JH WEEKLIES ISSUE #2 2011-2012 The 10 th ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11 Synopsis The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated airplane attacks that occurred in New York City (NYC), near Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. Nineteen terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. Two of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center (WTC) in NYC eventually causing both towers to collapse. The third jet crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth jet crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers tried to take control of the plane before it could reach its intended target in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people died in these attacks. Timeline of Events the Morning of September 11 8:45 a.m. Flight 11 crashes into the north face of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, between floors 93 and 99 9:02 a.m. Flight 175 crashes into the south face of the South Tower of the WTC, between floors 77 & 85 9:05 a.m. President Bush is notified of the attacks while reading to elementary school students 9:26 a.m. The FAA stops the takeoffs of any civilian aircraft 9:37 a.m. Flight 77 crashes into the western side of the Pentagon 9:45 a.m. U.S. airspace is shut down. This is the first unplanned airspace suspension in U.S. history 9:59 a.m. The South Tower of the WTC begins to collapse 10:03 a.m. Flight 93 crashes southeast of Pittsburgh in Somerset County, PA after the passengers attempt to overcome the hijackers 10:28 a.m. The North Tower of the WTC begins to collapse
President Bush/Vice President Cheney On September 11, President Bush was at the Emma T. Booker Elementary School in Florida to read with the students when he was told that America was under attack. After leaving the school, President Bush boarded Air Force One, which flew in circles for a while as they tried to determine their next course of action. About an hour after takeoff, fighter jets arrived to protect Air Force One. The President then landed at Barsdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. His location was kept a secret. Air Force One then departed Louisiana and flew to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command, where President Bush was taken to an underground bunker. He communicated with his staff through a teleconference in the bunker. President Bush then returned to Washington, D.C. about 6:45 p.m. Vice President Cheney was taken from the White House to an underground bunker about 9:30 a.m. Approximately half an hour later, Cheney authorized fighter jets to shoot down any potentially dangerous planes that did not comply with radio orders. The Airplanes American Airlines Flight 11 left Boston s Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles and crashed into the north tower of the WTC at 8:46 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175 left Boston s Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles and crashed into the south tower of the WTC at 9:02 a.m. Many people saw this happen live on the news during coverage of the first plane crash. American Airlines Flight 77 left Washington Dulles Airport bound for Los Angeles and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia at 9:37 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93 left Newark Airport bound for San Francisco and crashed into the ground in Shanksville, Pennsylvania when the passengers tried to take over from the hijackers to divert it from its target, which was later believed to have been the U.S. Capitol. The Hijackings There were 19 hijackers affiliated with al-qaeda involved in the attacks. They were divided into four groups, each led by a pilot-trained hijacker, plus 3 or 4 muscle hijackers. The first hijackers entered the U.S. in January 2000 and they continued to arrive through the spring and early summer of 2001. While in the U.S., the four pilot hijackers took pilot training and/or refresher training. It was reported by various passengers and crew members during phone calls that the hijackers used mace, tear gas, or pepper spray and that some people, including pilots and flight attendants, had been stabbed. The hijackers were found to have purchased multifunctional hand tools and assorted knives and blades.
After the al-qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, decided on the September 11 attacks plot idea, he assigned the first hijackers. There were a total of nineteen hijackers: fifteen from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Lebanon, and one from Egypt. On American Airlines Flight 11, it is believed that about 15 minutes into the flight the hijackers breached the cockpit and overpowered the pilot and first officer after injuring at least three people. Flight attendants Amy Sweeney and Betty Ong were able to contact American Airlines and provided information about what was happening on the airplane. The women stated that the hijackers had stabbed two flight attendants and killed a passenger. They also provided the seat locations of the hijackers, which helped investigators later identify them. Approximately thirty minutes after takeoff, the hijackers hijacked United Airlines 175. The hijackers killed the pilots and started moving passengers and crew to the back of the airplane. Flight attendant Robert Fangman reported the hijacking to a United Airlines office. Two passengers managed to make contact as well. Brian David Sweeney spoke to his mother and told her about the hijacking saying that passengers were contemplating storming the cockpit to try and take control of the airplane. Peter Hanson called his father and gave him details, asking him to try and contact United Airlines. After being unable to reach the airlines, his father called the police. The hijackers stormed the cockpit and forced the passengers to the back of the airplane about 30 minutes into American Airlines Flight 77. Flight attendant Renee May was able to call her mother and told her that the flight had been hijacked by six individuals and asked her to contact American Airlines. Passenger Barbara Olson also called her husband, United States Solicitor General Theodore Olson, and told him that the hijackers had box cutters and knives. She also tried to tell him their location. United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked about 45 minutes after takeoff when the hijackers breached the cockpit and overpowered the flight crew. Many of the flight attendants and passengers were able to make phone calls during the hijacking, enabling them to find out about the crashes of the other hijacked planes. Flight attendants Sandra Bradshaw and CeeCee Lyles and passengers Tom Burnett, Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, Joseph DeLuca, Todd Beamer, Linda Gronlund, Marion Britton, Lauren Grandcolas, Edward Felt and Honor Elizabeth Wainio were all able to make contact and tell people about the hijacking as well as get information on the other hijackings. After realizing the situation, the passengers took a vote about whether to act and consequently several of the passengers told their loved ones that they were going to attempt to take control from the hijackers. The cockpit voice recorder was able to capture the final 30 minutes of the flight. After the hijackers became aware of the passenger revolt, the pilot started to roll the airplane to try and knock the passengers down. The passengers continued their assault, with Todd Beamer famously saying Are you guys ready? Okay. Let s roll! The hijackers were heard saying Pull it down! and then the plane crashed in the field in Pennsylvania. Flight 93 was the only hijacked flight not to reach its intended target.
