{
  "id": 6767784,
  "title": "America Has Forfeited Its Greatest Strength",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/america-has-forfeited-its-greatest-strength",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-11T12:20:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/09/september-11-trust-america/688580/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A critical lesson from the 9/11 Commission Report highlights America's loss of one of its greatest strengths: trust. Prior to the September 11 attacks, U.S. intelligence agencies were aware of Osama bin Laden's ambitious plans, with the August 6, 2001, presidential daily brief even mentioning his intention to strike within the United States. This was just one of 36 such references to bin Laden or al-Qaeda in that year's presidential briefings. However, the main reason the U.S. failed to prevent 9/11 was not a lack of imagination but a lack of trust among its intelligence institutions, which often withheld information from one another. While trust in intelligence agencies has improved since the attacks, new trust failures have emerged. America's security relies on various forms of trust: that of allies in U.S. leadership, citizens' confidence in their government, and policy makers' belief in America's deepest norms and values. Over the past 25 years, these bonds of trust have weakened, fulfilling bin Laden's goal of turning allies into enemies by eroding the world's trust in American power and ideals. After the attacks, the intelligence community and law enforcement collaborated on a major investigation to identify those responsible and prepare the government for retaliation. In Yemen, the Cole investigation team questioned Abu Jandal, who provided crucial information about al-Qaeda members involved in the 9/11 attacks, allowing President George W. Bush to announce bin Laden's responsibility and sway Muslim leaders to support the invasion of Afghanistan. However, despite initial interagency cooperation and apprehensions of suspects, the response to the attacks quickly devolved into unsober, unmeasured, and poorly informed actions.",
  "summary": "Osama bin Laden wanted to eradicate faith in American power. Twenty-five years later, his dream is on the verge of coming true.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}