September 11, 2001 was a day that changed America forever. On that fateful day, terrorist hijackers crashed two commercial airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City, killing nearly 3,000 people.
In the years since, 9/11 has come to symbolize the strength and resilience of the American people in the face of adversity. The attacks also spurred a renewed commitment to fighting terrorism at home and abroad. In the years since 9/11, the world has changed in many ways. Here are some key events that have shaped the world since 2001:
The Iraq War began in 2003 for many reasons, but one of them was to prove President George W. Bush’s assertion that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). It lasted for more than a decade and resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of people.
In 2011, President Barack Obama ordered U.S. troops out of Iraq after eight years of fighting there without any signs they were making progress against Islamic State militants who had seized large swaths of territory there and elsewhere in Iraq and Syria.
