As we all know 9/11 was one of the darkest times in American history. Out of that darkness there came hope and readiness for a new beginning. As a country we came together and became stronger as a nation. To understand how we got to this place, we must first look back at 9/11 and the events surrounding it.
The threat of terrorism was present many years before 9/11 took place. Around 1993 is when members of Osama bin Laden's group were first enrolled in flight school. The government suspected there were terrorists, but claims that the suspicions were not fully confirmed. In 1995 the government of Sudan offers us a file with pictures, information, and biographies on Osama bin Laden and 200 of Al Qaeda's leaders. America refused the offer. Sudan offers this information several more times, but each time America chooses to not take it. The CIA officer in charge of running operations during the time of 1996-1999 states, "I speak with firsthand experience (and for several score of CIA officers) when I state categorically that during this time senior White House officials repeatedly refused to act on sound intelligence that provided multiple chances to eliminate Osama bin Laden." Throughout this time period there are multiple tips and conspiracies that there are Arab's in flight school who are planning to hijack planes to use in acts of terrorism. The National Intelligence Council reports that, "Al-Qaeda could crash-land an aircraft packed with high explosives (C-4 and Semtex) into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or the White House." The Bush administration swears that they were not shown this report until 2002, though evidence shows that it was available on the internet and known throughout the government in 1999. Even more bizarre, an Iranian man in a German jail called the White House 14 times the day before 9/11 to warn of an attack that would change the world. Despite all of these warnings and signs, the government still claimed that 9/11 was a total and complete shock.
On September 11, 2001 four planes were hijacked by Islamic terrorists. At 8:20 AM Boston flight controls began to suspect that flight 11 had been hijacked. Flight control waited five minutes before alerting air traffic control centers and 20 minutes before contacting NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) within minutes of contacting NORAD Flight 11 slams in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At 8:56 it becomes clear that Flight 77 is missing. Yet again NORAD is not informed for another 28 minutes. At 9:03 AM flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. At about 9:27 Tom Burnett, a man on board Flight 93, calls his wife and says, "I'm on United Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco. The plane has been hijacked. We are in the air. They've already knifed a guy. There is a bomb on board. Call the FBI." Three minutes later the hijackers aboard Flight 77 make the announcement that all passengers should call their loved ones because they are going to die. At 9:41 Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon. 18 minutes later the South tower of the World Trade Center collapses. At 10:10 Flight 93 crashes in a field in Pennsylvania. 3,000 people, 400 of them police officers and firefighters, were killed that day.
The 9/11 attacks were really the fault of one man, Osama bin Laden. He was the leader of Al-Qaeda, and Islamic extremist group that carried out the attacks. He sent 19 members to America, some in a year in advance, to carry out 9/11. These men came from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. They were reportedly targeting America for our Israeli support, involvement in the Persian Gulf War, and our presence in the Middle East. They trained in flight school for about a year preparing for the hijacking. On the day of the attacks they smuggled box-cutters and knives past security in three East Coast air ports. They chose planes loaded with extra fuel for their transcontinental journey. They took control of each of the planes and turned them towards their targets.
One of the major issues that was revealed was the American goverenment and security was not prepared for an attack of this manner. The first and one of the biggest problems was the lack of airport security. The terrorists were able to easily smuggle dangerous items onto the plane. Airport security increased immensely after 9/11. Not only did airport security change, national security changed as well. As a result Homeland Security was created which focused on keeping all of America safe. By improving individual state law enforcement, it aided security nation-wide. Another downfall of our security was our lack of communication. Due to this the government created new software to make storing and transporting information much easier. America has bettered our security greatly, but there is still more that can be done.
9/11 was undoubtedly one of the saddest periods in American history. Despite all that was against us, America came together, fought back, and is now stronger than ever. We have found our flaws and fixed them. Through it all we have bettered ourselves to honor those who we lost and to protect America in the future. As President George Bush stated, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."
- http://www.wanttoknow.info/9-11timeline25pg
- http://www.wanttoknow.info/9-11cover-up
- http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks
- http://www.govexec.com/defense/2011/09/governments-response-to-911-called-positive-and-democratic/34865/
Comments
Excellent job!! Well written!