EDITORIAL: What we didn’t learn from 9/11

The Taliban is back in charge. Women in Afghanistan once again have no hope, no future.

Published Sep 09, 2026  •  Last updated 9 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Afghan women hold placards as they march to protest for their rights, in Kabul on April 29, 2023. Photo by Getty Images /Getty Images

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As we approach the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it’s fitting to assess just what we learned from that tragic day.

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Al Qaeda was intent on bringing down the pillars of the democratic world. In Afghanistan, which had harboured the terrorists, the Taliban ruled with an iron fist. Women and young girls were denied their basic rights by a cruel, misogynistic culture.

Then everything changed. And yet it didn’t. For a brief time, the world rallied around the U.S. in the fight against global terror. For the first and only time in the history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the U.S. invoked Article 5. When one state is attacked, we are all attacked.

In a display of support for our neighbour, Canada joined in the war on terror.

More than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan; 158 lost their lives there. They made a difference. Women and girls saw their lives improve. They went to school, they took part in sports. They could play music. Then all that stopped with the chaotic withdrawal of Western forces in August, 2021. The Taliban is back in charge. Women in Afghanistan once again have no hope, no future.

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What’s deeply troubling is that a significant portion of civilized Western society now sides with a nihilistic culture that cruelly represses women and others who don’t fit their narrow societal hierarchy.

After the attacks on Israel by Hamas, October 7, 2023, a significant number of people in Canada and other countries that had fought extremism, took to the streets – in support of the terrorists.

Even now, there are apologists in our midst who try to cloak terror as some sort of freedom fight. As Postmedia columnist Warren Kinsella revealed recently, our state broadcaster, CBC, recently had to back away from a policy that said reporters should not call the 9/11 terrorists by that name – terrorists – without attribution.

As the roll call of those who died that dreadful day is read once more, let’s bow our heads and remember the shared values of freedom and democracy that unite Canada and the U.S. And let’s put aside our differences for one day and reach out a hand of support and friendship to our southern neighbours.

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