The 11 September 2001 attacks transformed the global security order, reshaped international relations and fundamentally altered how countries viewed terrorism, migration and national security. Twenty-five years later, the world is facing an even more complex landscape of geopolitical rivalry, regional conflicts and non-traditional security threats.
Bangladesh, according to former foreign secretaries Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury Bir Bikram and Masud bin Momen and retired Major General Md Mashud Razzaq, must navigate this changing environment by combining strategic autonomy, diversified partnerships, strong diplomacy and enhanced security capabilities.
The three former senior officials made the observations at a special discussion organised by TIMES to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The programme recalled the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, including six Bangladeshis, as well as hundreds of rescuers and first responders who later died from injuries and illnesses linked to the rescue operations.
9/11 and Bangladesh’s diplomatic balancing act
Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, who became foreign secretary within a month after the 9/11 attacks and later served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to Washington, recalled the intense diplomatic pressure Bangladesh faced in the aftermath.
The attacks had a particularly profound impact on Muslim-majority countries, he said, as the US debate increasingly associated terrorism with Islam.
“Every sensible human being condemned this kind of attack. There can be no justification for this kind of thing,” Chowdhury said, while recalling the difficult diplomatic environment that followed.
He said Bangladesh was initially compelled to convince the United States and its Western partners that it was a moderate Muslim country and not a source of extremist threats.
During a visit to Washington by then foreign minister AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury shortly after 9/11, the central question raised by US officials was what role Bangladesh could play in the emerging global campaign against terrorism.
The US subsequently launched its “war on terror”, while President George W Bush famously declared that countries were either “with us or against us”.
For Dhaka, however, the challenge was to condemn terrorism unequivocally without becoming involved in military interventions that did not have UN authorisation.
Chowdhury recalled that when then British prime minister Tony Blair unexpectedly visited Dhaka in early 2002, Bangladesh had already discussed how it would respond if asked to support military operations in Afghanistan or elsewhere.
“The decision was taken very well considered that Bangladesh will never engage in any military action outside its borders that is not backed by a UN Security Council sanction,” he said.
That position became particularly important ahead of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Bangladesh rejected military participation in the operation, while allowing limited use of Dhaka airport for purposes such as medical evacuation and refuelling, under strict conditions.
Chowdhury said the pressure was “immense”, but Bangladesh maintained its position.
“We support the war on terror. We support any action against terrorism, but do not expect Bangladesh to have a role in your invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan,” he said.
He argued that Bangladesh’s ability to maintain relations with Washington while protecting its own strategic interests demonstrated the importance of diplomatic balancing.
From traditional warfare to a broader security architecture
Retired Major General Mashud Razzaq described 9/11 as a “geopolitical watershed moment” that fundamentally changed the way governments understood security.
The attacks demonstrated that a non-state actor could penetrate the security system of the world’s most powerful country and inflict massive damage, he said.
“This forced a move from the mindset of traditional security strategy to non-traditional aspects,” Razzaq said.
Intelligence, terrorism, radicalisation, terrorist financing and cross-border information-sharing subsequently became central components of national and international security policy.
According to him, governments also realised that military power alone could not eliminate terrorism.
“If it is deeply rooted, the military can eliminate terrorism, but radicalism and other issues… need a holistic approach,” he said.
The post-9/11 period therefore saw greater intelligence cooperation, financial monitoring, information sharing and closer coordination among states and security agencies.
Bangladesh was also affected by these changes. Razzaq noted that the country strengthened its counterterrorism institutions and reshaped elements of its security and educational structures to address emerging non-traditional threats.
But he warned that the nature of those threats has evolved dramatically over the past 25 years.
Technology, artificial intelligence, rapid information flows, online radicalisation, cyber threats and digital terrorist financing have created new vulnerabilities.
The geopolitical environment has also changed from the relatively dominant position of the United States after the Cold War to an era of intense competition among major powers, alongside conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
For Bangladesh, the geographical reality is particularly important.
