Special webinar on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks

The Center for Security Policy hosted an important webinar today on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the importance of educating future generations about what happened on September 11, 2001, and continuing threats to American security from radical Islamist terrorism, including threats caused by the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Webinar: Special 9/11 Commemoration

The first Center webinar in the Fall series was a 9/11 commemorative program that featured the recollections of former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra, who was at the U.S. Capitol on September 11, 2001. It also featured 9/11 family member Debra Burlingame whose brother, Charles “Chic” Burlingame, was the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into the Pentagon.

Two distinguished experts were panelists, Debra Burlingame and Ambassador Peter Hoekstra.

Debra Burlingame is an attorney and an expert on terrorism.  Her brother, Charles “Chic” Burlingame, was the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11.

Ambassador Peter Hoekstra is Chairman of the Center for Security Policy Advisory Board. He served as US Ambassador to the Netherlands during the Trump administration. Hoekstra represented the 2nd district of Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011 when he also served as chairman and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Center President Fred Fleitz moderated the webinar.  He started off by offering his condolences to Ms. Burlingame for her personal loss, recognized her brother for his service to our country in the U.S. Navy, and thanked Burlingame for her work honoring her brother’s legacy and that of the families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The panelists discussed at length the terrorist nature of the 9/11 attacks and why it is vital that we talk about these acts of terrorism – not just the loss of life and the way it changed our nation.  They discussed why we need to speak plainly about who was responsible and their motivation because of a growing trend in the mainstream media and among educators to omit mentioning that these were terrorist attacks committed by the radical Islamist group al Qaeda. Burlingame stressed we must do a much better job educating our children about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The panel spoke extensively about how President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan allowed radical Islamists to score a huge win against our country. Burlingame and Hoekstra both worry this debacle will greatly strengthen al Qaeda and make Afghanistan a safe haven for terrorists once again.  Burlingame believes this debacle means the U.S. is now faced with a “September 10^th” security situation.

Ambassador Hoekstra expressed his concerns about some of the measures taken by the U.S. government in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks such as the Patriot Act and how this has allowed Democratic administrations to spy on their political opponents. Hoekstra is very worried about the Biden administration abusing this authority to conduct domestic surveillance against conservatives.

Hoekstra and Burlingame strongly criticized President Biden’s leadership concerning the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle, but they both conceded it is impossible to impeach him over this.  Hoekstra proposed censuring Biden over the debacle. Hoekstra and Fleitz discussed Biden replacing his top national security officials with more competent people with the experience and gravitas to stop the president from making more irresponsible national security decisions. They both agreed an excellent choice would be former Congresswoman Jane Harman who served with Hoekstra on the House Intelligence Committee.

Hoekstra also appeared on One America News to promote the webinar: