September 11 attacks legacy reshaped global order and security

Discussions regarding the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks highlight the profound shifts in the global order and the enduring controversies surrounding the subsequent War on Terror.

During a seminar organized by the Institute of Policy Studies and Bahria University in Islamabad, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed argued that the attacks accelerated the decline of American unipolar dominance and reshaped the international security environment. Citing data from Brown University’s Costs of War study, he noted that the ensuing conflicts resulted in approximately $8 trillion in US expenditure, roughly one million direct deaths, and tens of millions of displaced people.

Parallel critiques focus on the transparency of the official narrative and the geopolitical aftershocks of the attacks. Concerns persist regarding the classification of FBI investigation documents and allegations that intelligence agencies withheld information. Critics and researchers continue to question the full extent of the attackers’ support networks and the impact of the military interventions that followed.