The Attack On 911 - Essay Example

 The Attack on 911 Abstract The 9/11 terrorist attack left a mark on the American history. This is owing to the fact that the terror attack led to the loss of a lives and destruction of property. The event refers to a number of terrorist attacks that were launched by the Al Qaeda. Four passenger planes were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. The attack led to the increase of negative stereotypes against the Muslim community at large. It also led to an improvement in the security measures in airports as terrorists mainly targeted the airline industry. The US government set up military action in the Middle East in a move to fight terrorist activities in the region. The attack adversely affected the US economy and resulted to a revolution of the airline and safety regulations in the country. This essay gives an in depth analysis of the 9/11 terror attack and how it changed various sectors in the US. The Attack on 9/11 The 911 attack is known as the worst terrorist that the American history that changed the lives of the citizens and the world at large. The attack refers to a sequence of well- organized terrorist attacks that were instigated by the Al Qaeda in New York City (Langley, 2006). Terrorists hijacked two passenger airlines and flew them into buildings in suicide attacks. Two planes were crashed into the World Trade Centre and two hours following the attack the two Towers caved in. The fires and debris fully or partially destroyed the structures that were in the surrounding. Another airline crashed into the West wing of the Pentagon resulting into its partial destruction. The fourth airline crashed in Pennsylvania but was meant to crash in Washington D. C. This essay gives an account of the 9/11. Most Americans were interested in finding out the individuals who were behind the worst terrorist attack in history. Investigation showed that nineteen terrorist hijacked four airlines and all of them were from the Middle East. It was clear that all of them belonged to the renowned Al Qaeda terrorist faction that was headed by Osama bin Laden who was among the most sought after terrorists in the modern times. Al Qaeda is known to be a well- organized terrorist group that practices extreme Islam practices (Langley, 2006). Members of this group are also immensely opposed to Western nations mainly the United States. They termed the 9/11 attack as a revenge mission against the US. The Al Qaeda was highly opposed against the military presence in the Middle East and the attack was a retaliation of the military activity in the US. The Al Qaeda has been behind most of the gruesome terrorist attacks in history across the globe in terms of funding and implementation. The US took immediate action to fight terrorist groups in the Middle East. They invaded Afghanistan where Al Qaeda operated from with the main aim of capturing Osama Bin Laden who was the mastermind of the 9/11 attack. It was believed that the extremist Islamic faction that led the Afghanistan government was allowing Al Qaeda to recruit and train their members. Additionally, they were protecting Osama Bin Laden from being arrested (William, 2005). The US forces worked towards bringing down the Taliban forces. The nation has been working towards restoring itself. Since 2001, members of the Al Qaeda have been imprisoned or killed. The greatest triumph of the US mission in the Middle East was in 2011 when Bin Laden was captured and killed in Pakistan. The US later invaded Iraq in 2003 as the US and its allies believed that Saddam Hussein was keeping weapons of mass destruction that could be used by terrorists (Bryan, 2011). He was later arrested and sentenced to death by an Iraqi court. The September 11 attacks led to drastic changes in various sectors in the US. To start with, the attacks were followed by increased stereotypes from individuals from the Gulf countries (Bryan, 2011). Muslims were treated with increased suspicion and mistrust as the terrorists who were responsible for the attack were all from this religion. The media has been playing a key role in propagating negative stereotypes against Muslims as they are shown as being violent and are treated with suspicion over the years. Following the 9/11 attack, numerous security concerns were raised on airport security. This was following the realization that terrorists were going through security checks without being detected. Security measures were intensifies across ports, airports, public places including shopping malls, schools and bust stations and all other places that could be a target for terrorist attacks. This was aimed at preventing terrorist attacks similar attacks from occurring. Prior to the 9/11 attacks airport security was carried out by private contractors however, following the attack, security in all US airports was left in the hands of the Security Administration. Furthermore, bullet proof cockpits were placed in all commercial airlines (Bryan, 2011). Passengers were not allowed were barred from entering into the cockpit and some airlines have CCTV cameras to monitor activity. After investigations into the 9/11 attacks, it was found that the terrorists interfered with the metal detectors and this called for intensification of the screening procedures (William, 2008). Security personnel in airports were given intensive training on the detection of weapons and explosives. Identification checks in airports were more thorough as it became clear that some of the terrorists that were behind 9/11 attacks did not have proper identification documents. After the attack, all passengers were required to give their proper identification at security checks to board a plane. The attack had a profound impact on the economic situation in the US. For instance, the stock exchange market remained closed for approximately one week. Additionally, jobs and wages were lost nearly three months after the attack. The export sector was also hardly hit by the attack. Small businesses were also adversely affected especially in the Lower Manhattan region. Air travel was also negatively impacted by the attack as airlines had to cut back on their travel capacity (Bryan, 2011). Finally, there attack had an indirect impact on the economy as the military action in Iraq and Afghanistan and homeland security has been costing the US government a substantial amount of money since the 9/11 attack. Following the 9/11 attack, governments across the globe came up with various laws to fight against population. The US government established the Department of Homeland Security. Federal governments were given more power by the USA Patriot Act to monitor communication by terror suspects with no restrictions and to detain terror suspects without charging them. Additionally, Aviation and Transportation Security Act dictated that federal governments were in charge of airport security (Bryan, 2011). To sum up, the 9/11 attack is known to be the worst terror attack in the modern world. It led to changes in various sectors including the economy, culture and security. It also led to the establishment of the military action in the Middle East. The war against terror has not yet been won and the government is advised to keep up the fight against terror. References Bryan, W. R. (2011). Macroeconomic impacts of the 9/11 attack: Evidence from real-time forecasting. DIANE Publishing. Langley, A. (2006). September 11: Attack on America. Compass Point Books. William, M. A. (2008). Economics: A contemporary introduction. Cengage Learning. Read More