9/11 promoted the 'Greater Israel' agenda and caused the decline of America, Mushahid Hussain Syed

This dialogue was organized by an important Islamabad-based think tank, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed has said that 25 years after 9/11, America has emerged as a weaker country while China is getting an opportunity and Muslim middle powers in the Middle East are gaining importance in the changed world order. The biggest change is that before 9/11 America was the 'sole superpower' but that is no longer the case.

This dialogue was organized by an important Islamabad-based think tank, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). In his comprehensive presentation, Senator Mushahid Hussain presented a fact sheet titled '25 Years of 9/11: The History That Changed the World'.

Citing a study by Brown University, it stated that in the 20 years after 9/11, America wasted 8 trillion dollars, as a result of which 38 million people were displaced and about 5 million people were killed directly or indirectly, while 324,000 drones, bombs and missiles were used in countries with war fronts like Afghanistan, former FATA region of Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Lebanon.

Senator Mushahid Hussain also presented an interesting reference from American sources that just 9 days after 9/11, the Pentagon decided to start wars against 7 Muslim countries, including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.

He also quoted renowned American journalist Tom Friedman, who wrote in The New York Times on May 8, 2003 that "If the 25 people handling important matters in the White House were exiled to an island, the Iraq war would not have happened."
This meant that the war was pushed forward and promoted by a select and influential group of the pro-Israel lobby and journalists. Senator Mushahid Hussain also cited the book Lawless World by a British author, in which it is stated that before the American attack on Iraq, US President Bush had mentioned to Prime Minister Tony Blair his plan to target Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the alleged fear of nuclear proliferation.

Senator Mushahid Hussain also said that one of the biggest mistakes of 9/11 was that during a meeting held in Bonn in December 2001, an opportunity for reconciliation with the defeated Afghan Taliban and an opportunity to restore the Afghan monarchy, which was the center of gravity in the modern Afghan state, was also lost.

He compared this situation to Cambodia, where after a devastating civil war, the return of the monarchy restored stability in that state, whereas in Afghanistan the opposite happened, resulting in the establishment of a 'republic' which collapsed with the withdrawal of US troops.

Talking about the impact of 9/11 on Pakistan, he said that compared to other Muslim countries, Pakistan survived the American attack in neighboring Afghanistan, however Pakistan also faced severe instability, especially in former FATA, which resulted in the formation of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2007, Pakistan's Afghan policy collapsed and Pakistan failed to prevent Indian interference in Afghanistan under the cover of US military occupation.

Discussing the global consequences of 9/11, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that 9/11 was an important turning point in modern history and it marked the beginning of American decline and the rise of China, and both these events are irreversible, as a result of which a multipolar world has come into existence, whose prominent features include the re-emergence of Russia, the rise of large Muslim middle powers like Pakistan and the establishment of new regional organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS.

Another major consequence of 9/11, which Senator Mushahid Hussain described as 'alarming', is the rise of Islamophobia as well as right-wing racism in most Western countries, which has widened the gulf between Islam and the West.

This confrontation has also been further exacerbated by America's support for 'Greater Israel' through its 'Israel First' foreign policy. A large number of people from different walks of life participated in the event and an important question and answer session was also held.