September 11, 2001 attacks
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Location |
New
York City, U.S. (1st & 2nd) Arlington Co, VA, |
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Target(s) |
World Trade Center and The
Pentagon (fourth target is unknown, but suspected to be a location in Washington, D.C.; Al-Qaeda claims it was to be
the United States Capitol)[1] |
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Date |
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Attack type |
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Deaths |
2,993 (including 19 terrorists) |
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Injured |
Unknown |
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Perpetrator(s) |
al Qaeda
led by Osama bin Laden, see also Responsibility
and Organizers on the
right hand column |
The September
11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11) consisted of a series
of coordinated terrorist[2] suicide attacks by Islamic extremists on that date upon the United
States of America.
On
that morning nineteen terrorists[3] affiliated with al-Qaeda[4] hijacked four commercial passenger jet
airliners. Each team of hijackers included a trained pilot. The
hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners (United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11) into the World Trade Center in New
York City, one plane into each tower (1 WTC and 2 WTC), resulting in the
collapse of both buildings soon afterward and extensive damage to nearby buildings.
The hijackers crashed a third airliner (American Airlines Flight 77) into the
Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, near Washington,
D.C. Passengers and members of the flight
crew on the fourth aircraft (United Airlines Flight 93) attempted to
retake control of their plane from the hijackers;[5] that plane crashed into a field near the town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In
addition to the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died as an immediate result of the attacks, and the
death of at least one person from lung disease was ruled by a medical examiner
to be a result of exposure to WTC dust.[6] Another 24 people are missing and presumed dead. The
victims were predominantly civilians.
A sequential look at United Flight 175
crashing into the south tower of the World Trade
Center
Four
commercial airliners were hijacked en route to California
from Logan International, Dulles International, and Newark airports. Each of the
airliners had a jet fuel capacity of nearly 24,000 U.S. World Trade
Center , one each into the North
and South towers, one was flown into the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed
near Shanksville , Pennsylvania
• American
Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767-200[8] wide-body aircraft, crashed into
the northern side of the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) at
8:46:30 a.m. local time (Eastern Daylight Time, 12:46:30 UTC), hitting at
the 94-98th floors.
The attacks
|
A sequential look at United Flight 175
crashing into the south tower of the Four
commercial airliners were hijacked en route to California
from Logan International, Dulles International, and Newark airports. Each of the
airliners had a jet fuel capacity of nearly 24,000 • American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767-200[8] wide-body aircraft, crashed into the northern side of the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) at 8:46:30 a.m. local time (Eastern Daylight Time, 12:46:30 UTC), hitting at the 94-98th floors. |
.United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing
767-200,[10] crashed into the 78-84th floors of the South Tower at
9:02:59 a.m. local time (13:02:59 UTC), an event covered live by television
broadcasters and amateur filmers from around the world who had their cameras
trained on the buildings after the earlier crash.[11]
- American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing
757-200,[12] crashed into the
Pentagon at 9:37:46 a.m. local time (13:37:46 UTC).
- United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing
757-200,[13] crashed in a field in southwest Pennsylvania just
outside of Shanksville, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of
Washington, D.C., at 10:03:11 a.m. local time (14:03:11 UTC). The crash in
Three
buildings in the World Trade Center Complex collapsed due to structural failure on the day of the attack. The
south tower (2 WTC) fell at approximately 9:59 a.m., after burning for 56
minutes in a fire caused by the impact of United Airlines Flight 175, and the
north tower (1 WTC) collapsed at 10:28 a.m., after burning for approximately
102 minutes. A third building, 7 World Trade Center (7 WTC) collapsed at 5:20
p.m., after being heavily damaged by debris from the
During
the hijacking some passengers and crew members were able to make phone calls
using the cabin GTE airphone
service.[17][18] They reported that several hijackers were aboard
each plane.
The
terrorists reportedly took control of the aircraft by using knives and box-cutter
knives to kill flight attendants and at least one pilot or
passenger, including the captain of Flight 11, John
Ogonowski.[19]
Some
form of noxious chemical spray, such as tear gas or pepper
spray, was reported to have been used on American 11 and United 175 to keep
passengers out of the first-class cabin.[20] Bomb threats were made on three of the aircraft, but
not on American 77. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the bombs were
probably fake. The 9/11 Commission established that two of the
hijackers had recently purchased Leatherman
multi-function hand tools.
