# Twenty-five years on, a columnist asks if we're safe > A Baltimore columnist who covered 9/11 asks a member of Congress with a security clearance whether it could happen again. - Title: Twenty-five years on, a columnist asks if we're safe - Summary: A Baltimore columnist who covered 9/11 asks a member of Congress with a security clearance whether it could happen again. The threats have changed shape, but… - Keywords: 9/11, national security, congress, terrorism, military, news, local, Twenty-five, years, columnist, asks, we're - Source: The Banner — https://thebanner.com/opinion/column/sarah-elfreth-house-armed-services-world-trade-center-6OMRLNIBHBG55DF3CVTECNLZOI - Author: Rick Hutzell - Published: 2026-09-11T09:30:00+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: 9/11, national security, congress, terrorism, military, news, local ## A tiny newsroom TV Rick Hutzell watched the North Tower burn on a small screen in his Annapolis newsroom, then saw United 175 fly into the frame and hit the South Tower. > I remember the World Trade Center's North Tower burning. ## Four planes, one morning Flight 77 hit the Pentagon 34 minutes later. United 93 went down in a Pennsylvania field after passengers rushed the cockpit. 2,977 people died. ## The question he can't drop Twenty-five years and weeks of obituaries later, Hutzell still wants an answer to the plainest version of it. Could it happen again? Are we safe? > And the world has never been the same. ## An optimist by necessity Rep. Sarah Elfreth of Annapolis says her job requires optimism. She also says the classified briefings sometimes frighten her. > I'm privy to things that I can't talk about here that, you know, sometimes scare me. ## Why he asked her Elfreth is the only Maryland member of Congress with direct insight into current threats. Her district holds the Naval Academy and Fort Meade, and she sits on House Armed Services. ## Defense becomes War Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth chiseled "Defense" off the Pentagon walls and put up "Department of War" instead. ## Who got pushed out Top-ranking women and people of color were forced out, all inspectors general were fired, and 100 officer promotions were blocked over a political loyalty test. ## A war going badly Missile shortages, lies about civilian deaths, hidden casualties, carriers at sea for nearly a year. Hutzell writes that the Iran war may leave the theocracy stronger. > The president was absolutely unprepared to get into this conflict and he is absolutely unprepared to get out. ## More questions than answers Elfreth has lost count of the closed-door briefings on the war. She keeps walking out of them with more questions than she walked in with. > I often leave those briefings with more questions than I've received answers. ## We ignored the warnings before Al-Qaeda bombed targets in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Tanzania. The 1993 World Trade Center attempt and the USS Cole in 2000 went unread as signals. ## New threats, new shapes Drones replaced hijackers. Autonomous weapons replaced suicide bombers. Social media radicalizes young people where religious schools once did. ## A shadow across the notches At the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland, a sundial's shadow marks 8:46, 9:03, 9:37, 10:03. A trumpeter played nearby, and Hutzell hoped the prayer covered all of us. > It's a power spot. I love the sound, but people just open themselves here. ## Key takeaway The threats have changed shape, but the failure mode is the same: a government that sidelines the people asking hard questions.