9/11 Attacks: Summary and Consequences

The day September 11, 2001 it was the date on which the al-Qaeda terrorist group attacked the United States with civilian aircraft.

This was the biggest terrorist attack in history and its consequences hit as many Americans as the rest of the world.

Attack Summary

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four aircraft with passengers were kidnapped in different parts of the United States.

They were controlled by criminals and went to different targets: two for the Twin Towers, in New York; one for the Pentagon and the last one, probably, for the Capitol in Washington.

The attacks, coordinated by Osama bin Laden, killed 2,996 people and left more than 6,000 injured.

Let's see what the targets were and how this aggression took place.

Twin Towers

The Twin Towers, with 110 floors and 417 meters high, were part of the complex. World Trade Center, which united seven buildings.

Officially, their names were "World Trade Center One"

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and "World Trade Center Two", were the tallest buildings in New York and the 5th tallest in the world. It was one of the symbols of the city, it housed hundreds of companies and around 50,000 workers.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked two planes in Boston, stabbed passengers and probably killed the pilots. As they knew how to fly, they took command of the aircraft and changed the route of the planes directing them to the Twin Towers.

The North Tower was attacked at 8:46 am. The American Airlines plane, Flight 11, was thrown into the highest part of the building, reaching floors 93 to 99. Immediately, the building began to burst into flames, trapping people from floors 100 to 110.

Televisions around the world began broadcasting the fire. At 9:03 am, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower.

With the impact and fire caused by the large amount of fuel, the buildings began to burn. Thus, every structure that was supported by steel and iron melted, causing it to collapse.

The North Tower fell at 10:28 am and the South Tower at 9:59 am, just 56 minutes after the plane crashed.

An estimated 1,355 people died in the North Tower and 630 in the South Tower. The difference in numbers is due to the fact that many who were in the South Tower decided to evacuate the building after the attack on the North Tower.

Pentagon

At 9:37 am, the American Airlines plane, Flight 77, was used as a weapon and dropped at the American military intelligence complex, the Pentagon, in the state of Virginia.

In this attack, 184 people lost their lives. Seven years later, a memorial was inaugurated to remember the victims of this attack.

United Airlines Flight 73

United 93 — Location where the United Airlines plane crashed, in Pennsylvania, United States

The fourth hijacked plane was United Airlines Flight 93. As the flight was delayed taking off, passengers knew what was happening in New York. The pilots were even warned about a possible invasion of the cabin.

Therefore, when it was announced by one of the hijackers about the deviation from the route, some passengers decide to react and try to take control of the aircraft.

There was a fight between the four hijackers and the passengers. One of them was piloting and the group realizes that they would not reach the target. Deliberately, they decide to drop the plane onto the field they were flying over, killing all 44 occupants.

Flight 93 was the only one that did not cause casualties on the ground and also the only one that had its black box recovered.

On September 10, 2015 the National Memorial Flight 93 was inaugurated in the same place (Flight 93 National Memorial), where the names of the passengers and crew are written. It is also possible to know in detail the mutiny carried out on board.

Reasons for the September 11 attack

As soon as the attack took place, the entire world wondered what the reasons for the United States were to have been the target of such a tragic and spectacular action at the same time.

For that, it is necessary to go back to the end of the 70s, when Islamist regimes began to emerge in the Middle East, against the West. To secure oil supplies, the United States seeks to maintain its influence in the region.

Thus, any indication of instability in that area is responded to with war, most of the time. This was the case during Saddam Hussein's Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Precisely after the Gulf War, religious extremists dissatisfied with American interference in their internal affairs, gather around Osama bin Laden. Grouped in al-Qaeda (The Base, in Arabic) will be responsible for a series of terrorist attacks in the US and against US embassies in Africa.

In this way, according to the terrorists' logic, one of the main reasons for the attacks of September 11 is to avenge the wars and dictatorships supported by the US in the region.

September 11th Memorial — View of one of the September 11 Memorial pools with the names of the victims of the attacks

The idea of building a memorial came soon after the tragedy. Many families disagreed about the way the government wanted to appropriate the victims' memories and opposed the initiative.

However, the memorial was built and opened to the public on the tenth anniversary of the attacks, on May 21, 2011. Located where the twin towers used to be, the memorial consists of two pools that gush water over and over into a square hole. The names of the victims who died that day are engraved in bronze, and 2,241 trees surround the monuments.

The museum, on the other hand, gathers all kinds of objects found among the rubble of the Twin Towers. Also, there are fire engines that were damaged during the rescue, plans to rebuild the place, etc.

Aftermath of September 11th

After the attack on September 11, 2001, not only the United States, but the whole world suffered the consequences. Let's look at some of them.

Flight Security Measures

The most visible was the increase in security measures at airports, which include restrictions on taking liquids and a rigorous inspection before boarding.

Likewise, the pilots were isolated in the cabins and could only be contacted through an intercom.

Patriotic Law (USA)

The government of George W. Bush took the opportunity to approve exceptional measures in the name of American national security. This law was called the "Patriotic Law" (USA Patriot Act) and allowed:

wiretapping or intercepting messages without the need for authorization from the Court;
make deposits and money transfers to unidentified recipients suspicious;
confiscation of material assets from individuals and legal entities that support or commit terrorist acts;
the sharing of personal data between different intelligence agencies.

This law was in force during the entire government of George W. Bush and part of the Obama administration. Only in 2015, the Patriot Act was replaced by the Freedom Law, although it retained some features of the previous law.

External Conflicts

During the presidency of George W. Bush has seen a considerable increase in military spending and the budget of intelligence agencies.

Wars were fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, and more quietly, Yemen. The hunt for the main responsible, osama bin laden, it became a matter of honor for the American government.

However, it would only be found in 2011, under the administration of barack obama.