Above, a taxicab was hit by a lightpole as American Airlines Flight 77 passed
over
On United Airlines Flight 93, black box recordings revealed that crew and
passengers attempted to seize control of the plane from the hijackers after
learning through phone calls that similarly hijacked planes had been crashed
into buildings that morning. According to the transcript of Flight 93's
recorder, one of the hijackers gave the order to roll the plane once it became
evident that they would lose control of the plane to the passengers. Soon
afterward, the aircraft crashed into a field near Shanksville in Stonycreek Township,
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, at
10:03:11 a.m. local time (14:03:11 UTC). Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed mentioned in a 2002
interview with an Al Jazeera journalist
that Flight 93's target was the United States Capitol,[1] which was given the code name
"the Faculty of Law."[21]
The
attacks created widespread confusion across the
The Emergency Alert System was never activated
in the terrorist attacks.[23]
Fatalities
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Fatalities
(excluding hijackers) |
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88[26] |
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59[27] |
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125[28] |
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59[29] |
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Shanksville |
40[30] |
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Total |
2,974 died and another 24 remain listed as missing. |
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There
were 2,974 fatalities, not including the 19 hijackers: 246 on the four planes (no
one on board any of the hijacked aircraft survived),[31] 2,603 in
1366
people died who were at or above the floors of impact in the
Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank
on the 101st–105th floors of
According
to the Associated Press, the city identified over 1,600
bodies but was unable to identify the rest (about 1,100 people). They report
that the city has "about 10,000 unidentified bone and tissue fragments
that cannot be matched to the list of the dead."[47] Bone fragments were still being found in 2006 as
workers prepared the damaged Deutsche Bank Building for demolition. The
average age of all the dead in
Damage
The aerial view of the destroyed World Trade Center taken on September
23, 2001.
In
addition to the 110-floor Twin Towers of the World Trade Center itself,
numerous other buildings at the World Trade Center site were destroyed or badly
damaged, including 7 World Trade Center, 6 World Trade Center, 5 World Trade Center, 4 World Trade Center, the Marriott World Trade Center and St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.[48] The Deutsche Bank Building across Liberty Street from the World Trade
Center complex was later condemned due to the uninhabitable, toxic conditions
inside the office tower,[49] with deconstruction once scheduled for completion in
September 2007.[50] The Borough of Manhattan Community
College's Fiterman Hall at 30 West Broadway was also condemned due to
extensive damage in the attacks, and is slated for deconstruction.[51] Other neighboring buildings including 90
West Street and the Verizon Building suffered major damage, but have
since been restored. World Financial Center buildings, One
Liberty Plaza, the Millenium Hilton, and 90 Church Street had moderate damage.[52] Communications equipment, such as broadcast radio,
television and two-way radio antenna towers, were damaged beyond
repair. In Arlington County, a portion of the
Pentagon was severely damaged by fire and one section of the building
collapsed.[53]
Survivors
According
to the 9/11 Commission, approximately 16,000 people were below the impact zones
in the
Responsibility
Ground
zero on September 11, 2001, mid-day.
Emergency vehicles of the first responders have been destroyed, and fires can
be seen in the immediate area.
Damage and fires at Ground zero on September
11.
Al
Qaeda's origins date back to 1979 when the Soviet
Union invaded Afghanistan.[55] Soon after the invasion, Osama
bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahadeen,
creating Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK), to resist the Soviets.[55] In 1989, as the Soviets withdrew, MAK was transformed
into Al Qaeda,
as a "rapid reaction force" in jihad against
governments across the Muslim world.[56] Under guidance of Dr. Ayman
al-Zawahiri, Osama became more radical.[57] In 1996, Bin Laden issued his first fatwa which called
for "American soldiers to get out of
As
media covered the 9/11 attacks unfolding, many quickly speculated that Bin
Laden was behind the attacks.[61] Within hours of the attacks, the FBI was able to
determine the names and in many cases details such as dates of birth, known
and/or possible residences, visa status, and specific identity of the suspected
pilots and hijackers.[62][63] Few had made any attempt to disguise their names on
flight and credit card records, and they were some of the few
people of Arabic descent on the flights. Mohamed
Atta's luggage, which did not make the connection from his
The National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States was formed by the
The hijackers
Nineteen
men boarded the four planes, five each on American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 77, four on United Airlines Flight 93. Fifteen of the
attackers were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon.
