Former president George Bush is warning about isolationism as the United States remembers nearly 3,000 victims and reflects on the decisions that transformed the country.
George W. Bush was listening to second-grade students read at a Florida school when his chief of staff approached and whispered: “A second plane hit the second tower. The United States is under attack.”
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. The second impact ended any perception that the first crash had been an accident.
Bush already knew about the first crash when he entered a classroom at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota. At 9:05 a.m., Andrew Card informed him of the second attack.
The 9/11 attacks continued. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard and 125 people inside the building.
At 10:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members confronted the hijackers.
The FAA ordered all civilian aircraft to land. The Twin Towers collapsed, and the United States entered a new era of national security.
This week, Bush returned to public view to connect that day with a current debate: how deeply the United States should become involved in international conflicts.
“Our nation occasionally goes through isolationist periods,” he said. For the former president, believing that international problems do not matter means disregarding the lessons of 9/11.
Bush also recalled realizing that September 11 had made him a “wartime president” and that protecting the country had become his priority.
A quarter of a century has passed since September 11, 2001, when the peace of our Nation was shattered by terrorists.
Today, we remember the 2,977 precious lives taken from us, honor the heroes who answered the call, & keep their families in the heart of our Nation.
Above all, we must ensure the memory of 9/11 never fades, but is carried from one generation of Americans to the next.
We will never forget. 🇺🇸
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2026
The 9/11 Memorial is commemorating the anniversary Friday with a reading of the victims’ names and moments of silence marking the attacks, the collapse of the towers, and the crash of Flight 93.
The anniversary also presents a different challenge: Millions of Americans were too young to remember the attacks or were born after 2001.
For one generation, 9/11 remains a personal memory. For another, it has already become history.
Bush’s warning has once again raised the question of which lessons from that day should endure.
You may be interested in: New York City to Release 170,000 Pages of 9/11 Records
SOURCE: EFE / CBS News / The Center Square
