Did We Win the War on Terror?

Read the original at The Dispatch ↗
Cite

Goldberg, J., Hayes, S., French, D., & Nelson, M. (2026, September 11). Did We Win the War on Terror? The Dispatch. https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/did-we-win-the-war-on-terror/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Dispatch · collected 2026-09-11 · by Jonah Goldberg, Steve Hayes, David French, Mike Nelson

Quick Summary

The discussion on the Dispatch podcast brings together four guests - Steve Hayes and three experts: Jonah Goldberg, Mike Nelson, and David French - to reflect on the 9/11 attacks and its impact 25 years later. The conversation explores the events of that day, how it changed lives and journalism, and whether the US won the war on terror. There is no specific mention of numbers or statistics in the article, but it discusses the legacy of the 9/11 attacks on American politics and society today. The discussion serves as a reflection and analysis of the events, rather than a straightforward report.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-11, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, New York City's first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, faces controversy over his decision to attend memorial events despite calls from some victims' families and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani for him to stay away. Mamdani, who lost an older brother in the attacks, insists on honoring those affected by reading out names at Ground Zero. Meanwhile, nearly 110,000 signatures have been collected through a petition urging Mamdani not to attend, citing concerns over his past associations and appointments that some see as conflicting with the solemnity of the event. Despite this opposition, Mamdani is moving forward with plans to release more than 170,000 pages of documents related to air quality around Ground Zero in the months following 9/11, aiming to provide transparency on what the city knew about toxic conditions and how they handled it.

