Never Forget: 25 Years after 9/11

On September 11, 2001, airplane attacks on New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a failed attempt on Washington, D.C., brought the threat of terrorism home to Americans. Nearly 3,000 people were killed and some 6,000 were wounded. More suffer from related illnesses today. The Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda, led by its founder Osama bin Laden, claimed responsibility. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan harbored Al-Qaeda.

President George W. Bush launched the Global War on Terror, a comprehensive, U.S.-led counterterrorism campaign. On October 7, 2001, the United States began military operations in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom. This soon expanded to Iraq. DEA provided intelligence and paramilitary support. The USA Patriot Act expanded domestic surveillance and law enforcement capabilities to deter and punish terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security was created, and tighter airport security under the Transportation Security Administration became the new normal.

The attacks changed the world forever. DEA remembers.

Sequence of events

9/11 timeline and map — Access a larger version of the timeline and map.

Ground Zero Memories

Pentagon Attack

Responses

Fighting Back, Building Back

Osama bin Laden. FBI photo.

Al-Qaeda and the Taliban: A Drug Connection?

The 9/11 attacks were narcoterrorist acts. Narcoterrorism is when lucrative revenue streams of illegal drug sales fund terroristic activities. Drugs and terror frequently flourish in the same environments. Political instability, geography, greed, and violence breed both terrorism and drug trafficking.

DEA intelligence confirmed that drug money contributed to al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks. Funds from the heroin trade linked Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, the international terrorist Osama bin Laden, and the terrorist group he led, al-Qaeda.

In 2000, Afghanistan produced over 70% of the world’s supply of illicit opium. The Taliban built its financial base from the heroin trade by taxing opium production, labs, and transportation. Bin Laden was involved in this heroin trafficking.

Opium poppies like this are grown in Afghanistan. The opiates produced from them helped fund the terrorists responsible for 9/11. DEA Photo.

DEA Oral Histories

Listen to DEA staff recount their experiences on 9/11 and in the aftermath. Were you a DEA employee during or immediately after 9/11? The DEA Museum is interested in capturing your memories in an oral history for our archives. Please email the museum if you are interested in participating: DEAMuseum@dea.gov