Religion News Service says war is not answer 25 years after 9/11

She was 27 years old and living in New York City when the attacks of September 11 2001 struck. Early in her work as a Quaker peace advocate she joined colleagues at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in mourning the lives lost and calling for those responsible to face justice under established legal systems. The group also warned against targeting Muslim and Middle Eastern communities with backlash and urged officials not to respond with further acts of terror or war. Their statement at the time held that war is not the answer even in the face of national grief. Those early concerns about backlash and expanded military action came to pass and became part of routine policy through authorizations for military force and new security laws. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security folded immigration matters into national security work and carried wartime approaches into domestic enforcement. Decades of military operations followed in multiple countries and immigrant communities faced stricter measures at home. Reports later showed that these steps often reduced stability rather than increased it as seen in places like Somalia where long standing military priorities contributed to ongoing conflict. At the same time examples from other regions demonstrated different paths. Negotiated agreements in Colombia with FARC and the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland showed how local policing intelligence work and political talks ended long periods of violence more often than large scale force according to studies of how armed groups conclude their activities. She reached age 52 still carrying clear memories of the day the attacks occurred and the changes that followed in daily routines and foreign policy. Over the same span civil society groups found new ways to connect across borders nonviolent actions removed entrenched leaders and Congress became more representative of the wider population. Younger people have taken up challenges around racism sexism and other forms of exclusion while continuing to press for policies that seek safety for everyone without defaulting to armed responses. The same organization continues to advocate for diplomacy and peacebuilding as practical tools that have worked in multiple settings.