Opinion: The Same Kind of Ideology
On September 11th, 2001, I did some sunrise photography in Washington D.C.. That day unfolded its horror rather quickly, when the attacks commenced. The most shocking aspect today, 25 years later: Right here in Berlin, people support and even celebrate the kind of hatred that brought down the twin towers and massacred hundreds on October 7th. They need to be defeated at the ballot box.
On September 10th, 2026, The Berlin Spectator published an opinion piece reflecting on the events of September 11th, 2001. The writer, a German national, recalls the early hours of that fateful day when they and their Bavarian friend planned to take photography in Washington, D.C. As they drove by the Pentagon at 5:15 a.m., the attack had not yet occurred; however, the plane heading to the Pentagon was only an hour away from takeoff.
The author's Corgi mix, Natalie, enjoyed the early morning walk in D.C., unaware of the tragedy to come.
The first signs of terror alert came when American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked at 8:14 a.m. Passengers had only 32 minutes to live before the plane crashed into the World Trade Center. United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked just seconds later, giving its passengers 18 minutes to survive. American Airlines Flight 77 was also hijacked 17 minutes after the first two crashes, eventually crashing into the Pentagon at 9:28 a.m. The hijacking of Flight 93 happened at 9:59 a.m., and the plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania 43 minutes later.
The main radio station, "Radio Hundert,6" in Berlin, which had a conservative tendency, reported on the subject extensively in the aftermath of 9/11. The writer, a long-time correspondent, mentioned Al Qaeda's intentions early on in the interview, before Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. In response to the unprecedented decision to shut down the airspace over the United States, the radio station broadcasted live for many hours.
The writer's personal life during 9/11 was marked by concern for a neighbor's husband who worked in Washington. Unable to reach him due to a burdened cell network, the writer raced home to ensure his family's safety in Europe. Twenty-five years later, the writer lives in Berlin, where they observe the far-left party "Die Linke" accommodating many terror supporters.
The party's main candidate, Elif Eralp, even expressed "appalled" remarks regarding the rapper who supported terror, but did not take any measures to curb the party's extremist views. The writer concludes that despite the tragedy of September 11th and October 7th, some individuals continue to support Islamist ideology, and these individuals need to be defeated at the ballot box.
Written by urgent.news from The Berlin Spectator's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