Al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden was the founder and head of the al-qaeda terrorist organization. It is a network which consists of a multi-national, stateless army and calls for global jihad, or religious war. Al-Qaeda has attacked both civilian and military targets, believing that the killing of bystanders and civilians is religiously justified in jihad. The organization has a goal of Muslim countries completely breaking away from all foreign influences and also believes that a Christian-Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam. Bin Laden declared a holy war against the U.S. and signed a fatwa, a binding religious edict, that called for the killing of American civilians in 1998. On August 7, 1998, hundreds of people were killed in truck bomb explosions that occurred at the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The date of these bombings was the eighth anniversary of the arrival of American forces in Saudi Arabia. The U.S Embassy bombings were linked to Osama bin Laden and he was placed on the FBI s Ten most Wanted List. Al-Qaeda then claimed responsibility for a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer USS Cole on October 12, 2000. Seventeen American soldiers were killed and 39 were injured while the USS Cole was refueling in Aden harbor in Yemen. Al-Qaeda members were also responsible for four truck bomb attacks in November, 2003 in Istanbul, Turkey. Fifty-seven people were killed and 700 wounded when trucks carrying bombs exploded in or near two synagogues, the headquarters of HSBC Bank AS and the British Consulate. Over the years, various motives were cited for the September 11 attacks, including the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, U.S support of Israel, and sanctions against Iraq. In 2004, bin Laden took responsibility for the 9/11 attacks in a taped statement. He said they occurred because we are free and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours. After years of searching for him, bin Laden was finally shot and killed inside a residential compound in Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALs and CIA operatives on May 2, 2011. After his death, his body was buried at sea. The actual idea for the attacks came from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He told his idea to bin Laden in 1996, after al-qaeda had moved back to Afghanistan from Sudan. They began organizing the plot, along with bin Laden s deputy Mohammed Atef. Atef provided operational support while bin Laden provided leadership and financial support. Bin Laden was involved in selecting the hijackers, many of whom he chose because they were educated, had lived in the West and spoke English.
Initial Response The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) realized that Flight 11 had probably been hijacked at 8:20 a.m., but didn t contact NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) until 8:37, when they requested military help to intercept the airplane. Two F-15 fighter jets were ordered to intercept the airplane, but they could not locate the target in time. After both of the Twin Towers had been hit, more fighters were scrambled from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Though orders were given to shoot down any commercial aircraft that was identified as having been hijacked, no fighters had time to take action. All aircraft within the continental U.S. were grounded and any aircraft that were already in the air were told to land immediately. International aircraft were turned back or told to land in Canada or Mexico. Firefighters from the New York City Fire Department arrived on the scene minutes after the first plane flew into the north tower. There were 200 units deployed to the site, and there were more than 400 firefighters on the scene when the buildings collapsed. The NYC Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department, along with EMTs and paramedics were all participating in the rescue efforts. The FDNY s radio repeater systems were malfunctioning due to the impact of the planes on the buildings. When commanders gave evacuation warnings, many firefighters never heard them. There were a total of 2,996 deaths from the attacks, including the 19 hijackers. There were 246 people who died on the airplanes when they crashed. 125 people died at the Pentagon and 2,606 perished in NYC, in the towers and on the ground, including 411 emergency workers. After Effects The U.S. enacted the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and created the Department of Homeland Security. It is a cabinet department of the government and protects the U.S. from domestic emergencies, such as terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters. The first leader of the Department was former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security was the largest restructuring of the government in 50 years. It merged various federal functions and responsibilities and combined 22 government agencies into one department. Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001. The act reduced the legal requirements necessary for law agencies to search telephone, e-mail, financial and other records, enabled them to regulate financial transactions by suspected terrorists, and increased the discretion of authorities to detain immigrants suspected of terrorism. Many organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have criticized the act for threatening Americans civil liberties and rights. The USA PATRIOT Act was reauthorized twice, first by a bill in July 2005, which also created some new provisions, and then by a bill that passed in February 2006. Then, on May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama signed a four-year extension for three key provisions that were set to expire. Those controversial provisions dealt with wiretaps, surveillance, and seizure of records.
