As Americans slept in the early morning of September 11, 2001 terrorists were in the final stages of planned attacks that would kill 2752 people. The majority of the intelligence agencies had missed the warning signs of what would be the deadliest act of terrorism on United States soil. Although there were a few red flags raised, the United States was unprepared for 9/11. The United States military was not capable of defending against these terrorist attacks
(Borch 845). The purpose of this paper is to discuss theories for the attack, the attacks, and the aftermath of the attacks.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that December 7, 1941 is a date that Americans will never forget. September 11, 2001 is also such a date (Borch 846). The terrorists did not discriminate as their victims were Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and fellow Muslims. There are many theories for the reasons that 19 terrorists boarded commercial jets and crashed them into the World Trade Centers in Manhattan, New York and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Their fourth target was the Capital building in Washington D.C., but brave passengers regained control of the plane crashing it into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing all on board. One common factor that all theories have is Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden despised America’s foreign policies in the 1990s particularly those in support of Israel. He did not like America’s occupation in the Middle Eastern countries of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Other factors may have included America’s support for attacking Muslims in Somalia and for allowing Russia’s atrocities against Muslims (Poindexter 57).
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"September 11, 2001: A Tragedy in American History".
The monomyth is the fourth theory which includes zealous nationalism and prophetic realism. Zealous nationalism redeems the world by destroying all enemies while prophetic realism applies impartial justice that claims no favored nations. Although the true reason that the attacks were made may be unclear, but how the attack actually happened is common knowledge. The terrorists had years of training prior to the attacks. Iran and Hizbullah had been involved in training and helping the terrorists. There was lax security that allowed the terrorists to board the jets (Poindexter 60). Airport security during this time was low-paid and low-skilled employees. Cockpit doors on the jets were not secured during flights. There were no tactical warnings of the attacks. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had no agents in al Qaeda cells that could inform them of terrorist activities (Borch 849).
The 9/11 crisis that included the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon along with the crash of Flight 93 had a major social-psychological impact. The 19 terrorists were well educated young men from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Yemini. The American people’s sense of complacency and invulnerability was shattered. However, Americans did not panic but responded with effective and adaptive action (Burke 630). The terrorist attacks did affect the United States’ domestic and foreign security policy. The Department of Homeland Security was created and the USA Patriot Act of 2001 was passed. These policies did lead to several wars and the erosion of some civil liberties (Huddy and Feldman 456).
The political reactions to the 9/11 attacks were linked to subjective responses to terrorism. As many Americans feared a future threat of terrorism, there was increased support for President George W. Bush as well as a strong national security policy. Many Americans demanded a powerful response to the attacks and supported the war in Afghanistan. Most of the political factors as a result of the attacks were confined to antiterrorism policies (Huddy and Feldman 464). In the months after the attacks, Americans had a higher opinion on how the government could help and an increasing number invested in family, neighbors, and community. In other words Americans rallied around each other for support (Burke 631).
In the months following the attacks 44% of those polled saw the world as being less safe; 60% though another attack was likely; 83% thought a war was likely, 68% reported being severely affected by the attacks, 67% felt severe anger over the attacks, and 19% changed their travel plans after the attacks. Attitudes toward immigration became more negative following the attacks. This change in attitudes produced more shared social identity and increased stereotyping. However, over the passage of time adverse reactions are significantly reduced as most people return to their typical behaviors (Burke 636). This is most obvious in 2017 as Americans react to President Trump’s immigration policies.
According to George W. Bush, the war on terrorism started on September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks had a major effect on the American people and the policies of the United States. Despite the reason for the attacks, they affected America’s national security policy. It is obvious that 9/11 was an intelligence failure and that the United States was not prepared to defend itself against terrorist attacks. Americans had various emotional reactions toward the attacks with most becoming more patriotic. Research from the attacks suggested that a strong government response to terrorism is more likely when a country perceives future terrorism and feels angry at the terrorists. However, as indicated in 2017 much of this evaporates with time.
