9\11 ATTACK

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PLAN

ATTACKS

ATTACKERS AND THEIR MOTIVATION

AFTERMATH

INVESTIGATIONS

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

CONCLUSION

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Introduction:

Early in the morning on September 11, 2001, nineteen hijackers took control

of four commercial airliners en route to San Francisco and Los Angeles from Boston,

Newark, and Washington .The hijackers flew two of the airliners, American Airlines

Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the North and South Towers of the

World Trade Center. Another group of hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into

the Pentagon. A fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93, whose ultimate target was

either the U.S. Capitol building or the White House, crashed near Shanksville,

Pennsylvania.

Attacks:

Casualties:

There were 2,974 fatalities, excluding the 19 hijackers: 246 on the four planes

(from which there were no survivors), 2,603 in New York City in the towers and on

the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon. An additional 24 people remain listed as

missing. All of the fatalities in the attacks were civilians except for 55 military

personnel killed at the Pentagon. More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks on

the World Trade Center.

Rescue and recovery:

In addition to the 110-floor Twin Towers of the World Trade Center itself,

numerous other buildings at the World Trade Center site were destroyed or badly

damaged. The Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) quickly deployed 200 units

(half of the department) to the site, whose efforts were supplemented by numerous

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off-duty firefighters and EMTs. The New York Police Department (NYPD) sent

Emergency Service Units (ESU) and other police personnel.

Attackers and their motivation:

Al-Qaeda:

The origins of al-Qaeda date back to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded

Afghanistan. Soon after the invasion, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan where

he helped organize Arab mujahideen and established the Maktab al-Khidamat (MAK)

organization to resist the Soviets. In 1989, as the Soviets withdrew, MAK was

transformed into a "rapid reaction force" in jihad against governments across the

Muslim world. Under the guidance of al-Zawahiri, Osama became more radical. In

1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā which called for American soldiers to leave

Saudi Arabia. In a second fatwā issued in 1998, bin Laden outlined his objections to

American foreign policy towards Israel, as well as the continued presence of

American troops in Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to

exhort violent action against American military and citizenry.

Planning of the attacks:

The idea for the September 11 plot came from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,

who first presented the idea to bin Laden in 1996. At that point, Bin Laden and al-

Qaeda were in a period of transition, having just relocated back to Afghanistan from

Sudan. Bin Laden was also involved in selecting people to participate in the plot,

including choosing Mohamed Atta as the lead hijacker. As many as 27 members of al-

Qaeda attempted to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks.

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Hijackers, Osama bin Laden and motive:

Fifteen of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab

Emirates, one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon. In sharp contrast to the standard

profile of suicide bombers, the hijackers were well-educated, mature adults, whose

belief systems were fully formed. For instance, correspondent Peter Bergen argues

that the attacks were part of a plan to cause the United States to increase its military

and cultural presence in the Middle East, thereby forcing Muslims to confront the

"evils" of a non-Muslim government and establish conservative Islamic governments

in the region. Michael Scott Doran, correspondent for Foreign Affairs, further

emphasizes the "mythic" use of the term "spectacular" in bin Laden's response to the

attacks, explaining that he was attempting to provoke a visceral reaction in the Middle

East and ensure that Muslim citizens would react as violently as possible to an

increase in U.S. involvement in their region.

Aftermath:

Immediate national response:

The 9/11 attacks had immediate and overwhelming effects upon the people of

the United States. Many police officers and rescue workers elsewhere in the country

took leaves of absence to travel to New York City to assist in the process of

recovering bodies from the twisted remnants of the Twin Towers. Blood donations

across the U.S. also saw a surge in the weeks after 9/11.For the first time in history, all

nonemergency civilian aircraft in the United States and several other countries

including Canada were immediately grounded, stranding tens of thousands of

passengers across the world. Any international flights were closed to American

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airspace by the Federal Aviation Administration, causing flights to be redirected to

other countries. Canada was one of the main recipients of diverted flights and

launched Operation Yellow Ribbon to deal with the large numbers of grounded planes

and stranded passengers.

War on Terrorism:

The NATO council declared that the attacks on the United States were

considered an attack on all NATO nations and, as such, satisfied Article 5 of the

NATO charter. Upon returning to Australia having been on an official visit to the US

at the time of the attacks, Prime Minister of Australia John Howard invoked Article

IV of the ANZUS treaty. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the Bush

administration declared a war on terrorism, with the stated goals of bringing Osama

bin Laden and al-Qaeda to justice and preventing the emergence of other terrorist

networks. These goals would be accomplished by means including economic and

military sanctions against states perceived as harboring terrorists and increasing

global surveillance and intelligence sharing.

The second-biggest operation of the U.S. Global War on Terrorism outside of

the United States, and the largest directly connected to terrorism, was the overthrow

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of the Taliban rule of Afghanistan by a U.S.-led coalition. The United States was not

the only nation to increase its military readiness, with other notable examples being

the Philippines and Indonesia, countries that have their own internal conflicts with

Islamist terrorism. U.S. officials speculated on possible involvement by Saddam

Hussein immediately afterwards. Although these suspicions were unfounded, the

association contributed to public acceptance for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Investigations:

9/11 Commission:

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11

Commission), chaired by former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean, was formed in

late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the

attacks, including preparedness for, and the immediate response to, the attacks. On

July 22, 2004, the 9/11 Commission issued the 9/11 Commission Report. The

commission and its report have been subject to various forms of criticism.

Collapse of the World Trade Center:

The director of the original investigation commented that "the towers really

did amazingly well. The terrorist aircraft didn’t bring the buildings down; it was the

fire which followed. It was proven that you could take out two thirds of the columns

in a tower and the building would still stand." In addition, the report asserts that the

towers' stairwells were not adequately reinforced to provide emergency escape for

people above the impact zones.

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Long-term effects:

Health effects:

The thousands of tons of toxic debris resulting from the collapse of the Twin

Towers consisted of more than 2,500 contaminants, including known carcinogens.

This has led to debilitating illnesses among rescue and recovery workers, which many

claim to be directly linked to debris exposure. Health effects have also extended to

some residents, students, and office workers of Lower Manhattan and nearby

Chinatown. Several deaths have been linked to the toxic dust caused by the World

Trade Center's collapse and the victims' names will be included in the World Trade

Center memorial. There is also scientific speculation that exposure to various toxic

products in the air may have negative effects on fetal development.

Rebuilding:

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, responsible for rebuilding

the World Trade Center site, has been criticized for doing little with the enormous

funding directed to the rebuilding efforts. On the sites of the totally destroyed

buildings, one, 7 World Trade Center, has a new office tower which was completed in

2006. The Freedom Tower is currently under construction at the site and at 1,776 ft

(541 m) upon completion in 2011, will become the one of the tallest buildings in

North America, behind the Chicago Spire and the CN Tower in Toronto. Three more

towers are expected to be built between 2007 and 2012 on the site, and will be located

one block east of where the original towers stood. The damaged section of the

Pentagon was rebuilt and occupied within a year of the attacks.

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Conclusion:

Thus terrorism is increased in all over the world. In order to avoid terrorism

each individual should take care of their own nation. Definitely America will find the

terrorist who involved in the 9/11 attack and give them an appropriate punishment.

America had lost many people because of this attack. Let all people in the world

uniquely decide to avoid the terrorism and keep this free from terrorism.