It’s a normal day at work when suddenly there is an explosion, trapping hundreds of people inside collapsing buildings covered in rubble. Coworkers, friends, and family are gone, never to be seen again, lost to senseless acts of terrorism. In 1993, 1998, and 2000, these events came to pass in the form of terrorist bombings on U.S. targets across the globe. The World Trade Center complex was a symbol of wealth and prosperity, but quickly became the target for radical Muslims and was attacked early in 1993. Despite this attack, the American people did not think that the terrorist organization behind the attack, al-Qaeda, was much of a threat, failing to properly respond to the attack and prepare for the future. Five years later and across the globe, another bombing occurred. This attack targeted the U.S. embassies in the African countries of Kenya and Tanzania. Again, the U.S. was distracted from the incident and did not react in a proper manner. Finally, in 2000, the U.S. was again subjected to a terrorist attack, this time on a naval warship docked in Yemen. The country again looked on in horror as the unthinkable happened, leaving people to again question their safety. Although these attacks on American targets were devastating, the United States should have learned from its mistakes to better prepare and defend against the September 11th attacks.
The World Trade Center bombing triggered a response from the American government, but that response did not do enough to prevent future attacks against American targets. On February 26, 1993, at 18 minutes past noon, an explosion ripped through the underground parking garage of the Trade Center complex. The bombers rented a van, filled it with explosives and gasoline, and set the fuse,...
... middle of paper ...
...om the past and its mistakes to work more diligently in order to prevent the September 11th attacks. The bombing of the World Trade Center in New York was unexpected, but gave the government an opportunity to improve security and avoid future attacks. The carnage at the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania again provided the U.S. government a chance to work against the terrorist network responsible, but again, the government failed. Finally, the assault against the U.S.S. Cole in the port city of Aden gave the U.S. one final opportunity to learn and prevent something from happening again, but the next year, the unthinkable happened and the 9/11 attacks occurred, killing thousands. Had the United States had managed to link the attacks and understand the emerging pattern of attacks against U.S. targets, the destruction, chaos, and death of 9/11 might have never happened.
World Trade Center, 1993 Terrorist Attack - The attack and its aftermath, Investigation and cleanup begins. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.faqs.org/espionage/Vo-Z/World-Trade-Center-1993-Terrorist-Attack.html
Following the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Unites States found itself in a search for answers and revenge against those that had brought about this atrocity. The attack that has been compared to that of Pearl-Harbor elevated the tracking and collecting of terrorism from barely a priority, to the forefront of the American radar. I honestly believe that terrorism as the #1 priority is destined to remain at the top for the foreseeable future. The elemental thoughts on almost all American minds following the attacks were who had the strength and capability to could carry out such an attack on a country with the world’s strongest military and what led to their focus to attack the Untied States: In short, who attacked us, and why do they hate us? The Untied States formed a bi-partisan 9/11 Commission was formed to trace the roots of Al-Qa’ida, investigate the history of the 19 hijackers, examine missed opportunities of law enforcement officials to avert the disaster, and make recommendations to clean up the faulty incoherent intelligence-gathering operation. The 500+ page 9/11 Commission Report contained thirteen chapters of historical narratives, analysis and recommendations. All ten members of the bi-partisan commission signed off on the report, which has arguably become a national historical document. Just as the 9/11 Commission was created to find answers and recommend necessary follow steps to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself, Lawrence Wright sought answers as to why 3000 American lives were lost in the attacks on September 11th. An experienced traveler to the region, Lawrence Wright endeavored to do his own investigative study into the history, ideology and circumstances behind this large-...
9/11 was one of the most devastating events in American History. Four hijacked passenger airplanes killed almost three thousand people. 9/11 changed millions of lives forever. American Citizens didn’t feel safe. This attack was a wake-up call to American security. 9/11 forced the country to acknowledge its shortcomings and fix them, before any more harm could come upon the United States of America. 9/11, as all acts of terror do, promoted the growth of technology, in this case, security in the United States. 9/11 also brought about feelings of hatred to the country. The United States soon became known as one of the most intolerable nations on this planet. Lastly, 9/11 butchered the economy and forced it down a long road to recovery.
On September 11, 2001 New York came upon a terrorist attack. The terrorist hijacked four airplanes the morning of the attack. The attack was part of the Al-Qaeda Islamist group, led by Osama Bin Laden. Two planes collided into the World Trade Center; one hit the Pentagon, and the other one crashed in Pennsylvania never reaching its destination. The cause of 9/11 is that Islam saw the United States as a heinous country with different and awful morals so they decided to attack. The consequences were the tensions between Americans and Muslims rose. Numerous hate crimes were committed and there was a massive economic downfall. We could have avoided this incident if the airport security would have been more strict, then the attack would have a less chance of happening (Bantista). “Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts. Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward. And freedom will be defended.” –President Bush directly after the 9/11 attacks (Tsimelkas). The government issued extreme changes in the military system and the surveillance ...
April 19, 1995 at 9:02, in Oklahoma City a bomb exploded; destroying buildings, injuring and killing innocent citizens. Many questions of the city would go unanswered; including who made it, who didn’t, along with who did it and why. All of these citizens deserve answers to the simple questions. The world was in shock and worried about what was going to happen next. This terrorist attack would then be noted as the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Introduction On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center buildings one and two were attacked. However, who we were attacked by and even if we were attacked is a hard decision to make. There have been many different claims about how everything on that fateful day happened. There are facts that we know are true, though; Flight 11 flew into the North Tower at eight forty- six in the morning.
