On September 11, 2001, an aide whispered to the president of the United States, George W. Bush, the phrase "America is under attack" during a reading session at a school, interrupting his schedule and leading him to board a flight with no destination aboard Air Force One. That morning, American territory was the scene of the largest terrorist attack in History, with planes hitting the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, and a third crashing in a rural area in Pennsylvania, resulting in 2,977 deaths.
After the attacks, Bush made his first address to the nation declaring: "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them." The president also stated that the United States and its allies were uniting with all those who desire peace and security in the world.
The article points out that September 11 is today viewed as a milestone of a complex process of changes in the American ethos, both within its borders and in the eyes of the world. After 25 years, this process still appears far from over, suggesting that the US response to the attacks may have accelerated the erosion of American hegemony.
