The big names of 9/11: Where are they now? | World News - Hindustan Times
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The big names of 9/11: Where are they now?

By, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Sep 11, 2021 06:56 AM IST

The world is marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people when hijacked commercial jets flew into the twin towers, struck the Pentagon and crashed into a Pennsylvania meadow.

The world is marking the 20th anniversary of September 11 terror attacks on the United States. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks that forever altered world history.

US flags adorn a metal apron at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum that is inscribed with names of people who died on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.(AFP Photo)
US flags adorn a metal apron at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum that is inscribed with names of people who died on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.(AFP Photo)

In these 20 years, a war was waged against terrorism, al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden was hunted down, and a new skyscraper replaced the Twin Towers (one of the sites of the attacks) in New York.

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Bin Laden, Hamid Karzai, George W Bush and Condoleezza Rice were some of the central figures in the chaos that followed the terror attacks in the US.

Here is a look at the big names of 9/11 and where they are now:

Osama bin Laden: The founder of al Qaeda, he became the face of terrorism since the attacks, sparking dread and bewilderment as to how he could orchestrate the attacks from the caves of Afghanistan. On May 2, 2011, in a mission code-named Operation Neptune Spear, US special forces hunted him down in Pakistan's Abbottabad and killed him.

Hamid Karzai: He lobbied hard with the West to take action against the Taliban and al Qaeda. When the US uprooted the Taliban, he became president, until 2014. He survived assassination attempts and is still on the fringes of Afghan politics, taking part in power-sharing talks recently.

George W Bush: The 43rd president of the US, he was informed of the attacks while reading "The Pet Goat" to second graders in Sarasota, Florida. He passionately spoke to the people of the United States that night, and later spearheaded the war on terror. He has long retired to oil painting in Texas. Recently, he said he was closely tracking the developments in Afghanistan.

Dick Cheney: While the Secret Service played "hide the president" with Bush on September 11, the VP hunkered down in a bunker in the White House. After surviving five heart attacks, Cheney now the oldest living former US Veep.

Condoleezza Rice: She was the National Security Advisor (NSA) to Bush when 9/11 took place. In the summer of 2001, she met with CIA director George Tenet to already discuss the looming threat of al Qaeda attacks on US targets. More recently, she became one of the first two women allowed to join the Augusta National Golf Club. She's now director of Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Rudy Giuliani: Mayor of New York City at that time, he was the hero of the moment. Oprah Winfrey called him "America's Mayor". Time magazine declared him Person of the Year. His recent misadventures as a Donald Trump supporter are well documented. They resulted in the suspension of his law licence.

Colin Powell: He was the secretary of state in 2001. On 9/11, he was in Lima on an official visit. He went on to make a case before the United Nations for military action against Iraq, later drawing fierce criticism for it. He left the Republican Party after the January 6 assault on the Capitol.

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