Fifteen years have come and gone, and the memory of 9/11 brings back scenes of brutal terror and endless sorrow. Although, it begs an uneasy question — did the U.S. rise above its past fears and unite to defeat terrorism?

When former President George W. Bush stood at Ground Zero and told the first responders “…the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon,” the world knew that war would come swiftly.

A U.S.-led coalition launched a campaign to find and destroy the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan, and a decade later its leader, Osama Bin Laden, was killed. Today, media outlets from Al Jazeera to The New York Times are reporting that the Taliban is sweeping across the south of the country, and government forces are fleeing.

Despite once being the U.S.’s primary target, the Taliban is hardly mentioned on the evening news or in the presidential race. Its once infamous status as America’s No. 1 enemy has all but been replaced by the Islamic State (IS).

Hundreds of miles from the mountains of Afghanistan, to the deserts of Syria and Iraq, IS continually fights to build an empire of terror. IS launched and motivated attacks in Paris and Nice, France; Brussels, Belgium, and more than 140 attacks in 27 countries, according to CNN.

The quagmire of war involving IS, the Syrian civil war and Iraq only grows more troublesome for U.S. officials, as a CNN article titled “Washington’s Syrian headache” points out. The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that Turkey, an ally of the U.S., is launching more assaults against the Kurds, another ally of the U.S.

In the 15 years since Sept. 11, 2001, the complexity of the Middle East has only grown more confusing and unstable. Instead of establishing stable democratic governments in Afghanistan and Iraq, as the U.S. once hoped, there is nothing but continued warfare.

The anniversary of 9/11 is and will always be a memorial to innocent Americans who died at the hands of terrorists. But it is also becoming a painful reminder that past and present leaders are unable to create a safer world.

With the fierce presidential election cycle gearing up, Americans listen to vague promises of security and military strategy to carry them forward. But neither presidential candidate Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton have offered a clear plan of how to defend the U.S. from terrorists. The race instead turned into a shouting match to get the limelight.

The 9/11 attacks defined a generation of Americans who were able to stand next to each other as neighbors, regardless of their political ideologies. Trump and Clinton relived that solidarity Sunday while they attended a memorial service in New York City, the AP reported. Political figures, while welcome to the memorial, are not allowed to publicly speak. Clinton and Trump reportedly did not air TV advertisements on Sunday, according to AP.

The political, social and economic strife that riddles the world today can only be hampered by the memory of disaster and grief. The terrorists were able to draw Americans together for one day, and leave us separated for the other 364.

Since 9/11, the Middle East has only grown more unstable, and the U.S. only more divided. With the anniversary of the deadliest modern attack on the U.S. over, there is nothing stopping Trump and Clinton from unleashing vicious campaigns. Two of the most hated presidential candidates in America’s memory are now in the final stretches of what will only be a merciless race for the heart and soul of the nation.

There is, however, nothing they can do or say that will unite Americans like Sept. 11.

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