the sense of chaos, anger, disbelief of what was unfolding. then, there was steely resolve, and americans were united and most of the rest of the world stood with america. the taliban in power in afghanistan, who d harboured the al-qaeda terrorists, would be driven from power and the us would try to replace the warlords with democracy. but 20 years on, america has abandoned afghanistan. i think we re still the greatest democracy in the history of the world, but we are not shining the way we used to shine, and, yes, we are tarnished. i do think it has been a defeat for the pride of america and the respect that we have had around the world. 20 years ago, america was never more united. two decades on and the terrorist threat largely quelled, and america has never been more divided.
the way we came together was. it was awe inspiring. and in 20 years, the pendulum has swung, in my opinion, the other way. every day, i miss my dad. every single day. whether it s 9/11, whether it s january 13th, whether it sjuly 7th. i miss my dad and that will never change. and so to 2021, and the most powerful country in the world seems to be suffering a crisis of confidence. and in the manner of its departure from afghanistan, the kabul debacle, a crisis of competence. just off the tip of manhattan, lady liberty symbolises america opening its arms to the world. but 20 years on, the us feels a much more introspective place. jon sopel, bbc news, new york.
now it is very different, just walking around new york today, speaking to here, many are quite critical of president biden, and he wants to try and remind americans of that unity that they saw after 9/11, to try and bring the country again moving forward. the 9/11 attacks led to the invasion of afghanistan. two decades later the taliban are back in power and presenting a new face to the world. they ve promised to forgive those who fought against them, and to respect women s rights to work and education. but many afghans are still fearful of what the new order will bring, as secunder kermani reports from kabul. back in the classroom. this was amongst the first schools in kabul to reopen for girls after the fall of the taliban in 2001. they, along with female teachers, had been banned by the group. two decades on, the school has expanded.
afghanistan is not an easy country to govern and within which to ensure perfect security. m15 may have expanded and we all may live with more surveillance and security, but asked if we were safer now than 20 years ago, the head of m15 said there was no simple answer. gordon corera, bbc news. lawyers acting for virginia giuffre, the woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by prince andrew, say he has been served with legal papers ahead of preliminary proceedings scheduled to take place in new york on monday. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell has more. these are the official legal papers relating to the civil case that was brought by virginia giuffre, and she alleges that she was sexually assaulted by prince andrew when she was 17 years old. he denies all the claims made against him and he said that he has no recollection of meeting her.
making sure that the highly sophisticated, highly disciplined organisation that did 9/11 would not to re emerge again. that worries me, but i am glad that we have done so much to protect ourselves at home. ., ., , home. you said to yourself immediately home. you said to yourself immediately after - home. you said to yourself immediately after the - home. you said to yourself immediately after the 9/11 | immediately after the 9/11 attacks on you are looking at a map of afghanistan, that it s where great powers go to die beauty. where you write about that given the chaotic us exit? well, certainly, that chaotic exodus has made it a problem i think for american credibility. i because if we didn t hit the bill at the patients to be in afghanistan, a place for much that attack was launched, i think people will question our staying power and our willpower