How the Heroic Response to 9/11 Went Awry

By The Editorial Board

The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.

On that nearly cloudless morning 25 years ago when terrorists hijacked four airplanes and launched the deadliest attack on America since Pearl Harbor, the country’s initial response was inspired and unifying. Firefighters and police officers climbed the stairs of burning buildings in the face of mortal risk. Passengers on a doomed jet stormed the cockpit and saved countless lives. Within weeks, the United States, with the world’s support, went to war against the attacks’ plotters and their protectors in Afghanistan.

America would claim some major successes. Al Qaeda, in its original form,........

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