On September 11, 2001 terrorists crashed two American airline airplanes into Twin Towers, killing thousands of people. It was the worst terrorist attack in American history and it showed us that we are not protected by Atlantic and Pacific. It showed us that we could be attacked by anyone at anytime. It showed us that if we will be attacked again that we can only depend on each other and not on other nations to help us. The 9/11 changed people forever, some lost family members or friends, others lost their jobs even so called “American Dream.”
When a giant explosion ripped through Alfred P. Murrah federal building April 19,1995, killing 168 and wounding hundreds, the United States of America jumped to a conclusion we would all learn to regret. The initial response to the devastation was all focused of middle-eastern terrorists. “The West is under attack,”(Posner 89), reported the USA Today. Every news and television station had the latest expert on the middle east telling the nation that we were victims of jihad, holy war. It only took a few quick days to realize that we were wrong and the problem, the terrorist, was strictly domestic. But it was too late. The damage had been done. Because America jumped to conclusions then, America was later blind to see the impending attack of 9/11. The responsibility, however, is not to be placed on the America people. The public couldn’t stand to hear any talk of terrorism, so in turn the White House irresponsibly took a similar attitude. They concentrated on high public opinion and issues that were relevant to Americans everyday. The government didn’t want to deal with another public blunder like the one in Oklahoma City. A former FBI analyst recalls, “when I went to headquarters (Washington, D.C.) later that year no one was interested in hearing anything about Arab money connections unless it had something to do with funding domestic groups. We stumbled so badly on pinpointing the Middle East right off the bat on the Murrah bombing. No one wanted to get caught like that again,”(Posner 90). The result saw changes in the counter terrorism efforts; under funding, under manning, poor cooperation between agencies, half-hearted and incompetent agency official appointees and the list goes on. All of these decisions, made at the hands of the faint-hearted, opened the doors wide open, and practically begged for a terrorist attack. So who’s fault is it? The public’s for being
Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States came together with a staunch promise to “never forget” that day’s atrocities. Congressmen from opposing parties reached across the aisle and stood arm in arm at the Capitol to show their commitment to this pledge. But,when another terrorist attack had stunned New York City a century earlier, this promise did not exist. In 1920, a bombing on Wall Street rattled the city’s financial core and earned the title as the city’s worst terrorist attack until 2001. The assault came merely two years after the US debuted as a global superpower with World War 1’s end. Despite the attack on this newfound American identity, the bombing never found closure for proving for the first time that the US was not invincible.
Historical Significance: The September 11th, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, orchestrated by Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, were the events that launched the U.S. War on Terrorism. Al-Qaeda’s attack on the United States was carried out by members of radicalized Islamic groups, whose objective was to spread jihad against the secular influence of the West. This tragic event provided the historical b...
Do you remember the conflict that America had in the Persian Gulf a few years back? An incident occurred there where a man drove a truck loaded with explosives into the building where more than 100 Marines were stationed. He blew up the building, along with the Marines. The incident was published by the AP Press soon after. Now do you remember the bombing just four years ago, in Oklahoma City? Suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols drove a Ryder Van loaded with 4,800 pounds of fertilizer and fuel oil to the front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, where it subsequently exploded, killing 169 people and injuring some 500 others. Of course you do. While both were massive acts of violence involving American citizens, the impact of such acts is always felt the most when it happens right here at home.
At 8:46 a.m., the United States witnessed the first terroristic attack of many to come when American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower in New York City. Flight 11 impacted the tower between floors 93 and 99 ...
According to the Encyclopedia of New York State, at 12:18 P.M. on Friday, 26 Feb 1993, a powerful explosion shook the earth and knocked out the power in Lower Manhattan, New York. Most would say it felt like an earthquake. It had marked the beginning of a new phase of terrorism involving the killing of innocent civilians. A bomb that weighed somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds had exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center (WTC), the tallest building in the Manhattan complex. The explosion created the dark, smoke-filled stairways of the building and forced an immediate evacuation of about 50,000 people from the 110- story WTC that took more than six hours. The bomb had created a crater that was about 150 feet across and five floors deep and killed 6 people who were in the surrounding area. There were more than 1,000 people who were injured and treated for smoke inhalation. There was estimated $500 million in damages that day. (2005. Pg.1723.)
September 11, 2001 was a day that Americans and the world for that matter will not soon forget. When two planes went into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and two others went into the Pentagon and a small town in Pennsylvania, the world was rocked. Everyone in the United States felt very vulnerable and unsafe from attacks that might follow. As a result, confidence in the CIA, FBI, and the airlines were shaken. People were scared to fly after what had happened.
When it comes to 9/11, we learned that the number of casualties could have been mitigated if only we had more communication and security between agencies. During the tragedy the police and fire department did not communicate effectively, they had their own emergency response procedures, so they did not have a coordinated response plan to this major incident. Also, the fire evacuation procedures only required mandatory evacuations of the floors surround the fire, and when tower one got struck, those in tower two were told to stay in the building. We learned a lot from this event, we learned that they are heroes everywhere, that we must protect our airlines cockpit, that terrorism comes in many ways and forms, that America is vulnerable, that