The secretary-general of NATO, Mark Rutte, said that the Allies continue to stand alongside the United States, as they did 25 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks. In a message published on social media on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Rutte said that NATO "honors the memory of all those who lost their lives" and that "America's friends and allies in NATO were with you then and continue to be with you today."
After the attacks, which killed nearly three thousand people, including nine Portuguese and Portuguese-descendant victims, the Allies remained united and activated for the first and only time in the Alliance's history Article 5, which establishes the principle of collective defense in case of an attack against a member country.
The September 11, 2001 attacks were the deadliest terrorist attack carried out on American soil. Two planes hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists struck the World Trade Center towers in New York, a third hit the Pentagon near Washington, and a fourth crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft.
The attacks triggered profound changes in the United States' and global foreign and security policy, including the launch of the so-called "war on terror" and the military intervention in Afghanistan.
