The Events of September 11 Attacks - Research Paper Example

In Hamburg, most of the secondary planners and pilots became radical and better equipped to attack. In the morning of September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked by 19 militants said to be mostly of the Saudi Arabia origin who subscribe to the ideals of Al Qaeda, undertook attacks targeting the US. They used four California-bound flights, taking control soon after their take-off. Some of the terrorists took charge of two commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center’s twin towers at about 8.45am. Another airliner was crashed into the Pentagon by another group of terrorists at 9.45am. Another group took charge of yet another commercial airliner that was headed to the White House, Washington DC but it crashed in Pennsylvania at 10.

10am after the terrorists were overpowered by passengers. It is believed that the perpetrators were involved in a holy act aimed at killing as many westerners as possible considered to be enemies. The then President George W. Bush was shuttled around the country due to security concerns and was only back to the White House at about 7pm and addressed the nation and indeed the world at 9pm to restore confidence in America’s sovereignty. Operation Enduring Freedom was hatched to oust Taliban regime and destroy the terrorist network of Osama (Bodden, 2007).

Arrival of first responders Immediately the World Trade Center, WTC was attacked, there was a concentrated response by emergency services. According to Flood (2011), over 100 emergency medical service, EMS units together with many dozens of private ambulances arrived at the site, setting up triage centers from where the injured would be ferried to hospitals. Over 2,000 Port Authority and NYPD police officers enforced security in the area, ransacked the twin towers and assisted in rescuing survivors.

Being a five-alarm fire situation, 214 FDNY units, much more than the required 44 units responded to the emergency with 58 ladder trucks, 112 engines, seven squad companies, five rescue companies, dozens of chiefs, four marine units and massive support, communication and command units. Unfortunately, many of these first responders were also killed in the process. Why the Attacks? The question of what caused the 9/11 attacks remains elusive but has been largely attributed to the failed foreign policy as was applied in the Middle East.

According to Bodden (2007) and Seessel (2003), the US had attracted hostility due to its support for Israel, a Jewish state, to be established and sustained. The Palestinians had for over 60 years raised their plight of being homeless and brutalized but no one, not even the US paid attention to their woes. This support for Israel caused anger among Islamic nations thus causing the radical Islamists to call for the withdrawal of the US from the region. Other initiators of the attacks have been cited as the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia and the economic sanctions that were imposed against Iraq in 1990.

Therefore, Islamic fundamentalists called on supporters of radical Islam to declare war against the government and citizens of the US.