The
group consisted of six core organizers, which included the four pilots, and
thirteen others. Unlike many stereotypes of hijackers or terrorists, most of
the attackers were educated and came from well-to-do backgrounds.[68]
Other potential
hijackers
27
members of al-Qaeda attempted to enter the
Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui was reportedly considered as
a replacement for Ziad Jarrah, who at one point threatened to withdraw
from the scheme because of tensions amongst the plotters. Plans to include
Moussaoui were never completed because the al-Qaeda hierarchy allegedly had
doubts about his reliability. He was arrested on August 16, 2001, about four weeks
before the attacks, ostensibly for an immigration violation, but FBI agents
suspected he had violent intentions after receiving flight
training earlier that year. In April 2005, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to
conspiring to hijack planes, and to involvement with al-Qaeda, but he denies
foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Moussaoui, at his sentencing hearing in
March 2006, claimed that, upon the personal directive of Osama bin Laden, he
and Richard Reid were due to hijack a fifth plane
and fly it into the White House.[69]
His
defense lawyers dismissed this as fantasy on the part of Moussaoui, saying that
he was not an operative in al Qaeda, but only a "hanger-on." In a video tape
released in May 2006, Osama bin Laden claimed that Moussaoui had "no
connection whatsoever with the events of September 11" and that he knows
this because "he was responsible for entrusting the 19 brothers" who
carried out the attacks.[70] On May 3, 2006, a federal jury rejected the death
penalty and sentenced Moussaoui to 6 life terms in prison without parole.[71]
Buildings surrounding the
At
Moussaoui's sentencing trial, FBI agent Greg Jones
testified that prior to the attacks, he urged his supervisor, Michael Maltbie,
"to prevent Zacarias Moussaoui from flying a plane into the
Potential hijackers denied entry into U.S.
Ramzi
Binalshibh allegedly meant to take part in the attacks, but he was
repeatedly denied a visa for entry into the
Other names of
potential hijackers
Other
al-Qaeda members who may have attempted, but were unable, to take part in the
attacks include Saeed
al-Ghamdi (not to be confused with the successful hijacker of the
same name), Mushabib al-Hamlan, Zakariyah
Essabar, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Tawfiq
bin Attash. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the attack's
mastermind, wanted to remove at least one member—Khalid
al-Mihdhar—from the operation, but he was overruled by Osama bin
Laden.[75]
Osama bin Laden
On September
27, 2001, the
FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about the
possible nationalities and aliases of many.[76] The FBI investigation into the September
11, 2001
attacks, code named operation PENTTBOM, was the largest and most complex investigation in
the history of the FBI, involving over 7,000 special
agents.[77] The United States government determined that al-Qaeda,
headed by Osama bin Laden, bore responsibility for the attacks, with the FBI
stating that evidence linking Al-Qaeda and bin Laden to the attacks of
September 11 is clear and irrefutable.[78] The Government of the United Kingdom reached
the same conclusion, regarding Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden's culpability for
the September 11, 2001 attacks.[79]
Osama
bin Laden's declaration of a holy
war against the United States, and a Fatwa signed by bin Laden and others
calling for the killing of American civilians in 1998, are seen by many as
evidence of his motivation to commit such acts.[80]
Bin
Laden initially denied, but later admitted involvement in the incidents.[81] On September 16, 2001, bin Laden denied
any involvement with the attacks by reading a statement which was broadcast by Qatar's Al Jazeera
satellite channel: "I stress that I have not carried out this act, which
appears to have been carried out by individuals with their own
motivation."[82] This denial was broadcast on
In
November 2001,
Taken from the bin Laden
video of December
27, 2001
On December 27,
2001, a second bin
Laden video was released. In the video, he stated "Terrorism against
Shortly
before the U.S. presidential election in 2004,
in a taped statement, bin Laden publicly
acknowledged al-Qaeda's involvement in the attacks on the U.S, and admitted his
direct link to the attacks. He said that the attacks were carried out because,
"We are a free people who do not accept injustice, and we want to regain
the freedom of our nation."
