/11 attack as I have already written this piece in this corner so many times already and through Google and other social media networks you can read and reread this story as everyone is going to write about that infamous incident.

While we submit that the effects of 9/11 reached our shores, at least the Armed Forces of the Philippines under President Duterte has attained a greater role in keeping the country away from Muslim extremists. Thankfully, because of the Marawi incident, the AFP was able to secure guns and ammunition from different countries. The US military, for instance, gave the country more bombs and ammunition from the US, while China and Russia gave us new arms. With President Duterte getting Cobra attack helicopters from Jordan, this military hardware will greatly help the AFP in future skirmishes between Muslim extremists or the New People’s Army.

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.

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