How the global policy on terrorism was shaped: The 9/11 Attacks

Abstract

The September 11 attacks, most often referred to as the 9/11 attacks, represented by far the deadliest terrorist attack on the globe, amassing 2,977 fatalities and over 25,000 injuries. On September 11, 2001, four American airplanes were hijacked by members of the al-Qaeda terrorist group and crashed into government importance buildings - the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, leading to mass destruction, the tragic loss of life and a completely new approach to fighting terrorism, both in the United States and around the globe.

The plot & causes

Before further dwelling into the events of September 11, we need to first establish a framework for the main actors, in this case, al-Qaeda, and, thus, its leader, Osama bin Laden, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who will be referred to throughout this article as KSM. Al-Qaeda is a Sunni Islamist terrorist organization, founded by bin Laden in 1988, with the purpose of creating a unified and global caliphate. Al-Qaeda members believe that Christian and Jews are complotting in order to destroy Islam, hence, they believe that in fighting them they could further Islamist goals. In 1996, KSM met with bin Laden, in what is believed to be the meeting that laid the groundwork for the 9/11 attacks, KSM bringing up the idea of training members as pilots, who could then take control of airplanes and crash them at important sites. Al-Qaeda initially praised the attack but denied claims that they had been behind it, however, in 2002, bin Laden released a statement entitled “Letter to America”, in which he claimed responsibility for the attack and states the motive as being: "because you attacked us and continue to attack us". The letter also included certain more specific reasons, such as US support of Israel, the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, the sanctions placed on Iraq and the overall influence of the US in the Middle East.

The attacks

On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers boarded and took control of four commercial airliners, that were supposed to travel from the Eastern to the Western coast, hence had more than enough fuel for the hijackers’ manoeuvres.

At 8:46 AM the first crash happened, the plane being piloted into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Those who were at the site believed it to be an accident, as well as the national security advisors who brought it to the attention of President Bush did. However, just 17 minutes later, the second planed crashed into the South Tower, which made it clear as day to everyone that the US was under attack. Both structures were badly damaged by the impact and erupted into flames, to the horror of the office workers that were trapped above the points of impact, some of whom leapt to their deaths rather than face the infernos that were rapidly overtaking the towers. At 9:37 AM, the third plane struck the south-west side of the Pentagon, just aside the city, which lead to another fire erupting in that part of the structure. The fourth plane, which was en route to Washington DC, with the supposed targets being the White House or the Capitol, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in an open field at 10:03 AM, as a result of the crew and passengers trying to overpower the hijackers, as they had been informed of the attacks through their mobile devices.

Just minutes before the fourth crash, the World Trade Center’s South Tower collapsed, due to the heavy damaged caused by the crash and the burning fire, and it was swiftly followed by the North Tower, just 29 minutes later. A cloud of smoke and debris filled the streets of Lower Manhattan and several more building near the Trade Center collapsed as well, so rescue operations began almost immediately, in spite of the tragic losses of almost 3,000 lives.

After the South Tower was hit, President Bush, who was visiting a school in Sarasota, Florida, was immediately taken abroad Air Force One and hopscotched across the country, in order to keep him out of harm’s way. He landed in Washington DC in the evening of the attacks and, at 8:30 PM, he delivered a speech from the Oval Office that laid out the key feature of his administration’s future foreign policy: “We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.”

Following the attack, President Bush also visited Ground Zero on September 14 and addressed the workers and volunteers there through a megaphone. When one of them said he could not hear the President, the latter delivered one of the most remarkable lines of his presidency: “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon.” Thanks to his swift and concrete response to the attacks, the President’s approval rating skyrocketed to 90% in the coming weeks, the highest a president’s has ever been.

Aftermath & impacts

Due to the extremely high tension and still possible risks, Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the Air Force to shoot down any commercial aircraft that could be positively identified as being hijacked, however, as we know now, there were no more incoming threats, hence the order had unfortunately not been relayed in time for any action to be taken. The closing of the American airspace for international flights was also ordered, leaving thousands of passengers abroad at that moment stranded until the airplanes had the approval to land in another country. Canada, for example, extended Operation Yellow Ribbon, allowing for many of the international aircrafts that were meant to land on US soil to land on Canadian airports.

As a result of the attacks, several important pieces of legislation were passed in the US, which facilitated the fight against terrorism. In 2002, through the largest restructuring of the US government that has occurred in contemporary history, the United States passed the Homeland Security Act, thus creating the Department of Homeland Security. Moreover, Congress also passed into law the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001), which was meant to help detect and prosecute terrorism and other crimes. However, this Act has been quite controversial and criticized by many, since it has offered many loopholes that could be exploited and lead to the invasion of privacy of citizens and eliminates judicial oversight of law enforcement and domestic intelligence. The US also set up a detention camp in Cuba, called Guantanamo Bay, which held inmates who were considered to be “illegal enemy combatants”, however, its actual legality in accordance with international law has been wildly contested by international bodies such as the European Union.

International relations & military response

Following the attacks, the vast majority of nations around the globe extended their condolences, solidarity and support to America, including those in the Middle East. A notable exception though has been Iraq, which declared shortly after the attacks that “the American cowboys are reaping the fruit of their crimes against humanity". Most countries also introduced anti-terrorism legislation themselves (Canada - Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act 2001; the United Kingdom - Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005) and froze bank accounts they suspected of al-Qaeda ties. That same year, as a response to the attacks, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1368, which condemned the attacks and affirmed that it will take all necessary steps to respond and combat all forms of terrorism in accordance with its Charter.

The 9/11 attacks led to certain very important changes in US foreign policy, most notably, the start of the War on Terror. On October 7, 2001, less than a month after the attacks, US and British forces initiated aerial bombing campaigns targeting Taliban and al-Qaeda camps, then later invaded Afghanistan with ground troops of the Special Forces. They managed to overthrow the Taliban rule of Afghanistan on December 7, 2001, through the Fall of Kandahar on December 7, 2001. Moreover, the US also initiated a joint campaign with Iran, in order to overthrow the Taliban regime in the latter’s territory, which was met with success.

Remembrance

In the days that followed the attacks, many spontaneous memorials and vigils were held all around the world, photographs of the dead and missing being posted around Ground Zero. One of the first memorials was the Tribute in Light, an installation of 88 searchlights that were placed at the footprints of the World Trade Center towers, and, later on, a competition was held in order to choose an appropriate permanent memorial on the site. The winning design, Reflecting Absence, was selected in August 2006, and consists of a pair of reflecting pools in the footprints of the towers, surrounded by a list of the victims' names in an underground memorial space, which was completed on September 11, 2011. The Pentagon Memorial, opened on the seventh anniversary of the attacks, consists of a landscaped park with 184 benches facing the Pentagon, and, during the Pentagon’s reconstruction, a private chapel and indoor memorial were also included. In Shanksville, a concrete and glass visitor centre was opened on September 10, 2015, situated on a hill overlooking the crash site and the white marble Wall of Names.

On every anniversary, in New York City, the name of the victims are read aloud and the President attends a memorial service at the Pentagon, honouring the lives lost because of these most gruesome attacks. Patriot Day is observed with a moment of silence, that corresponds with the attacks, allowing Americans to mourn their lost and remember those tragic events that have showcased, to the entire world, why terrorism should be in now way ever be tolerated.