Did 9/11 put the US on a permanent war footing?

Twenty-five years after 9/11, Christiane and Jamie dedicate a special episode to their memories of the day the world changed forever.

Christiane becomes emotional as she recalls the first time she saw the images of planes hitting the Twin Towers. She also reveals how it took her so long to hear about the attack in the first place, given she was thousands of miles away on assignment in Sierra Leone, cut off from phones and pictures. She describes the scramble to get word to her, the long journey back to London to broadcast, and her fear that Jamie might also have been a target for the terrorists.

Meanwhile, Jamie explains how he instinctively declared the incident 'an attack on the world' as he went on air to react - and unpicks what the US Government got right and wrong in its immediate response to 9/11.

Later, Christiane & Jamie turn to what those attacks set in motion. Why did the world unite behind the war in Afghanistan, and how did that consensus collapse in Iraq? They explain how the Iraq War began the long destruction of trust in America, not only because there were no weapons of mass destruction, but because the war was fought so badly.

And they finish on the question that runs through all of it: with Trump now waging his own war against Iran, did 9/11 leave America on a permanent war footing?

Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files is a Global production, available every Tuesday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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