The September 11 attacks (also
referred to as September 11, September 11th, or 9/11) were
a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington,
D.C., metropolitan area on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The
attacks killed almost 3,000 people and caused at least $10 billion in property
and infrastructure damage.
Four passenger airliners were hijacked by
19 al-Qaeda terrorists so they could be flown into buildings in suicide attacks. Two of those planes, American
Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines
Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers,
respectively, of the World Trade Center complex
in New York City.
Within two hours, both
towers collapsed with debris and the resulting fires causing
partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the WTC complex, as well
as significant damage to ten other large surrounding structures. A third plane, American
Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United
States Department of Defense), leading to a partial collapse in its
western side.
The fourth plane, United Airlines
Flight 93, was targeted at Washington, D.C., but crashed into a
field near Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers.
In total, almost
3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 227 civilians and 19
hijackers aboard the four planes. It also was the deadliest incident for firefighters and
for law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343
and 72 killed respectively.
Suspicion quickly fell on al-Qaeda.
Although the group's leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any
involvement, in 2004, he claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S. support
of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in
Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives for the
attacks.
The United States responded to the
attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading
Afghanistan to depose theTaliban, which had harbored al-Qaeda. Many
countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law
enforcement powers. Having evaded capture for years, bin Laden was located and killed by
U.S. forces in May 2011.
The destruction of the Twin Towers and
other properties caused serious damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan and had a significant
effect on global markets, closing Wall Street until September 17 and the
civilian airspace in the U.S. and Canada until September 13.
Many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed the attack, either out of fear of further attacks or respect for the tragedy.
Cleanup of the World Trade Center
site was completed in May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired
within a year.
Numerous memorials have been
constructed, including the National
September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, the Pentagon Memorial, and the Flight 93
National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
On November 18, 2006, construction of One World Trade
Center began at the World Trade Center
site. As of September 2013, the new tower's concrete
construction was largely complete, and will officially open when the
installation of podium glass and interior construction is completed, estimated
2014.
NOTE: Ever since the Civil War, the US has never had a war
inside their boarders, except for the two attacks by Islamic Terrorist. And, while some consider these attacks to be
brutal and horrendous (which they were), there were very much similar
(relatively speaking) to what Americans did to the British when we were trying
to establish our independence. Still,
many would say that it is lunacy to compare the two… and, perhaps they are right.
What we, as
Americans, fail to realize for the most part is that the entire rest of the
world is coming after us from an economic perspective, a job perspective, an
educational perspective, and from a militaristic perspective. Our place on top of the pile is no longer
guaranteed.
So, while we pay
tribute to the 3000 that died on 911 a few brief years ago, let us realize that
once the fanfare ends, we go back to our routine lives and ignore these events
until it is time to remember them again next year.
Out of sight… Out of mind…
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