Written for “9/11 Memorial Controversies” on 2026-10-27, grounded in this article and the 169 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 9/11 Memorial Controversies
Politics · 170 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads centre and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 2 of 72 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles mention the 9/11 attacks and are published around the 25th anniversary of the event.”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 1 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe the September 11 terrorist attacks as a shared historical event and its aftermath”
Zeteo
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 7
“Both articles describe the September 11, 2001 attacks and its aftermath”
The Straits Times
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 3 of 27 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles reference the same incident, specifically the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and both mention it as happening 25 years prior to their publication dates.”
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 8% hedged 4 of 48 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the same occurrence: the 9/11 terrorist attack, specifically referring to the date (September 11) and the impact of the attack on people's lives”
CBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe the 9/11 terrorist attacks and its aftermath, specifically referencing September 11, 2001”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 4% hedged 2 of 53 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a shared reference point and use it to frame their discussions.”
The Dispatch
⚖️ Centre 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe the events of September 11, 2001, and mention the terrorist attacks as a shared experience.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 1% hedged 1 of 81 📰 publisher trust 70
“Both articles mention the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a significant event that occurred on September 11, and both use this date as a reference point for their discussions”
Did the Terrorists Win? same event · 100%
The Dispatch
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 5 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 as the specific event being discussed.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Centre
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
61/100
The Dispatch's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
170
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Dispatch · 368 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jonah Goldberg
54 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Will the Democrats maintain their momentum, or could Republicans defy expectations?
2026-10-27 · mixed framing · Can Democrats Maintain Their Momentum?
🔮 Will the Democrats maintain their momentum, or could Republicans defy expectations?
🔮 Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, and Kevin Williamson to discuss Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad against Amy Acton and Williamson's reporting from Texas.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Vivek Ramaswamy’s Vicious Attack Ad May Backfire
🔮 Conventional wisdom will tell you to be well rested and sober before an interview to ensure peak performance.
🔮 On today's roundtable, we'll discuss a large number of Americans who say they want substantial change or complete and total upheaval in these midterm elections, and whether the prevailing anti-incumbent and anti-Trump sentiment will lead to a blue wave, a rogue wave, or something else entirely.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · A Blue Wave or an Anti-Incumbent Wave?
🔮 Ladies and gentlemen, could I please have your attention?
🔮 For reasons that will baffle my many detractors, I am often asked for advice about being an opinion journalist.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · When Politicians Are Entirely Too Online
🔮 And I figure if it's really important, Steve or Declan or somebody will send it to me, or I'll hear about it or whatever.
2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Modernity’s Big Bang | Ruminant
🔮 Dear Reader (even you Cornhuskers willing to shuck out three grand for one of them used urinal troughs), In 2023 there was that whole thing about how all men—or a lot of men—spend a shocking amount of time thinking about ancient Rome.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · High-Minded Words for a Low Form of Politics
🔮 Will the redistricting efforts save some Republican seats, or will that backfire?
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · What Midterm Polling May Be Getting Wrong
Also by Jonah Goldberg
Can Democrats Maintain Their Momentum?
2026-10-27 · The Dispatch
Innuendoctober | Ruminant
2026-10-24 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 54 articles by Jonah Goldberg →
Steve Hayes
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Will the Democrats maintain their momentum, or could Republicans defy expectations?
2026-10-27 · mixed framing · Can Democrats Maintain Their Momentum?
🔮 Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, and Kevin Williamson to discuss Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad against Amy Acton and Williamson's reporting from Texas.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Vivek Ramaswamy’s Vicious Attack Ad May Backfire
🔮 On today's roundtable, we'll discuss a large number of Americans who say they want substantial change or complete and total upheaval in these midterm elections, and whether the prevailing anti-incumbent and anti-Trump sentiment will lead to a blue wave, a rogue wave, or something else entirely.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · A Blue Wave or an Anti-Incumbent Wave?
🔮 Will the redistricting efforts save some Republican seats, or will that backfire?
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · What Midterm Polling May Be Getting Wrong
🔮 Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Mike Warren to discuss the possibility of Democrats flipping a seat in Kansas and the Trump administration’s “public service announcements.”
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Can Democrats Flip a Kansas Senate Seat?
🔮 Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Mike Warren, and Klon Kitchen to discuss the resignation of an Anthropic researcher over concerns that AI may “kill us all,” yet another flip-flop by the Trump administration on Ukraine, and President Trump’s $5,000 bribe to voters during the midterm convention.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Will Artificial Intelligence ‘Kill Us All?’
🔮 I will remember, I came out of my office, and I saw a couple of secretaries.
2026-09-11 · assertive framing · Did We Win the War on Terror?
🔮 Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Michael Reneau to discuss our latest editorial on a post-Trump reality, comments by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff to Vladimir Putin as the U.S. pursues negotiations for an end to the Ukraine war, and finally, a Labor Day edition of Not Worth Your Time.
2026-09-08 · assertive framing · After Trump
🔮 There are a couple dozen competitive House races, depending on how you count them, probably 6, 7, 8 competitive Senate races, maybe a couple more.
2026-09-04 · assertive framing · Can the GOP Survive Trump’s Approval Numbers?
🔮 We have seen over the past several weeks, but in particular over the past week, a spate of articles in virtually every publication, New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, elsewhere, noting the sort of heightened battles, not even battles, heightened concern about data centers and how it's driving political debates and campaigns in some areas and states and districts that we would expect, and probably some areas and states and campaigns that we wouldn't expect.
2026-08-28 · assertive framing · The AI Data Center Moral Panic
Also by Steve Hayes
Can Democrats Maintain Their Momentum?
2026-10-27 · The Dispatch
A Blue Wave or an Anti-Incumbent Wave?
2026-10-16 · The Dispatch
What Midterm Polling May Be Getting Wrong
2026-10-09 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Steve Hayes →
David French
16 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Another statement on the denial of cert by Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch that's gonna set our libertarian friends jumping out of second-floor windows.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Who’s the Loneliest Supreme Court Justice?
🔮 And have we got maybe the most thrilling, sexiest advisory opinions to date on sealing orders.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma
🔮 Sarah Isgur and David French discuss what’s on the Supreme Court’s docket, debate whether anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment, and undergo a grim historical review of the death penalty after the Pentagon’s announcement that an execution will be livestreamed.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Is Spending Money Protected Speech?
🔮 The Agenda: –An appropriate use of AI by Justice Alito? –“I don’t think Justice Alito has DraftKings on his phone.” –Will Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition ever get overturned?
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · SUNCOR Gets Complicated
🔮 So, the judge is, is calling down the names, and he gets to me, and I go up and I say, "Your Honor, you know, look, I could definitely be fair.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Not a MAGA Court
🔮 The two also discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Missouri redistricting case, and Sarah Isgur makes a provocative argument that may trigger any true crime fans.
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Is Press Access a Constitutional Right?
🔮 The second time, maybe we did, but it doesn't matter because now the Eighth Circuit has weighed in.
2026-09-24 · assertive framing · Third Time’s the Charm?
🔮 NRF’s comments to USTR on the Board of Trade identified key consumer goods categories where tariff reductions would matter immediately: apparel, footwear, furniture, appliances, travel goods, toys and games, household tools, and consumer technology.
🔮 [applause] [chuckles] We will be doing our traditional term preview, where we try to go through the cases that are scheduled thus far, but in a fun way, and not just a death march through the schedule.
2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Looking Ahead to the Supreme Court Term
🔮 We will start with September 11th and some of the things that Justice Kavanaugh said while reflecting on that day in the White House, and some of the reactions to what Justice Kavanaugh said reflecting on that day in the White House, as well as I will pick a fight with David over the redistricting shenanigans in Missouri.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis
Also by David French
The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma
2026-10-15 · The Dispatch
Is Spending Money Protected Speech?
2026-10-13 · The Dispatch
SUNCOR Gets Complicated
2026-10-08 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 16 articles by David French →
Mike Nelson
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The specifics of the planned attack are not yet known, in large part because the quick reaction of British counterterrorism police—who intercepted and arrested the men before they could carry out the attack—meant that the explosives-laden vans the men were driving never got to their intended destinations.
2026-09-28 · mixed framing · Is Iran’s War Coming to the West?
🔮 After the distinctive HBO logo and static played, but before the opening theme music that would later become iconic, audiences watched a series of short interviews with old men.
2026-09-11 · assertive framing · What September 11 Took From Us
🔮 I will remember, I came out of my office, and I saw a couple of secretaries.
2026-09-11 · assertive framing · Did We Win the War on Terror?
Also by Mike Nelson
Of Mice and Monuments
2026-10-01 · The Dispatch
Is Iran’s War Coming to the West?
2026-09-28 · The Dispatch
What September 11 Took From Us
2026-09-11 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Mike Nelson →

