Persuasive Essay On National Security

On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by a group of Islamic terrorists who hijacked four airplanes and carried out three simultaneous suicide attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. As a result of the multiple crimes, the United States’ government increased national security and prioritized our nation 's’ defense, often at the expense of the people’s privacy, by enacting policies like the Patriot Act (What is the USA Patriot Web 2011). This left personal emails, text messages, internet history, and personal belongings exposed to the government. Although the government reduced the public’s rights to privacy, it is a necessary step to ensure national safety and security.

What made the 9/11 attacks so different

Despite this many historians believed the preventive measures were necessary in order to keep the United States safe from any further attacks. For example Jim Livingston stated, “When you go to the airport, when you go anywhere, you know security is much tighter. It’s a problem. It’s a hassle. But it’s something I think we have to go through now” ( Historians Discuss What’s Changed 2011), and Allen R. Millett agreed that the extra security measures would give the United States a way to become stronger in both defense and offense, “The United States remains a target-of-choice, but it is a more alert, more dangerous target” (Reflections on 9/11 2011). Although most historians tend to agree with the priority security has in the U.S., some still disagree with the new policies. For instance, Louis Lipinski believes that security and privacy should be of equal priority and 9/11 seemed to destroy the balance the country had, “There are a lot of things and civil liberties that were taken away from us, and I don’t think they’ll ever come back. I think some of them were necessary but some of them were not. And I think that there’s – I don’t think there’s a healthy balance.”( Historians Discuss What’s Changed 2011). Despite the disagreement, historian Lillian McDonald is neutral and sees the United States as having minimal changes post 9/11, “I don’t think it changed

However, this article came from The Washington Post and focused on the attacks on the Pentagon rather than the Twin Towers. Once again the article describes the attacks as being the worst attack in American History, “ It was the most dramatic attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, and it created indelible scenes of carnage and chaos” (Terrorists Hijack 4 Airliners 2001). I wanted this article since many articles I researched mentioned the Pentagon attack only briefly or not at all, I needed coverage on all areas where the hijacked planes hit buildings, in order to get a better picture of the people’s emotions at the