Essay On How 9/11 Changed America

September 11, 2001, a date still fresh in the mind of most American citizens. At least to those old enough to remember hearing the news and turning on their television to see the events that occurred in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. Four planes were hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists and crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The nation was shaken. Nearly everyone remembers where they were, who they were with, and what they were doing. September 11th is important because it changed the daily life of every American citizen. Not long after the event, President George W. Bush launched a war on terrorism. Additionally, approaches to national security changed exorbitantly. It is an important event because it has changed the lives of Americans, potentially forever. The 9/11 attacks on American soil resulted in nearly 13,000 casualties. The final toll equaled 2,977 deaths and nearly 10,000 injuries. On that day President Bush, due to security concerns, spent the day being shuttled around the nation. That evening, he addressed the citizens of the nation. President Bush’s address to the nation that evening encouraged Americans. He let the world know that we would not be stopped, but that the terrorists would be. Bush
vowed to defeat terrorism. He stated,
The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts.
I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance. America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against
terrorism.
In response to the heinous terrorist attacks carried out by Al Qaeda terrorists, on October 7, 2001, Bush ordered military strikes in Afghanistan against the Taliban regime. This was the beginning of a war on terrorism that is active to this date. While there has been a large scale draw down of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a presence still remains to fight off a resurgence of Taliban and Islamic State terrorists.
After 19 terrorists entered the United States legally and remained as foreign nationals, it was decided that immigration policies would need to be reformed. In the year 2003, the Department of Homeland Security absorbed all immigration relation functions of the U.S. government. New screening processes and interoperable databases were created that contain biological data, previous criminal histories, and previous immigration history of people all around the globe. According to Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron,
The agency has seen a dramatic increase in its staffing and budget, with its workforce growing from 181,875 in FY 2004 to 230,000 in FY 2010 (with 39 percent dedicated to immigration functions). Within DHS, agencies tasked with immigration enforcement functions have shown huge surges in their budgets and staff. The budget of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has more than doubled (to $11.5 billion) from FY 2002 to FY 2010, while its staffing has seen a 43 percent increase over the same period. Border Patrol staffing on the northern border has increased by more than 565 percent since 2001. And ICE's budget has more than doubled (to $5.74 billion) from FY 2002 to FY 2010, its staff growing by just under 40 percent between FY 2004 and 2010.
Immigration enforcement programs have led to a significant increase in the apprehension and deportation of noncitizens within the U.S. Between 2003 and 2010, immigration fugitive operations teams increased from just eight to 104. In 2010, there were over 35,000 fugitives apprehended.3 Prior to 9/11, many of these types of programs existed and were authorized, but were not as heavily enforced. In addition to changes in immigration programs, the Federal Air Marshal Service saw an increase in members. Before the attacks, there were only 33 full-time Federal Air Marshals. By the end of 2002, there were thousands of Air Marshals. The increase in Air Marshals was to increase the probability of a terrorist facing armed personnel in the event they were to try to hijack a plane. Although the U.S. still has more Marshals than it did pre 9/11, the service is beginning to decrease. Since 2014, the Federal Air Marshal Service has gone from 26 field offices to 22. Another security result of the 9/11 attacks was the creation of everybody’s favorite airport greeters, the Transportation Security Administration. President George Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 1, 2001 as a direct result of the terrorist attacks. Air travel and airport security have not been the same since. There have been increased, slightly irritating, security measures for years since the attacks. An immediate increase to national security was one of the biggest initial impacts of 9/11. America has not been the same since that day. We have been at war with terrorists and tightening down on security within our own country to the point where it infringes on the daily lives of our natural born citizens. We have been a nation living in fear of what may happen again and we have been doing everything within our power to prevent another disastrous event like this. Terrorists shook the nation on that day. I am looking forward to the day when we have not forgotten, but we go on living our normal lives without living in fear. It would be nice to walk family members and friends to their gate at the airport again, or even pack a full bottle of shampoo in my carry on. I also look forward to a day that I am not praying for the safety of a brother or sister in arms when they are tasked to leave their country behind.