DALLAS — Former President George W. Bush said Americans "don't pay attention to the lesson of 9/11" during remarks marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Speaking at his presidential library in Dallas on Sept. 10, 2026, he argued that isolationist tendencies and partisan views on foreign policy undermine national security.

He appeared alongside former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to reflect on the events that reshaped his presidency and the nation. He described the shift in public attitude toward global engagement as a departure from the core lessons learned in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

"Our nation occasionally goes through isolationist periods, where the attitude is, 'Well, we've got too many problems at home. Therefore, who cares about what happens overseas?'" Bush said. He linked this domestic focus directly to a misunderstanding of how international events impact the United States.

"Which really means to me they just don't pay attention to the lessons of 9/11, because what happens overseas matters to our national security at home," he said. He emphasized that retreating from global affairs does not insulate the country from threats but rather leaves it vulnerable to them.

He recalled the moment he learned of the attacks while visiting an elementary school, a day that transformed his role in government. "I became a wartime president," he said regarding the moment he learned of the Sept. 11 attacks. He described the subsequent period as one defined by the necessity of collective action.

"This was a war, and that the job of the president and the country and his team is to rally the nation and to do what's necessary to protect our people," he said. In the years following the attacks, his administration took legislative steps to restructure national defense, including signing the Homeland Security Act of 2002 into law on Nov. 25, 2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Rice, who served as national security adviser at the time of the attacks and later as secretary of state, shared memories of the intense pressure faced by the White House in those early hours. She described the confusion and rapid decision-making required as planes were hijacked across the country.

"There was this horrible moment where the vice president kept trying to get confirmation as to what had happened, and for about 10 minutes, we thought we'd shot down a civilian aircraft," Rice said. She noted that such moments illustrate the difficulty of governing during a crisis.

"And that always to me represented just how hard the decisions that you had to take under a lot of pressure," she said. She added that contemporary observers often lack perspective on the gravity of that time. "People now don't understand the heaviness of the days after 9/11 in trying to protect the country," she said.

He also addressed the ideological dimensions of the post-9/11 era, particularly regarding religious freedom and civil liberties. He visited a mosque shortly after the attacks due to concerns about harassment of women of color, particularly in Michigan. He viewed the protection of religious liberty as central to the conflict.

"It became clear to me that this is an ideological struggle, which is what I viewed it as, and we forego one of the most important parts of our ideology, which is the freedom to worship the way you want to worship," he said. He argued that allowing harassment to occur would constitute a strategic failure. "All of a sudden, the enemy has won a victory, and so that was part of my thinking," he said regarding religious harassment after 9/11.

The former president expressed concern that the gains made by women in Afghanistan following the U.S. intervention are now being reversed. The war in Afghanistan lasted 20 years and ended with a U.S. withdrawal in 2021. He showed the personal stories of Afghan women who had accessed education and professional careers.

"Young girls going to school for the first time in their lives know the difference," he said. He noted that women entering professions such as medicine and academia understood the contrast between different political systems. "Women becoming doctors and professors know the difference between a free society and a tyrannical society," he said.

"Of course they know the difference," he said regarding Afghans' understanding of freedom versus tyranny. He lamented the loss of opportunity for these individuals under the current regime. "And sadly, these women who begin to realize their full potential no longer have a chance to realize their full potential," he said.

He maintained that the U.S. should continue to support those fighting for freedom abroad, though he clarified that this support does not always require military deployment. "As people are struggling against tyranny, it makes sense for the U.S. to get involved," he said. He specified that such involvement can take non-military forms. "We don't have to send troops," he said.

"We ought to at least stand with them and stand beside them because this is what we went through," he said. He rooted this obligation in a universal desire for liberty. "And again, it's a belief that everybody wants to be free and we saw that in Afghanistan," he said.

Reflecting on his broader goals during his presidency, he said he sought to preserve American values while defending the country. "I didn't want us to lose our soul," he said regarding his priorities after the Sept. 11 attacks. He aimed to ensure that the defense of freedom did not diminish its value. "I wanted, as we defended our freedoms, I wanted people to remember how precious they are," he said.

Dina Smeltz, Director of surveys at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, noted that confidence in federal institutions has declined. "Trust in government is at its lowest levels," Smeltz said. She connected this trend to the legacy of the post-9/11 era. "I think a lot of it can be traced back to some of the dissatisfaction with government actions and words during the post-9/11 period," she said.

Partisan divisions now heavily influence views on international engagement. In contrast, a Gallup poll in 2026 showed 7% of Democrats expressed satisfaction with America’s global standing under a Republican administration. Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections, signaling a shift in the political landscape.

Bob Shapiro said the Iraq war really bifurcated foreign policy.

Why It Matters

The remarks by Bush and Rice indicate a growing divergence between the post-9/11 consensus on global engagement and current partisan attitudes toward foreign policy. With trust in government at historic lows and satisfaction with America's global standing split sharply along party lines, the ability to maintain a unified national security strategy faces challenges. The shift from broad support for international involvement to deep partisan division suggests that future responses to overseas threats may be constrained by domestic political dynamics.

The 25th anniversary serves as a marker for how the lessons of 9/11 are interpreted by a new generation that did not experience the attacks directly. Bush’s emphasis on the connection between overseas events and domestic security contrasts with rising isolationist sentiments. As the U.S. navigates complex global issues, the debate over the extent and nature of American involvement remains central to national policy discussions.

Timeline

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has asked Americans annually since 1974 whether the U.S. should take an active part in world affairs. On Sept. 11, 2001, George W. Bush was visiting an elementary school when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred. Later that day, George W. Bush visited a mosque shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks due to concerns about harassment of women of color, particularly in Michigan. Approximately eight in 10 Americans said the U.S. should take an active role in world affairs shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.

George W. Bush gave a speech at Ground Zero on Sept. 14, 2001.