Click to play videoNew Delhi: It has been 8 years since the dark day, the day that many feel changed America and the world forever.
While there has been no repeat of 9/11 on American soil, across the world similar spectacular attacks have taken place in the last eight years. Bali, Madrid, London and the Mumbai are all reminders that the global terror threat remains real.
But even as terror attacks continue, there's one thing that has certainly changed and that's America's approach to the whole issue of terror which its new President prefers to call 'violent extremism.
With the election of Barack Obama, there is now a broad consensus that the Bush-era's 'war on terror' has come to an end. Most Americans believe that Iraq war proved to be a great mistake and Obama who opposed the Iraq war as a presidential candidate was quick to correct that mistake.
Soon after taking over he moved fast to withdraw US troops from Iraq and shift the focus to another front – Afghanistan.
But it seems that even Afghanistan has become a mess. And despite Obama pouring in more war resources into it, both the Afghans and the Americans are paying an increasingly high price.
However for Obama, a retreat from Afghanistan will risk a comeback of al-Qaida.
Faced with this dilemma and the growing unpopularity of the war in Afghanistan, Obama has been quick to reach out to the Muslim world.
"America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead they overlap and share common principles," said Obama.
Recent opinion polls have revealed that Obama's approval rating was higher than Bush's in Arab countries. Many felt that the promise to close Guantanamo was a positive move. But the fact remains that unless Obama makes a clear break from his predecessor's 'violence for violence' policy, building bridges with the Muslim world may prove to be very difficult.
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