Compare and Contrast 9/11 - 7/12

Compare and contrast 9/11 - 7/12

The September 11 events the attacks on Pearl Harbor were two of the biggest attacks in American’s history that caused many damages not only to the United States but all over the world. In many ways, the 2 attacks got some similarities and also differences.

There's no doubt that both attacks came as a complete surprise to most people. They resulted in a spirit of American unity. A common enemy was identified as foreigners. A national government galvanized American energies to combat and destroy the forces that attacked the homeland. Over 2000 people were killed by an attack from the air in each attack. And they both made the President of the United State at each time to declare war on a country instead of the attackers. Pearl Harbor changed the mindset of every American in the nation. It sent a message saying that we are not as safe and protected as we had previously assumed; that we are vulnerable to attack. This was similar to the 9-11 attacks because it was not expected, no one could have imagined this ever happening. And after both attacks, it took a really long time for the United States to rebuild a defeated country.

Though Pearl Harbor and 9/11 bared some resemblances, they were also very different. In some ways the 2001 attack was even more outrageous to Americans than the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. In 1941, Japan had chosen military targets. In 2001, al-Queda hit only one military target which resulted in a small minority of the casualties compared to the thousands of people who died in New York City when they attacked civilian targets. And about the attackers: Japan was a Sovereign nation which attacked with an actual military. AL-Qaeda, while it may have had support of some countries, was a terrorist organization and not real military. The Second World War was about occupation and most attacks were to expand Japan’s borders while the war on terrorism knows no borders, it was about terrorism to accomplish their goals. The Japanese knew the United States was the only power that could stop them, and a surprise attack was the means to cripple our military capability in the Pacific. But the terrorists on 9/11 attacked out of hate and for the reason of terrorism. Not only that, terrorists carried out 9-11 while the Japanese undertook the Pearl Harbor attack. Also, the Pearl Harbor attack was done during wartime while the 9-11 attack occurred during peacetime. So, there are many similarities and differences. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor and 9/11 events were all disasters that strongly impacted Americans’ life and also the whole world.