In a videotape
aired on Al Jazeera, on October 30, 2004, bin Laden said he had personally directed the 19
hijackers.[85] Another video obtained by Al Jazeera in September 2006
shows Osama bin Laden with Ramzi
Binalshibh, as well as two hijackers, Hamza
al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri, as they make preparations for the
attacks.[86]
Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed
The
idea for the September 11 plot came from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who first presented
the idea to Bin Laden in 1996.[87] At that point, Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were in a period
of transition, having just relocated back to Afghanistan
from Sudan.[88] The 1998 African Embassy bombings
marked a turning point, with Bin Laden intent on attacking the
In a
2002 interview with Al Jazeera journalist Yosri Fouda,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admitted his involvement, along with Ramzi
Binalshibh, in the "Holy Tuesday operation".[91] Mohammed was arrested on March 1, 2003 in Rawalpindi,
Pakistan.[92] Mohammed ultimately ended up at Guantanamo Bay. During US hearings
in March 2007, which have been "widely criticised by lawyers and human
rights groups as sham tribunals",[93] Mohammed again confessed his responsibility for the
attacks, "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z."[94]
Other Al-Qaeda
members
In
"Substitution for Testimony of Khalid Sheik Mohammed" from the trial
of Zacarias Moussaoui, five people are identified
as having been completely aware of the operations details. They are: Osama bin
Laden, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Ramzi
Binalshibh, Abu Turab Al-Urduni and Mohammed
Atef.[95]
On
September 26, 2005, the Spanish high court directed by judge Baltazar
Garzon sentenced Abu Dahdah to 27 years of imprisonment for conspiracy on the 9/11 attacks and as part of
the terrorist organization Al Qaeda. At the same time, another 17 Al Qaeda
members were sentenced to penalties of between 6 and 12 years.[96][97] On February 16, 2006, the Spanish Supreme
Court reduced the Abu Dahdah penalty to 12 years because it considered that
his participation in the conspiracy was not proven.[98]
Motive
The September
11 attacks were consistent with the overall mission statement of al-Qaeda, as
set out in a 1998 fatwa
issued by Osama bin Laden, Ayman
al-Zawahiri, Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, Shaykh
Mir Hamzah, and Fazlur Rahman.[99] In the fatwa, Bin Laden directed his followers "to
kill Americans anywhere".[100] He also outlined his objections to American foreign policy towards Israel, as well as
U.S. aggression against the Iraqi people, the ensuing sanctions
against Iraq, as well as the continued presence of American troops in Saudi
Arabia after the Persian Gulf War. The fatwa also specifically
condemns the
Aerial photo taken 27 April 2004 of the area of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA (USGS)
Statements
of al-Qaeda recorded after 9/11 add weight to the U.S
account of who was responsible for the attacks. In a 2004 video, apparently acknowledging
responsibility for the attacks, bin Laden states that
he was motivated by the 1982 Lebanon War, for which he held the
The 9/11 Commission Report determined that the
animosity towards the United States felt by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the "principal
architect" of the 9/11 attacks, stemmed "not from his experiences
there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign
policy favoring Israel."[103] The same motivation was
shared by the two pilots who flew into the WTC: Mohamed Atta was described by Ralph
Bodenstein—who traveled, worked and talked with him—as "most
imbued actually about...
Statements by
others
The
motives of al-Qaeda have also been extensively analyzed by other parties,
including politicians, academics, and media commentators. In a 2001 speech, U.S.
