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The attacks had major global political ramifications. They were denounced by mainstream media and governments worldwide, with
the headline of France's Le Monde newspaper summing up the international mood of sympathy: "We Are All Americans"
(Nous sommes tous Américains).The most publicized exception was that some Palestinians celebrated jubilantly upon hearing
about 9/11.There was a report by a journalist about public demonstrations of enthusiasm for the attacks conducted by Chinese
students in Beijing, China during the night after the attacks. Although the journalist was not in China on the day of 9/11,
he reported the event on the 5th anniversary of 9/11 based on accounts he had learned from his sources.Leaders in most Middle
Eastern countries, including Afghanistan, condemned the attacks. Iraq was a notable exception, with an immediate official
statement that "the American cowboys are reaping the fruit of their crimes against humanity."
Approximately one month after the attacks, the United States led a broad coalition of international forces in the removal
of the Taliban regime for harboring the al-Qaeda organization.The Pakistani authorities moved decisively to align themselves
with the United States in a war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Pakistan provided the U.S. a number of military airports
and bases for its attack on the Taliban regime and arrested over 600 supposed al-Qaeda members, whom it handed over to the
U.S.
Numerous countries, including the UK, India, Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, China, Canada, Russia, Pakistan, Jordan,
Mauritius, Uganda and Zimbabwe introduced "anti-terrorism" legislation and froze the bank accounts of businesses
and individuals they suspected of having al-Qaeda ties.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies in a number of countries, including Italy, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines
arrested people they labeled terrorist suspects for the stated purpose of breaking up militant cells around the world.In the
U.S., this aroused some controversy, as critics such as the Bill of Rights Defense Committee argued that traditional restrictions
on federal surveillance (e.g. COINTELPRO's monitoring of public meetings) were "dismantled" by the USA PATRIOT Act;
civil liberty organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Liberty argued that certain civil rights protections
were also being circumvented.
The United States set up a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold what they termed "illegal enemy combatants".
The legitimacy of these detentions has been questioned by, among others, the European Parliament, the Organization of American
States,and Amnesty International.
In the United Kingdom, outrage swelled in the media when Jo Moore, a special adviser to Transport Secretary Stephen Byers,
sent an email to staff an hour after the attacks, but before the towers had collapsed, suggesting that "It is now a very
good day to get out anything we want to bury. Councillors' expenses?"Moore faced calls for her resignation, but after
apologising and receiving backing from Byers and Downing Street, she remained in her job until February 2002, when a further
'burying bad news' scandal finally led to her resignation.
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