9/11 was one of the most consequential events of the 21st century. Yet twenty-five years later, the attacks and their aftermath are still widely misunderstood. In two consecutive talks at our student conference in Austin, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo analyzed America’s failures before and after 9/11, drawing on more than two decades of work on the subject. They show how the self-abasing morality of altruism shaped American policy, leading the US to betray its ideals, appease its enemies, sacrifice its soldiers, and lose its wars. This double lecture is a must-watch for anyone who cares about America and wants to make it secure.
Among the topics covered are:
Introduction by ARI’s CEO, Tal Tsfany
How 9/11 was experienced and perceived in the immediate aftermath
The religious, modernity-hating motivation behind 9/11
America’s emboldening of Islamists in the decades before 9/11
America’s abject, craven response to the Danish cartoons of Muhammad
The intellectual rot 9/11 exposed and Objectivism’s potential to change it
How American altruism crippled its troops’ ability to fight
How America refused to recognize or defeat its enemies
The devastating consequences of our altruistic approach to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars
Q&A
Resources:
Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo, Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism: What Went Wrong After 9/11.
The livestream was recorded on September 11, 2026.