President Bush explained the general motivations of the perpetrators as
"They hate ... a democratically elected government. ... They
hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom
of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each
other."[105] However, this view has been criticized by experts such
as Former CIA Bin Laden Unit Chief Michael
Scheuer, who explain that "politicians really are at great fault for
not squaring with the American people. We're being attacked for what we do in
the Islamic world, not for who we are or what we believe in or how we
live."[106]
Many
of the eventual findings of the 9/11 Commission with respect to motives have
been supported by other experts. For instance, Counter-terrorism
expert Richard A. Clarke, explains that foreign policy
decisions including "confronting Moscow in Afghanistan, inserting the U.S.
military in the Persian Gulf," and "strengthening Israel as a base
for a southern flank against the Soviets" contributed to al-Qaeda's
motives.[107] Others, such as Jason Burke,
focus on a more political aspect to the motive, stating that "Bin Laden is
an activist with a very clear sense of what he wants and how he hopes to
achieve it. Those means may be far outside the norms of political activity [[..]] but his agenda is a basically political one."[108]
A
variety of scholarship has also focused on bin Laden's overall strategy as a
motive for the attacks. For instance, Peter
Bergen argues that the attacks were part of a plan to cause the
Reactions
A solitary firefighter stands amid the rubble
and smoke in New York City World Trade Center
International reaction
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A solitary firefighter stands amid the rubble
and smoke in |
The
attacks had major global
political ramifications. They were denounced by mainstream
media and governments worldwide, with the headline of France's Le Monde newspaper
summing up the international mood of sympathy: "We Are All Americans"
(Nous sommes tous Américains).[111] The most publicized exception
was that some Palestinians celebrated
jubilantly upon hearing about 9/11.[112] There was a report by a
journalist about public demonstrations of enthusiasm for the attacks conducted
by Chinese students in Beijing, China during the night after the
attacks. Although the journalist was not in
Approximately
one month after the attacks, the United States led a broad coalition of international
forces in the removal of the Taliban regime for harboring the al-Qaeda
organization.[115] The Pakistani authorities moved decisively to align themselves
with the
Numerous
countries, including the UK, India, Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, China, Canada, Russia, Pakistan, Jordan, Mauritius, Uganda and Zimbabwe
introduced "anti-terrorism" legislation[117] and froze the bank
accounts[118] of businesses and individuals they suspected of having
al-Qaeda ties.
Law
enforcement and intelligence agencies in a number of countries,
including Italy, Malaysia, Indonesia,
and the Philippines
arrested people they labeled terrorist suspects for the stated purpose of
breaking up militant cells around the world.[119][120] In the U.S., this aroused some controversy, as critics
such as the Bill of Rights Defense Committee
argued that traditional restrictions on federal surveillance (e.g. COINTELPRO's
monitoring of public meetings) were "dismantled" by the USA
PATRIOT Act;[121] civil liberty organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Liberty argued that certain civil
rights protections were also being circumvented.[122][123]
The
In the
United
Kingdom, outrage swelled in the media when Jo Moore, a
special adviser to Transport Secretary Stephen
Byers, sent an email to staff an hour after the attacks, but before the
towers had collapsed, suggesting that "It is now a very good day to get
out anything we want to bury. Councillors' expenses?"[127] Moore faced calls for her resignation, but after
apologising and receiving backing from Byers and Downing
Street, she remained in her job until February 2002, when a further
'burying bad news' scandal finally led to her resignation.[128]
Public response
The
9/11 attacks had immediate and overwhelming effects upon the
Numerous
incidents of harassment and hate crimes were reported against Middle Easterners and
other "Middle Eastern-looking" people, particularly Sikhs, due to the fact
that Sikh males usually wear turbans, which are stereotypically associated with Muslims in the
United States. There were reports of verbal abuse, attacks
on mosques and other religious buildings (including the firebombing of a Hindu
temple) and assaults on people, including one murder; Balbir Singh Sodhi was fatally shot on September
15. He, like others, was a Sikh who was mistaken for a Muslim.[130]
Following
the attacks, George W. Bush's job approval
rating soared to 86%.[131] On September 20, 2001, the U.S.
president spoke before the nation and a joint session of the United
States Congress, regarding the events of that day, the intervening nine
days of rescue and recovery efforts, and his intent in response to those
events. In addition, the highly visible role played by New York City mayor Rudy
Giuliani won him high praise nationally and in
Muslim American
reaction
Top
Muslim organizations in the
Conspiracy
theories
Various
conspiracy theories have emerged as a reaction to
the attacks suggesting that individuals outside of the terrorist organization
Al Qaeda knew of, planned, or carried out the attacks.[134] These theories are not accepted as credible by most
mainstream journalists, scientists, and political leaders, who have concluded
that responsibility for
the attacks and the resulting destruction rests with Al Qaeda.[135][136][137][138]
U.S.
