2001–2021 · Global · War
Al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 killed nearly three thousand people in the United States. U.S.-led wars, security legislation and counterterrorism operations followed in Afghanistan, Iraq and far beyond, with profound civilian and political consequences.
Atlas dossier · Digital & Global AgeFree device narration · synchronized English captions · transcript available
Why it matters
Al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 killed nearly three thousand people in the United States. U.S.-led wars, security legislation and counterterrorism operations followed in Afghanistan, Iraq and far beyond, with profound civilian and political consequences.
Victims and families · first responders · Afghan and Iraqi civilians · soldiers · journalists · displaced people
The attacks and the responses to them reorganized international law, surveillance, migration, warfare and public life in the twenty-first century.
Interpretation note
This dossier distinguishes the event’s basic chronology from later arguments about meaning, responsibility and legacy. When comparing religious, national, Indigenous or scholarly interpretations, consult the primary and institutional sources above alongside peer-reviewed historical work.
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