On the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, four former presidents plan to gather at the World Trade Center memorial site in New York City for commemorations. President Trump will visit the Pentagon. The attacks transformed the New York City skyline, the United States, and the wider world. Within weeks, the U.S. declared a global war on terror and launched military operations that continued for years afterward. The CBS News report provides live updates on these events and reflections marking the anniversary.
The 25th anniversary of 9/11 should refocus the nation on the constitutional duty of the federal government to provide for the common defense rather than endless expansions of domestic power. Politically, the attacks exposed the costs of open borders, intelligence failures, and foreign entanglements that later administrations used to justify surveillance expansions and bureaucratic growth at home. The Constitution assigns Congress the power to declare war and the executive the role of commander in chief, yet the post-9/11 era saw both branches delegate authority to permanent administrative structures that persist today. Federalism and individual liberty require that national security measures remain tightly linked to actual threats instead of becoming pretexts for centralized control over citizens. True remembrance demands restoring those limits before the next crisis arrives.