America's 9/11 overreaction is only more glaring after COVID

Two catastrophes, two immense political failures

An American flag.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

It's the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and America is in sad shape. The U.S. military just retreated from Afghanistan with its tail between its legs after 20 years of continuous bloody failure, and once again the entire developed world is watching in slackjawed horror as the U.S.'s diseased politics have left it suffering yet another murderous wave of COVID cases.

The responses to 9/11 and the coronavirus pandemic make for an instructive comparison.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.