Grace Scott
Devry University
Contemporary History
HIST410N
Professor Gary Grimm
April 21, 2013
September 11th, 2001
September 11 is one of the most important historical events in world history. It sparked a mass awakening across the world and its impact will be felt for many years to come. There has been much debate as to how it happened, who is responsible, and why. On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorist hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying at least two nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon and a fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers and flight crew fought back. Americans and friends all over the world remember where they were and what they were doing on this fateful Tuesday morning. There may be a ton of theories but no one will ever really know what happened that day. Some say there were prior warnings of varying detail of planned attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda. Reports say the government ignored these warnings due to the lack of communication between various law enforcement and intelligence personnel. People only look at the attack on the twin towers and not the larger picture. The government did not release any specific information regarding the attacks so to me, something is extremely fishy.
As I remember, September 11, 2001 was a bright, crisp morning in many regions of the United States, which was shattered when the nation was attacked by terrorist. It all began at around 8:46 a.m. Eastern time when American Airlines Flight 11 was flown into the World Trade Center. At first, many believed the event to be an accident, simple pilot error. The news of
References: When to call it “terrorism” – The Washington Post, retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-to-call-it-terrorism/2013/04/19/34eecf80-a… A Survey of New Yorkers after the Sept.11th, 2001, Terrorist, retrieved from the American Journal of Psychiatry, http://www.neuro.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=176166&RelatedWidgetArtic… Hot Topics: The Environmental Lessons of 9/11, retrieved from http://news,Rutgers.edu/medrel/special-contents/fall-2010/hot-topics-the-envir-20100910