Topics

Al-Qaeda America Dispatch Special Forces the 9/11 attacks

Subjects

Dispatch ORG · 3× America GPE · 2× David French PERSON · 2× Jonah Goldberg PERSON · 2× Mike Nelson PERSON · 2× Steve Hayes PERSON · 2× Al-Qaeda ORG · 1× George W. Bush PERSON · 1× JAG ORG · 1× Special Forces ORG · 1×

Narrative

The Agenda: —Remembering the events over the course of the day —How lives were changed after 9/11 —Journalism’s evolution after the attacks —Did we win the war on terror? —The enemy gets a vote Show notes: [intro music plays] Welcome to the Dispatch podcast.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-11
🔮 I will remember, I came out of my office, and I saw a couple of secretaries.
2026-09-11 · The Dispatch
Did We Win the War on Terror? · assertive framing

Claims (25 extracted, 2 hedged)

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Mike Nelson, and David French to discuss former President George W. Bush’s response to the 9/11 attacks, how the tragedy shaped domestic policy today, and whether or not we won the war on terror. asserted
we → join → terror
The Agenda: —Remembering the events over the course of the day —How lives were changed after 9/11 —Journalism’s evolution after the attacks —Did we win the war on terror? —The enemy gets a vote Show notes: [intro music plays] Welcome to the Dispatch podcast. asserted
music → remember → podcast
On today's roundtable, we discuss the Al-Qaeda attacks on America on September 11th, 2001, and the twenty-five years of war and recovery since then. asserted
we → discuss → war
How did the 9/11 attacks change us? asserted
attacks → change → us
Did the US win the war on terror? asserted
US → win → terror
How did the attacks and America's response contribute to our politics today? asserted
attacks → contribute → politics
I'm joined by Dispatch Editor-in-Chief, Jonah Goldberg, retired Special Forces officer and Dispatch contributor, Mike Nelson, and retired JAG officer and New York Times columnist, David French. asserted
I → join → Goldberg
Let's dive right in. asserted
's → let → ?
[theme music plays] Good morning, gentlemen. asserted
music → play → ?
I wanna start with a pretty simple question, and David, I'll start with you. asserted
I → start → you
Where were you when the attacks occurred, and what were your thoughts that day? asserted
thoughts → occur → ?
I will remember, I came out of my office, and I saw a couple of secretaries. asserted
I → remember → secretaries
You know, this is before flat screen TV. asserted
this → know → TV
I mean, I think this is when people first started getting a plasma, [chuckles] you know? asserted
you → mean → plasma
Do you remember those things? asserted
you → remember → things
And there was a couple of TVs in the parts of the firm where the secretaries worked, and they were huddled around looking at something on a very small TV, and I looked over their shoulders, and one of the World Trade Centers was on fire. asserted
one → be → fire
And it was live television, and I was like, "What happened?" asserted
What → happen → ?
And they said, "Nobody knows. asserted
Nobody → say → ?
It's just burning." asserted
It → burn → ?
And everyone was trying to figure it out, and then I watched the second plane hit just right there. asserted
plane → try → it
And I could immediately tell that was a commercial airliner. uncertain
that → tell → ?
Like, everybody who knew anything at all about aviation could tell immediately it was a commercial airliner. uncertain
it → know → aviation
And, and that moment, just my mind just changed in a completely different mode. asserted
mind → change → mode
That's what's happening." asserted
what → happen → ?
And I remember immediately walking upstairs. asserted
I → remember → ?
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support