Aviation security changed drastically after the September 11 attacks. Before the attacks, passenger screening in airports was done by private companies who were supervised by the FAA. After 9/11, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) was created as an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. Its first administrator was John Magaw. The TSA is responsible for protecting U.S. transportation, most notably strengthening airport security and preventing aircraft hijackings. The TSA implemented many new security procedures, causing long delays. There are now strict regulations regarding the liquids passengers are allowed to bring on board. They have recently added newer technology, including backscatter X-ray machines, millimeter wave detection machines, and advanced imaging technology. The September 11 attacks resulted in President Bush declaring a War on Terror. Its focus was on militant Islamists and al-qaeda, but its purpose was to eliminate terrorist groups and punish any regimes that supported them. The war in Afghanistan was started on Oct. 7, 2001 with the goal of dismantling al-qaeda, which was using it as their base. The war also focused on removing the Taliban from power. The U.S., with the assistance of the Afghan United Front and British Special Forces, helped establish the democratic Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai after dismantling the Taliban, along with its al-qaeda ties. In 2003, Taliban forces began an insurgency campaign, operating out of Pakistan, targeting civilians. The costs of the war increased after the U.S. deployed more troops to Afghanistan to fight the increasing insurgent activity. The estimated cost of the war in Afghanistan is $190 billion through 2010, with an additional $118 billion projected for fiscal 2011. Approximately 2,627 U.S. soldiers have been killed, with almost 11,000 wounded. There has also been over 10,000 deaths of other nationalities, including soldiers, contractors, and Afghan forces. In June 2010, the war in Afghanistan became the United States longest war. The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003 when a coalition of countries invaded Iraq under the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom. The U.S and the U.K. believed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and was not complying with disarmament requirements. There were also accusations that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was harboring and supporting al-qaeda, while also financially supporting families of Palestinian suicide bombers and government human rights abuse. After the occupation of Iraq, President Saddam was eventually captured and then tried and executed by the new Iraqi government. Despite the Iraqi insurgency, in-fighting between the Sunni and Shia groups and a new faction of al-qaeda in Iraq, there have been signs of security and economic improvements. On April 18, 2010, U.S. and Iraqi forces killed Abu Ayyub al- Masri, the leader of al-qaeda in Iraq. In 2009, the U.K. withdrew the last of its troops, as did Australia, while the U.S. began its troop withdrawal, which continues today. The Iraq War is estimated to have cost $620 billion through 2010, with an additional $46 billion projected for fiscal 2011. At least 4,475 members of the U.S. military have died and over 32,000 have been wounded.
Rebuilding After September 11, there was much debate over what to do with the WTC site. In 2003, Daniel Libeskind won a competition to be the master plan architect for the site. The design has since undergone many revisions, largely due to disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein who held the lease for the WTC site, and the project was delayed with disputes over money, security and design, but things were finally resolved in 2006. David Childs is the project architect of the lead building on the site, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, now called One World Trade Center. When completed in 2013, it will be the tallest building in the U.S. at a height of 1,776 feet. The site will also contain three other high-rise buildings and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. The architect of the memorial is Israeli-American Michael Arad. The memorial had a dedication ceremony on September 11, 2011 and officially opened to the public the next day. The museum will open in September 2012. Looking Forward A 9/11 Day Observance was created in 2002 by David Paine and Jay Winuk, who lost a brother on 9/11. The men were joined by other leaders involved in September 11 and eventually passed federal legislation to recognize September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. The mission is to honor the victims, survivors and responders of 9/11 by performing good deeds, supporting charitable causes, and volunteering each anniversary. It is believed that more than a million Americans pay tribute in some way during this day of service.