The Briefing
The Briefing
LiSTNR
SPECIAL: The long shadow of 9/11 twenty-five years on
35 minutes Posted Sep 10, 2026 at 8:20 pm.
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Twenty-five years ago, the September 11 terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and changed the course of history. The images of hijacked planes striking the World Trade Center, the collapse of the Twin Towers and the devastation left behind became defining images of this century. 

But the consequences of 9/11 reached far beyond the United States. The attacks triggered America’s longest war - a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan that began with the fall of the Taliban. This year also marks five years since the war came full circle: the Taliban returned to power as the US withdrew its troops. 

BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet witnessed that extraordinary arc. Drawing on almost four decades of reporting from Afghanistan, she takes LiSTNR Senior Journalist Claudianna Blanco from the aftermath of 9/11 and the hope that followed the Taliban’s fall, to the chaotic final days at Kabul Airport and the Afghanistan of today. 

This special episode of The Briefing looks back at the long shadow of 9/11, 25 years on. 

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