It's now been 17 years since 9/11, almost two decades.

And the aftermath of 9/11 dictated and dominated policies for the previous 17 years.

Bush's presidency was obviously focused on terrorism, notably designated by and consisting of The War On Terror and the Bush Doctrine. PATRIOT ACT. Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. Gitmo. Al-Qaeda plots. In the days following 9/11, no one would have expected that more significant terrorist attacks would not have occurred over the following 8 years (and more).

Obama continued many of Bush's policies. Both wars raged on. Drone attacks and surveillance increased. Got involved in Libya and Syria. Al-Qaeda plot prevented due to an incompetent terrorist. Rise of ISIS.

But after two full presidential administrations, and 17 years later, are we now in the post-9/11 era?

Osama bin Laden killed (more symbolic than anything else). Al-Qaeda completely irrelevant. The Iraq War is over. Afghanistan presence continues but to a much lesser extent. ISIS decimated, caliphate destroyed.

We will never stop the 'lone-wolf' attacks that have increased in Paris, Manchester, etc. It's actually surprising that we don't see more of those.

With Trump's presidency, he has been instrumental in decimating ISIS but also hasn't given any indication that he'd be involved in the Middle East as his two predecessors were, even campaigning against such involvement. We recovered with the recession that followed 9/11, and have now completely recovered from the 2008 financial crisis as well.

Economy is reminiscent of the late-1990s. Limited involvement in the Middle East. Al-Qaeda irrelevant - when were they last a real threat? ISIS decimated.

We will never forget, but 17 years later we have now seemingly closed the chapter that raged on for those two decades, and have finally moved on to a post-9/11 world.