Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

People across the globe have clear memories of precisely where they were on September 11 2001 when they first heard the news that a commercial aeroplane had flown into one of the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York. At first most people probably thought, understandably, that it was a terrible accident and were shocked at how something like that could possibly happen. Then they may have contemplated that it was a terrorist attack, but that would have seemed too horrifying to contemplate. When the second jet crashed into the second tower, all doubts were dispelled. News then came in that another plane had struck the Pentagon in Washington and yet another had crashed in Pennsylvania.

Watching the collapse of the Twin Towers is as clear in my memory today as the moment that I saw it on a TV screen 10 years ago. We cannot begin to imagine the horror of those trapped inside the buildings and on board the aeroplanes. The statistics of that day can never reveal the devastating loss, the emotion or the heartbreak, but they put into perspective the enormity of these despicable acts. The 9-11 attack caused the single greatest loss of life on United States soil since the civil war of the 1860s. According to the New York Times, the total number of people killed in the attacks was 2,819. The number of firefighters and paramedics killed was 343; the number of New York police department officers killed was 23; and the number of port authority police officers killed was 37. The number of nations whose citizens were killed in the attacks was 115. The number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks was 1,609, and the estimated number of children who lost a parent was 3,051. The number of families who are yet to receive the remains of their loved ones is 1,717. The tonnes of debris removed from the site were 1,506,124. The number of days that fires continued to burn after the attacks was 99. The economic loss to New York alone in the month following the attacks was $105 billion. The estimated cost of the clean-up in New York was $600 million. We still mourn the loss of life and still grieve with the families of 9-11. These attacks were not simply an attack on the people and the infrastructure of the United States; they were an attack on its ideals—ideals that we share as a nation. Terrorism does not aspire to defeat other nations militarily; it seeks to destroy their very foundations.

The strength of the United States and other democracies is that our citizens live their lives in freedom. That is an anathema to those inspired by the twisted rhetoric of Osama bin Laden and his demented followers. They seek to impose their values and beliefs on others through brute force as they are unable to win people to their view through the appeal of their ideas.

It is now 10 years since those attacks. There has been enormous global change in that time, some of which is directly attributable to those attacks and the response. The invasion of Afghanistan was to destroy the basis from which al-Qaeda was operating under the umbrella of protection provided by the Taliban so as to prevent any further attacks on the United States. Those bases were quickly destroyed, but it was to the great frustration of the United States and its allies that bin Laden escaped and evaded capture or death for a decade. During those years he continued to make threats and to taunt the United States and its allies. It is to the great credit of the United States government and its security establishment that no major terror attack has been perpetrated on United States soil since September 11, not because the terrorists did not intend it but because the United States and its allies disrupted the command and control structure of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. It has not meant the end of al-Qaeda, for its affiliates have attacked civilian populations in Bali, London, Mumbai, Madrid and elsewhere. It remains an organisation under great pressure but it is not yet defunct. If there were another attack on US interests there would be the potential for it to be reinvigorated, although the death of Osama bin Laden makes that a more distant reality.

After a decade, it is prudent to ask whether the response to the September 11 attacks was effective, proportionate and achieved the initial goals. The task of stabilising Afghanistan has proven more difficult and costly than first planned or envisaged by those who planned the original intervention. Afghanistan no longer harbours al-Qaeda training camps but it remains a haven for the Taliban, who continue to harass the security forces of the Afghan government and the soldiers of the countries that make up NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

A recent report by the respected RAND Corporation in the United States, entitled The long shadow of 9/11, is critical of the United States and its allies for taking so long to adapt to the tactics of the insurgency that regrouped in Afghanistan and continues to challenge the allied forces to this day. The House will be aware that an attack has taken place in Kabul in recent hours, targeting the United States embassy, NATO headquarters and other key buildings.

The RAND report suggests that greater success may have been achieved by establishing stronger regional forces rather than focusing on a central security force, as that would have been closer to the country's traditions. Arguably, its strongest criticism is that the United States and its allies had been far too focused on destroying the physical capability of al-Qaeda and the Taliban and had put less effort into rebutting its ideology. However, the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, although not directly related to 9-11, do give us heart. While the civilian uprisings calling for freedom and democracy may not have had the United States directly in mind, the values, ideals and freedoms that the United States has been fighting for since September 11 may well have cultivated the Arab Spring. There is little doubt that United States communication technologies have enabled it.

Dictators have been challenged after decades of rule with an iron fist, subjugating their populations through the threat or use of violence. The people of Libya have not lived under a democratic government, yet they have been prepared to march, die and fight for that ideal. We are seeing a struggle unfold in Syria, on the brink of civil war, as people continue to take to the streets in defiance of tyranny and in defiance of the guns of the increasingly brutal Assad regime. This is proof that guns and threats can subdue the inherent human desire for greater freedom but it cannot crush it forever.

The reaction of Australians to the threat of terror attacks post September 11 has been one of defiance. The two bombing attacks in Bali in which so many Australians died have not prevented our citizens from travelling to Bali as they have done for decades. Australians have, by and large, refused to cower in the face of the terrorist threat. We have continued to live our lives at home in much the same way as before the attacks. It is a similar story in London, Madrid, Mumbai, New York and Washington. This reflects the fundamental strength of the ideals that underpin our societies and the fact that we refuse to surrender our freedom to the hatred espoused by bin Laden and his ilk.

There have been many sacrifices made in the past in defence of our nations and our values. There will be more sacrifices in the future. As is often said, for evil to flourish it only requires good men to do nothing. Our defence forces, particularly those who have lost their lives in Afghanistan, are those good men who have refused to stand by and allow evil to flourish. We must never forget those terrible events on September 11. We must continue to learn from them and we must strive to ensure that they are never allowed to happen again.

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