Mistakes of the West since 9/11 may have made the world worse

The consequences of decisions made in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center show how over-reaction needs to be avoided, writes Peter Apps

We all remember where we were when the planes hit the World Trade Center — and then the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania — 15 years ago.

I was barely 20 years old, offshore in the Bay of Biscay as a volunteer crew member on a square red sailing ship for disabled people. Immediately, one had the feeling that the destiny of millions of people — perhaps many I knew — had been immediately changed.