A quarter century after hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the United States paused to mark the September 11 attacks.

Commemorations unfolded across the country. At Ground Zero in New York, families gathered to read aloud the names of the dead, a ritual repeated each year since 2002. The Pentagon held its own memorial service, and ceremonies were held in Shanksville. Newspapers and broadcasters revisited the day through photographs, survivor accounts, and interviews with first responders, several of whom spoke of endurance in the years since.

The Pope commemorated the anniversary with prayers for those who died and for world peace, remarks reported across several outlets.

At the Pentagon service, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed those assembled. In their speeches, both connected the memory of the attacks to recent United States military action against Iran, drawing a line from the counterterrorism campaigns that followed 2001 to present-day policy. Trump's schedule that week also included an appearance at a Republican midterm convention.

The anniversary drew a range of reflection on what the attacks set in motion. Some commentators examined the long arc of American power, with historian Niall Ferguson arguing in The Free Press that 9/11 did not doom the American empire. The Economist devoted attention to how the expansion of counterterrorism authorities has shaped the modern presidency, and separately to what other cities might learn from New York's recovery.

Other writers turned to how the attacks are remembered and taught. The Federalist published a series of pieces contending, among other arguments, that schools and news organizations have understated the role of Islamist terrorism in the attacks. Vox, by contrast, wrote that anti-Muslim sentiment within the Republican Party has grown in the intervening years. National Review urged remembrance of September 12 as well, pointing to the sense of national unity that briefly followed the attacks.

Twenty-five years on, the commemorations returned to the same purpose they have served since the first anniversary: to name the dead and to remember the day.

References

1. 1.The Free Press — Niall Ferguson's argument that 9/11 did not doom the American empire
2. 2.The Economist — coverage of counterterrorism authorities and the modern presidency, and lessons other cities might draw from New York's recovery
3. 3.The Federalist — series contending schools and news organizations have understated the role of Islamist terrorism
4. 4.Vox — reporting that anti-Muslim sentiment within the Republican Party has grown
5. 5.National Review — call to remember September 12 and the national unity that followed
6. 6.Multiple outlets — reporting on the Pentagon service, the Pope's remarks, and commemorations at Ground Zero and Shanksville