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» September 11,
2001 - Attack On America
At 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines
Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashes
into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York
City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th
floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds
of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.
As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway,
television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially
appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after
the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767--United Airlines
Flight 175--appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward
the World Trade Center, and sliced into the south tower
at about the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive
explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding
buildings and the streets below. America was under attack.
The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia
and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by
Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organization,
they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's
support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf
War, and its continued military presence in the Middle
East. Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States
for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American
commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the
U.S. in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in
the operation. The 19 terrorists easily smuggled box-cutters
and knives through security at three East Coast airports
and boarded four flights bound for California, chosen because
the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental
journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered
the four planes and took the controls, transforming the
ordinary commuter jets into guided missiles.
As millions watched in horror the events unfolding in New
York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown
Washington and slammed into the west side of the Pentagon
military headquarters at 9:45 a.m. Jet fuel from the Boeing
757 caused a devastating inferno that led to a structural
collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building. All
told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed
in the Pentagon along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.
Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve
center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took
a catastrophic turn for the worse when the south tower
of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud
of dust and smoke. The structural steel of the skyscraper,
built to withstand winds in excess of 200 mph and a large
conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat
generated by the burning jet fuel. At 10:30 a.m., the other
Trade Center tower collapsed. Close to 3,000 people died
in the World Trade Center and its vicinity, including a
staggering 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York
City police officers, and 37 Port Authority police officers
who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings
and save the office workers trapped on higher floors. Only
six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time
of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 other people
were treated for injuries, many severe.
Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane--United Flight
93--was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark
International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane
had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned
of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and
Airfone calls to the ground. Knowing that the aircraft
was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed,
a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an
insurrection. One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr.,
told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all
going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something
about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger--Todd
Beamer--was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's
roll" over an open line. Sandy Bradshaw, a flight
attendant, called her husband and explained that she had
slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling
water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running
to first class. I've got to go. Bye."
The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected
to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher.
The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground
at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field
in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m. All 45 people aboard
were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories
include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David
presidential retreat in Maryland, or one of several nuclear
power plants along the eastern seaboard.
At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who had spent the
day being shuttled around the country because of security
concerns, returned to the White House. At 9 p.m., he delivered
a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring "Terrorist
attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings,
but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These
acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American
resolve." In a reference to the eventual U.S. military
response he declared: "We will make no distinction
between the terrorists who committed these acts and those
who harbor them."
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led international
effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy
Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began
on October 7. Although the Taliban is no longer in power,
fighting in Afghanistan continues, and Osama bin Laden
is still at large. |
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