NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said today that the Allies remain alongside the United States, as they did 25 years ago, after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In a social media message, Rutte said that "America's friends and allies in NATO were with you then and continue to be with you today," honoring the memory of all those who lost their lives.
The United States marks today the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack carried out on American soil, which caused nearly three thousand deaths, including nine Portuguese and Lusodescent victims. On September 11, 2001, two planes hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, a third hit the Pentagon near Washington, and a fourth crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Rutte recalled that after the attacks, the Allies remained united and that, for the first and only time in the Alliance's history, Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty was activated. This article establishes the principle of collective defense, stipulating that an armed attack against one member country shall be considered an attack against all.
The September 11, 2001 attacks triggered profound changes in the foreign and security policy of the United States and worldwide, including the launch of the so-called "war on terrorism" and the military intervention in Afghanistan.
