Hamas’s October 7 massacre is being called “Israel’s 9/11.” Since both events brought catastrophic Islamist savagery and shock to unsuspecting nations, the comparison is valid. But key differences between the way certain global powers reacted in 2001 and the way they are reacting now reveal a profoundly altered global landscape.

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, had a unifying effect on the main global powers. Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first world leader to call United States President George W. Bush. Putin said he supported a tough American response to the “barbaric attacks.” Russia shut down its television and radio stations to commemorate the dead in America. Most significantly, Russia brokered a deal for the U.S. military to use air bases in Central Asia with no quid pro quo. Russia wanted to do its part to bring the terrorists to justice.

The situation in China in the days after September 11 was similar. Chinese leadership condemned “all violent activities by terrorism.” Tens of thousands of Chinese citizens visited U.S. embassies in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities, leaving flowers, cards, wreaths and handwritten notes of condolence. Chinese Communist Party leaders stated their support for America’s war on terror and its invasion of Afghanistan—a nation on China’s western border. And China significantly increased intelligence sharing with America on Central Asia.

Now we are 22 years on, with a new attack on one of America’s closest partners that was every bit as diabolical as 9/11. But this time around, the leadership of Russia and China can’t even bring themselves to condemn Hamas. China has taken Hamas’s side, criticizing what it calls Israel’s “excessive retaliatory actions.” Russia has gone a similar route, with its ambassador to the United Nations blaming America for bearing “responsibility for the looming war in the Middle East” and calling for a ceasefire that would effectively grant Hamas impunity for its demonic atrocities. All this despite the fact that 19 of those killed by Hamas terrorists were Russian citizens and four were Chinese. At least two Russians and one Chinese are among Hamas’s hostages.

What has happened in the last two decades to the leadership of these nations? In 2001, they were not friends to America, but they were able to recognize sheer evil when it reared its head. They were apparently even shaken and briefly humbled by the sight of it. Now the minds of these leaders have been calcified by hatred and a dark desire to end the era of U.S. global leadership. They are so hell-bent on opposing America and its partners that they count their own slain citizens as collateral damage. Such losses are sometimes necessary, they calculate, if it means the U.S. side suffers more. Their aim is to subvert America and become the world’s main powers; there appears to be no limit to what they will do to achieve it.

In his October 2023 article, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote:

It is deeply alarming how susceptible the human mind is to [evil] influence. …

Look at the nations today. You see great powers that have no misgivings about subverting, pillaging or destroying another nation when it suits them, simply because they want land or wealth.

To understand the changing international scene and the hope connected to these alarming trends, read “World Leaders Who No Longer Have a Human Mind.”