September 11 Attacks (2001)

The September 11 attacks, otherwise known as 9/11, were a series of four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks committed in 2001 in Manhattan, New York City, by an Islamic extremist terrorist group known as Al Qaeda. Nineteen militants from the group were involved in carrying out this terrorist act, with the leader of the group being Osama Bin Laden. Overall, this attack killed approximately 3000 people in total. Moreover, not only was it the most devastating attack on American soil but the entire world.

The events that led up to the September 11 attacks began with four early-morning U.S. passenger planes bound for California being hijacked by teams of terrorists. Later, the passenger jets were used as guided missiles to crash into landmark skyscrapers in New York and Washington. The South and North towers of the World Trade Center were hit by two planes, one for each tower. The North one was struck at 08:46 ET, and the South one later hit at 09:03. Ultimately, both the twin towers collapsed less than two hours after the attack, being set on fire from the burning jet fuel. Nearly 10,000 people were injured in the collapse of the Twin Towers, most of them severe, with only six people surviving. (2) The third plane crashed into the western side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 09:37, which is located just outside Washington D.C. Along with the 65 passengers on the plane, 125 people were killed in the Pentagon. At 10:03, the fourth plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was thought that the terrorists meant to attack the Capitol building in Washington D.C., but passengers in that flight fought back against the hijackers, potentially causing damage to the cockpit using a fire extinguisher, which caused the plane to flip over and crash towards the ground.

Figure 2 shows the pentagon after it has been attacked.

Osama bin Laden’s motives for planning the September 11 attacks included America’s support for Israel and the Indian oppression of Muslims in Kashmir, and the stationing of American troops in Saudia Arabia. Moreover, the Iranian Revolution, the assassination of the Egyptian president, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan stirred Islamic extremism during that time. Not to mention, social pressures were caused by the increasing Arab population and their restrictive opportunities for employment. Thus, extremists from Al-Qaeda were left to turn to violent methods as their local regimes could not offer democratic reform.