Expert: After 9/11, US greatly weakened
Updated:2011-09-09 19:32
(chinadaily.com.cn)
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Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies ever to happen on US soil.Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, here's a selection of comments from Chinese experts on the events that changed the world. |
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 Zhu Feng Professor of international relations Peking University |
The 9/11 attacks happened in a moment, hitting people’s psychology, minds and vision. Terrorism is still very much alive today due to so much unfairness in human society, too much competition and conflict in religions, beliefs, values, territories and distribution of interest. It is quite normal that the Chinese have various views on 9/11 because Sino-US ties are very complicated. Many Chinese felt the US was always bullying China and supporting a divisive China. There was deep reflection during the past decade in the US. With a mature political and social system, the US is able to meet challenges by vote and by tolerating various voices. |
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 Qiao Liang professor at Air Force Command College |
The death of so many innocent civilians on Sept 11, 2011, was sorrowful and heart-wrenching, which is never to be tolerated. The same sentiments also go for the massive civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghan wars. Speaking from a military perspective, both the Iraq war and Afghanistan war got a good start, which was clean and accurate. However, the US has been rather clumsy in the art of retreating. From a historical perspective, the 9/11 attacks were inevitable. US Policy towards the Islamic World stirred revolts. Osama bin Laden changed the history and the US, which affected the history and development patterns for the rest of the world. 9/11 made the US more irritable and impetuous, which catalyzed the US to adopt a tit-for-tat strategy and become prone to take revenge.
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 Jin Canrong professor at Renmin University of China |
As a big event at the start of this century, 9/11 has changed the national character and way people act in the United States and has thereby influenced the world. The relative size of Bin Laden’s group was actually small, but through its extreme measures it has managed to change the state of mind and way of life of the foremost super power , thus affecting the entire world. It is unfair to regard people attacking Urumuqi as freedom fighters while referring to those hitting Los Angeles as terrorists. As I have already argued, all killings of civilians for political purposes are synonymous with terrorism. There is no excuse for defending terrorism. It is now hard for other countries to coordinate with the US as it has effectively sabotaged the bottom line. People who do not live in good conditions always blame others for their miseries; and this applies equally to individuals, a country or an international society. The US should know that it lies in the center of this contradiction. Oppressed nations would point their fingers first at the US as long as it keeps its self-appointed leadership of the world.
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 Wang Xiaodong Researcher with China Youth and Children Research Cente |
After 9/11, the US's power was greatly weakened, though many intellectuals refuse to concede. I didn't expect what is happening today. I thought it wouldn't be a problem for the US to take control of Iraq and Afghanistan. The US spent a huge amount of money on the wars but left many problems unsolved. Many problems that the US, China and the world are facing nowadays were caused by the US war on terror. The rise of terrorism has something to do with Western countries bullying Arab countries. Terrorists are against both their country's leaders and the West. Al-Qaida is strongly against the domestic leadership. Some intellectuals in the Middle East, represented by Al Jazeera, also hate the West. Bin Laden was not alone. He represented many people. There is no fundamental difference between Bin Laden’s attitude and Al Jazeera’s attitude toward the West.
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