“If my neighbour is not in peace, it is very difficult for me to remain in peace because the residual effect will also be on me,” said Razzaq, a security analyst.
He argued that peace, economic stability and security are interconnected.
Bangladesh’s strategic autonomy and diplomacy
The former officials agreed that Bangladesh cannot isolate itself from developments in its neighbourhood or wider geopolitical competition.
Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury said Dhaka must recognise the limitations of its national power and pursue a pragmatic foreign policy.
“We cannot punch above our weight. We are compelled to be more reactive in our foreign policy and military strategy than proactive,” he said.
He stressed the importance of protecting sovereignty and national interests while maintaining stable relations with strategic partners.
Bangladesh’s strength, he argued, lies partly in its tradition of communal harmony and an inclusive society.
He recalled efforts during his tenure as ambassador in Washington to promote Bangladesh’s image through interfaith initiatives involving Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and other communities.
“We must have strong military capabilities, but it has to be part of your diplomatic efforts,” Chowdhury said. “For a country like Bangladesh, diplomacy has to remain your first line of defence.”
He also highlighted Bangladesh’s role in creating Saarc, describing it as the country’s most significant foreign-policy contribution to South Asia, while expressing concern over the regional organisation’s current weakness.
Razzaq similarly called for strategic autonomy based on diversified partnerships.
“Foreign policy must have strategic autonomy, and it must have diversified partnership. We must not depend on a single line to survive,” he said.
He advocated stronger cooperation with neighbours, intelligence sharing, connectivity, maritime and border security, cyber monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure.
Bangladesh should also develop credible defence capabilities, he said, not to pursue confrontation but to preserve its ability to make independent choices.
“Friends to all and malice to none” should remain a guiding principle, while Bangladesh should acquire sufficient defence capability to choose its own course, Razzaq said.
9/11 and the securitisation of migration
Former foreign secretary Masud bin Momen, who anchored the discussion, focused on another lasting consequence of 9/11: the transformation of global migration policy.
He said immigration, which had traditionally been viewed largely through economic and labour-market considerations, increasingly became a national security issue after the attacks.
The result has been tighter visa regimes, biometric screening, traveller tracking, information sharing and greater scrutiny of foreign nationals across major destination countries.
“The migration-security nexus permanently altered how nations regulate borders, track travellers and view foreign nationals,” Momen said.
But he warned that tighter controls would not eliminate migration.
“Migration will not cease; it will evolve only,” he said.
For Bangladesh, this presents a major challenge because of its large young population and continued demand for overseas employment and education.
As legal migration pathways become more restricted, young Bangladeshis may become increasingly vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation and irregular migration, he said.
Momen also highlighted the decline in refugee resettlement opportunities and the growing trend of wealthy destination countries seeking to externalise refugee processing to third countries.
He cited arrangements involving Europe and North African countries, Australia and Nauru, and the UK’s proposed Rwanda model as examples of a broader trend.
Bangladesh, he said, has remained actively engaged in global migration diplomacy through platforms such as the Global Forum on Migration and Development and the Global Compact for Migration.
The country must continue protecting migrant rights while adapting to the growing security dimension of international mobility.
A more uncertain world
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the world has moved far beyond the immediate “war on terror” framework. Major-power rivalry, regional conflicts, cyber threats, artificial intelligence, migration pressures and economic insecurity now intersect with traditional security concerns.
For Bangladesh, the speakers suggested, the answer lies neither in isolation nor in alignment with any single power.
Instead, Dhaka needs strong diplomacy, diversified international partnerships, credible defence capabilities, effective intelligence and law enforcement, economic resilience and greater regional cooperation.
Chowdhury summed up the challenge by stressing that Bangladesh must protect its sovereignty while maintaining stable relations with key partners.
Razzaq emphasised that security must be understood holistically, while Momen warned that restrictions on human mobility must not come at the expense of migrants’ rights and legitimate opportunities.
Their message was clear: the post-9/11 world has not become safer or simpler. For Bangladesh, navigating the next phase will require strategic autonomy, national consensus and diplomacy backed by credible national capabilities.
