The September 11th terrorist attack of 2001, is a significant moment in both American history and world history. In fact, it is likely one of the most important events in modern memory and had a profound impact on the world today. Also commonly referred to as ‘9/11’, the attack involved four different passenger airplanes being hijacked by terrorists and crashed intentionally at different sites in the United States. The sites of the crashed planes included the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and a field in Pennsylvania.
SEPTEMBER 11TH TERRORIST ATTACKS – CAUSES
The four deadly crashes that occurred on the morning of September 11th, 2001 were caused by several different factors. In fact, historians have identified three different main factors, including: Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and tensions in the Middle East.
The first main factor that led to the September 11th terrorist attacks was the creation and development of Al-Qaeda. In general, Al-Qaeda is an international Muslim terrorist organization that was first founded in 1988. It was founded by prominent Islamist extremists of the time including Osama bin Laden. At first, the organization was aimed at removing Soviet troops from the Middle East following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Soviet-Afghan War, which occurred throughout much of the 1980s. However, Al-Qaeda soon turned its focus to the United States and its influence in the Middle East, including the Gulf War of the early 1990s.
At its core, Al-Qaeda was an extremist Muslim organization. This means that it promoted violence as a means of completing its goals. For instance, Al-Qaeda leaders often promoted violence against Americans in the Middle East, including American soldiers who were stationed in the region. Furthermore, throughout the late 1990s, Al-Qaeda leaders called for a military ‘jihad’ against Americans living in the different countries of the Middle East. The Arabic term ‘jihad’ translates to ‘struggling’, but is often used by extremists as a word relating to an armed or violent uprising against non-Muslims. As such, by calling for a ‘jihad’ Al-Qaeda was openly calling for violence against Americans in the years leading up to the September 11th, terrorist attacks of 2001. As a result, historians consider the development of Al-Qaeda as an extremist organization to be an important factor in what led to the deadly attacks. For example, the 19 hijackers of the September 11th terrorist attacks were members of Al-Qaeda and carried out the attacks as part of a suicide mission against the United States.
The second main factor that led to the September 11th terrorist attacks was Osama bin Laden. In fact, the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization was funded and led by Osama Bin Laden who lived in the country of Afghanistan. As such, he was identified as a central figure in the Al-Qaeda leadership and played an important role in organizing attacks against the United States, including the September 11th terrorist attacks. He also organized attacks against American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
Born in Saudi Arabia in 1957, Osama bin Laden was radicalized for extremist Islamic causes in the 1980s. He helped create Al-Qaeda in 1988 alongside other Islamic radicals, and quickly became involved with terrorist forces in Afghanistan. This eventually led to him calling for attacks against the United States, which inspired his followers to carry out attacks. While he first denied involvement in organizing the September 11th attacks, bin Laden later admitted to calling for them as a means of hurting the United States. In fact, he later made a statement that “as you undermine our security, we undermine yours”. As such, for his role as the head of Al-Qaeda, he is often considered to be one of the main causes of the September 11th terrorist attacks. In fact, he was one of the main factors behind the planning and organizing of the attacks.
The third main factor that led to the September 11th terrorist attacks, was the tensions that existed in the Middle East in the years before 2001. The Middle East has long been a site of tensions between the nations in the region. For instance, the creation of Israel in 1948 led to an increase in tensions between it and its neighbors. This clash, like many in the Middle East, centered on control over territory and religious differences. More specifically, Israel is primarily a Jewish nation whereas the nations that surround it (Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) are Muslim nations. As well, the United States generally aligned itself with Israel and supported the policies of the Israel government. As such, this created anger among some in the Muslim-world including members of Al-Qaeda. Further to this idea, tensions in the Middle East increased between the Muslim nations and the United States during the Gulf War. Occurring throughout 1990 and 1991, the Gulf War saw the United States invade the country of Iraq after Iraq invaded the nation of Kuwait. The United States’ involvement in the Gulf War angered some and led to organizations such as Al-Qaeda focusing their anger on the United States and American soldiers. As such, the lingering tensions of the Middle East are now considered to have helped set the stage for the eventual September 11th terrorist attacks. This is because the long-term tensions in the Middle East helped lead to the rise of extremist groups and people.
SEPTEMBER 11TH TERRORIST ATTACKS – SUMMARY
As stated previously, the September 11th terrorist attacks of 2001 involved four different passenger airplanes being hijacked and crashed. The first of these attacks began at 8:45 am when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. What was initially believed to be a horrible accident was proven to be something much more sinister when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center just 18 minutes later at 9:03 am. Both crashes created gaping holes in the side of each building and caused massive fires to begin burning which were fueled by the jet fuel from each plane. Each plane was hijacked by a team of terrorist individuals wielding box cutters. The hijackers gained access to the cockpits of the planes and then flew the planes into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
The fires created by the attacks quickly intensified and trapped many people in the upper floors, while the people in the lower floors frantically used the emergency stairwells to escape. Meanwhile, emergency responders began to enter the towers in an attempt to assist people in exiting the buildings and to begin to assess the fires and damage. The attack on the World Trade Center became more horrific when both the towers collapsed. The south tower collapsed at 9:59 am, after burning for 56 minutes and the north tower collapsed at 10:28 am after burning for 103 minutes. The collapse of the two towers caught emergency responders by surprise and led to the death of many, as well as those trapped in the upper floors. The September 11th, 2001 attacks were the single deadliest incident for firefighters in the history of the United States. There were 340 New York City firefighters killed in the attack plus a chaplain and two paramedics. As well, 23 New York City policemen were killed as they responded to the attacks.
In addition to the two planes that were hijacked and crashed in New York City, there were also two more hijacked planes on the morning of September 11th, 2001. American Airlines Flight 77, which had been on its way to Los Angeles was also hijacked by terrorist individuals and crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. at 9:37 am. The Pentagon is home to the United States Department of Defense. The crash created a large hole in the side of the Pentagon building and killed 189 people including the five hijackers. The fourth plane hijacked that morning was United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 am. The hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 were apparently targeting the United States Capitol Building, which houses the United States Congress, but the flight crashed in the field near Shanksville after crew and passengers staged an attack against the hijackers. Some of the passengers aboard Flight 93 had talked to family members while aboard the plane and were made aware of the other crashes and decided to make an attempt to regain control of the plane.
SEPTEMBER 11TH TERRORIST ATTACKS – OUTCOMES
The four attacks on the morning of September 11th, 2001 ultimately caused the death of 2,996 people including the hijackers. The 19 hijackers were members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and carried out the attacks as part of a suicide mission against the United States. The Al-Qaeda terrorist organization was funded and led by Osama bin Laden who lived in the country of Afghanistan. The September 11th attacks in the United States led to the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) invasion of Afghanistan, with the intention of capturing Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda operatives. The United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7th, 2001 with its invasion of Afghanistan. What followed was the War in Afghanistan, in which the United States (and its NATO allies) sought to remove the extremists from the country. Osama bin Laden and many other Al-Qaeda members fled Afghanistan and went into hiding. Osama Bin Laden was eventually killed by United States Special Forces on May 2nd, 2011 in Pakistan.
