A symposium to analyze and reflect on the global impacts of the terrorism attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 against the U.S. was held at Michigan State University in Michigan State on Thursday. Titled “Ten Years after 9/11: Analyzes and Reflections,” the symposium saw a panel of distinguished scholars on issues concerning the Middle East, human rights, security studies and political science.
“We need to put closure on the War on Terror,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern politics and international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “There is no absolute security. This is but a reality. Terrorism, unfortunately, will be with us in the following years.”
Over the decade following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. has started wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and tightened security measures at home and oversea military bases. According to a Congressional Research Service report released by the U.S. government in March 2011, the cumulative cost of Iraq, Afghanistan and other global anti-terror operations will reach $1.283 trillion in fiscal year 2011. About 98 percent of the sum has been used for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“What we have to do is to – instead of fearing everyone is part of the coalition against us – look for allies,” said Mark N. Katz, a professor of government and politics at George Mason University. “We should not overreact. Young people may realize that our approaches are not the best approaches.”
So far, there have not been an official report on the precise number of total casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but some estimate that the number of people died in the Iraq War is between 62,570 to 1,124,000 and that in Afghanistan is between 10,960 and 49,600.
The 9/11 attacks also has a major impact on Middle Eastern countries. Over the past 10 years, the U.S. Congress has approved about $20 billion for Pakistan in economic and military aid to help the country fight terrorists. However, "[Pakistan] has grown far more unsafe than before,” Christine Fair, an assistant professor at Georgetown University, said. In the past years, Pakistan is haunted by a growing number of terrorist attacks. According to available statistics, 17 people were killed by terrorists in Pakistan in 2001, but in 2010, the number skyrocketed to 1,375.
“We must, as a community, isolate individuals who did such a terrible thing, but embrace the culture from which they came, and better understand that culture,” Lou Anna K. Simon, president of Michigan State University, said. According to the university’s statistics, 5,315 international students were enrolled by the university in the fall semester of 2010, a 5.8 percent increase from the year before. “I hope they feel welcomed in our community,” Simon said.
Thursday’s symposium was part of a series of events Michigan State University held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On Sept. 11, 2011, the university museum hosted a paper crane folding activity. The public was invited to fold paper cranes which were later sent to 9/11 Tribute Centers in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. to show visitor the support and good will from the university and surrounding communities.
