How has September 11, 2001 changed your attitude towards U.S. policy in the last ten years?

 

Police cars are parked near the World Trade Center site, New York, the United States, Sept. 5, 2011. [Fan Xia/Xinhua]

The U.S. diverts its own people's attention away from its own social problems and internal crises by sending troops to various countries in the name of anti-terrorism.  —Hu, Engineer, Beijing

The most pressing purpose of the U.S. is to maintain its hegemony. One of very important purposes why that they retaliate against terrorists is to suppress emerging countries. They continue deploy military forces in the neighboring countries of these emerging powers.  —Cheng, Human Resource Manager, Beijing

I believe that the U.S. policy totally went in the wrong direction. Democratic systems are weaker than before. The U.S. and the EU took part in several wars that they are not able to win. One of the cradles of the world's culture and especially European and Arabian culture, the Mesopotamian plain (Iraq) was destroyed by civil war. The U.S. [returned] to using torture, hurting their own laws and the code of human rights.  —Andreas, Landscape Designer, Germany

The decisions made by the US government post-9/11 have had a slight negative effect on my views on US policy. I understand that steps must be taken to ensure the safety of tourists and citizens but at times it seems that these decisions are alienating the country and contributing to the social and financial issues that are so seriously affecting the country now. It is upsetting to see the policymakers use 9/11 as a crutch or weapon in political conversations as well.  —Taryn, Freelance Writer, Beijing

Honestly, it wasn't as much of an 'empire collapse' moment as the demise of Lehman Brothers.  —David, Banking Industry, San Diego, USA