Spies, strategies and missed opportunities: How the lessons of 9/11 are still being learnt

What the report says

BBC World News says the 9/11 attacks continue to shape security and intelligence policy 25 years later, both in the US and among its allies. In an analysis by security correspondent Frank Gardner, the article recalls how the hijacked-plane attacks killed 2,977 people and exposed major failures in US intelligence sharing between the CIA and FBI. It says the aftermath pushed governments to strengthen counter-terrorism coordination, including closer cooperation between agencies in the UK and the US and the creation of new structures such as the US National Counter Terrorism Center and the Director of National Intelligence.

The report also says the lessons of 9/11 were not fully absorbed. It points to the 2003 Iraq invasion, arguing that flawed intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s weapons capabilities was politicized and later judged seriously weak by inquiries. The article notes that MI6 later changed how it checks field intelligence, separating source handling from assessment to reduce the risk of unsupported claims shaping policy.

BBC World News further says that while terrorist threats remain real, the security focus has broadened. Former MI5 chief Lord Jonathan Evans is quoted as saying state threats from countries such as Russia, Iran and China are now at least as serious as non-state extremism. The piece also suggests that later policy choices, including the recent US attack on Iran, showed how intelligence warnings can still be missed when leaders lack a clear counter-strategy.