9/11: Could It Have Been Stopped?
Preventing 9/11: Could it Have Been Done?
September 11th, 2001: the American people will remember this day as the day the unthinkable happened: someone, or rather a group of people, infiltrated the seemingly impregnable American defenses and turned our own airplanes on us. Crashing several planes into different important federal buildings, these terrorists spread terror throughout the country. Nobody thought that the most powerful country in the world could be attacked so easily, and without any warning. This raises an interested question. Were these attacks really done out of the blue? Or were they a foreseen danger that the government simply ignored, or delayed action against. A deeper look behind the scenes both before and after the attacks will reveal whether or not the leaders of our country shirked their responsibilities of keeping us safe, or simply failed in their attempts to stop any potential attacks from occurring. By looking first at how the attacks were planned and carried out, then looking at the numerous reports that government intelligence agencies, principally the CIA and FBI, had ample warning and information to have better prepared the country, it will become clear whether or not the attacks could have been prevented, and if so, whether it was the government's fault. On October 12th, 2000, the USS Cole, a United States ship located near the Aden port in Yemen was pulling into the harbor to refuel (USS Cole History). As the ship was fueling up, a small fiberglass boat pulled up alongside it. The boat, full of explosives, detonated next to the Cole, leaving a massive hole in the side ("USS Cole Bombing," Wikipedia). The blast killed 17 soldiers, and injured numerous others ("USS Cole Bombing," Wikipedia). This attack seemed random at first, but in fact, it had been planned out for some time. Even worse, writes Rory O'Connor, the US government allegedly had information that such an attack might occur, and had neglected to pass along
September 11th, 2001: the American people will remember this day as the day the unthinkable happened: someone, or rather a group of people, infiltrated the seemingly impregnable American defenses and turned our own airplanes on us. Crashing several planes into different important federal buildings, these terrorists spread terror throughout the country. Nobody thought that the most powerful country in the world could be attacked so easily, and without any warning. This raises an interested question. Were these attacks really done out of the blue? Or were they a foreseen danger that the government simply ignored, or delayed action against. A deeper look behind the scenes both before and after the attacks will reveal whether or not the leaders of our country shirked their responsibilities of keeping us safe, or simply failed in their attempts to stop any potential attacks from occurring. By looking first at how the attacks were planned and carried out, then looking at the numerous reports that government intelligence agencies, principally the CIA and FBI, had ample warning and information to have better prepared the country, it will become clear whether or not the attacks could have been prevented, and if so, whether it was the government's fault. On October 12th, 2000, the USS Cole, a United States ship located near the Aden port in Yemen was pulling into the harbor to refuel (USS Cole History). As the ship was fueling up, a small fiberglass boat pulled up alongside it. The boat, full of explosives, detonated next to the Cole, leaving a massive hole in the side ("USS Cole Bombing," Wikipedia). The blast killed 17 soldiers, and injured numerous others ("USS Cole Bombing," Wikipedia). This attack seemed random at first, but in fact, it had been planned out for some time. Even worse, writes Rory O'Connor, the US government allegedly had information that such an attack might occur, and had neglected to pass along