Remembering aHonoringFateful Day the Fallen With a Look to the Future As Afghanistan dramatically fell to the Taliban in August, Regent University’s Robertson School of Government was in high gear preparing for “9/11: A 20-Year Retrospective,” a 12-hour virtual event designed to honor the 3,000 victims of that fateful day that changed America. The event was streamed on the university’s website on September 9 and can be viewed by visiting regent.edu/911. Michele Bachmann, dean of the Robertson School of Government, said seeing the events of September 11, 2001, come full circle—from the attacks to America’s response going to war in Afghanistan to that country’s collapse—provided a unique perspective on how and why it happened and valuable insights for moving toward peace and reconciliation. After noticing a lack of promotion of 9/11 commemorative events, Bachmann explained that Regent’s event, through prayerful reflection, was organized, taking on a two-pronged approach in its planning. “I thought it would be important to look at the facts of what happened on that day, in an academic setting, with exciting speakers with real experience who were a part of that day and the surrounding events,” said Bachmann. “First, we wanted to honor the memory of the 3,000 innocent people who perished on that day. They deserve to be remembered,” Bachmann said. “The ground is sacred and hallowed where they were senselessly murdered, and we intend to honor their memory.” Bachmann said the second objective was to provide perspective on the profound changes 9/11 brought to the country. “The United States of America changed that day. In many senses, that reverberation was felt around the world. I thought it was important that we look at what led up to 9/11 and then also look at the aftermath 4
of these 20 years,” she said, adding the fall of Afghanistan made that all the more important. “The events of 9/11 were planned in the caves of Afghanistan by Osama bin Laden. That’s where the mastermind carried out the training and all that was laid out ahead of time to bring about this attack. So, now we are really seeing the circle completed with America’s response to the attack and now the conclusion, which was the collapse. It wasn’t just 20 years ago. It’s also how that event from 20 years ago impacts us today.” She said that as word of the event spread, a wide-ranging host of international experts in government, the military, the nonprofit sector, and diplomacy offered to participate in covering topics including the history of terrorism and the terrorists’ mindset, cybersecurity, and secularism in the Islamic world, among others. Moderating, Bachmann introduced Dr. M.G. “Pat” Robertson, founder, chancellor and CEO of Regent University, who provided opening remarks for the event and shared his personal memory of September 11, 2001. He recalled he was on the air taping the 700 Club when at 9:05 a.m., he received word that the Twin Towers in New York had been hit by aircraft. “I happen to be a private pilot, and I have personally flown out of LaGuardia. And I knew good and well on a clear day there was no way under heaven that somebody coming out of LaGuardia Airport was going to hit a building in New York City in Manhattan. So immediately, I realized this wasn’t some kind of an accident. It was a terrorist attack,” shared Robertson. Next, Bachmann introduced former Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo to discuss the segment entitled, “The Collapse of Afghanistan Closes the Circle on September 11, 2001.”