Rescue, recovery,
and compensation
September
13, 2001: A
New York City firefighter looks up at what remains of the
The
FDNY deployed 200 units (half of the department) to the site, whose efforts
were supplemented by numerous off-duty firefighters.[139][140] NYPD Emergency Service Units (ESU) and other
police personnel,[141] along with numerous EMTs rushed to the scene.[142] NYPD helicopters were soon at the scene, reporting on
the status of the burning buildings.[141] Though, FDNY commanders lacked communication with the NYPD, as well as with 9-1-1 dispatchers to
provide good situational awareness.[142] FDNY commanders also had difficulties communicating evacuation
orders to firefighters inside the towers due to malfunctioning repeater
systems in the World Trade Center.[139]
Within
hours of the attack, a massive search
and rescue (SAR) operation was launched. Initially, only a handful of
wounded people were found at the site, and in the weeks that followed it became
evident that there were no survivors to be found. Rescue and recovery efforts
took months to complete. It took several weeks to simply put out the fires burning
in the rubble of the buildings, although there was smoldering and smoke for 99
days, before the fire was completely out. The clean-up was not completed until
May 2002. Temporary wooden "viewing platforms" were set up for
tourists to view construction crews clearing out the gaping holes where the
towers once stood. All of these platforms were closed on May 30, 2002.
Many relief
funds were immediately set up to assist victims of the attacks, with the task
of providing financial
assistance to the survivors and the
families of victims. By the deadline for victim's compensation, September
11, 2003, 2,833
applications had been received from the families of those killed.[143]
Immediate national response
For
the first time in history, all nonemergency civilian aircraft in the
Contingency
plans for the continuity of government and the
evacuation of leaders were also implemented almost immediately after the
attacks.[144] Congress, however, was not told that the
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the
Bush administration declared a war
on terrorism, with the stated goals of bringing Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda to
justice and preventing the emergence of other terrorist networks. These goals
would be accomplished by means including economic and military sanctions
against states perceived as harboring terrorists and increasing global
surveillance and intelligence sharing. Immediately after the September 11
attacks U.S. officials[146] speculated on possible involvement by Saddam Hussein;
although unfounded, the association contributed to public acceptance for the 2003 invasion of
Iraq. The second-biggest operation of the U.S. Global War on Terrorism
outside of the
Because
the attacks on the
Domestic response
Within
the
Following
the attacks, 80,000 Arab
and Muslim
immigrants were fingerprinted and
registered under the Alien Registration Act of 1940. 8,000 Arab
and Muslim men were interviewed, and 5,000 foreign nationals were detained
under Joint
Congressional Resolution 107-40 authorizing the use of military force
"to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United
States."[151]
Investigations
9/11 Commission
The National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11
Commission), chaired by former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean,
was formed in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the
circumstances surrounding the attacks, including preparedness for, and the
immediate response to, the attacks. On July 22, 2004, the 9/11
Commission issued the 9/11 Commission Report. The Commission has
been subject to criticism.
Collapse of the World Trade
Center
An illustration of the
A
federal technical building and fire safety
investigation of the collapses of the Twin Towers and 7 WTC has been conducted
by the United States Department of Commerce's National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST). The goals of this investigation, completed on April 6, 2005, were to investigate
the building
construction, the materials used, and the technical conditions that
contributed to the outcome of the WTC disaster. The investigation was to serve
as the basis for:
- Improvements in the way in which
buildings are designed, constructed, maintained, and used
- Improved tools and guidance for
industry and safety officials
- Revisions to building and fire codes,
standards, and practices
- Improved public safety
The
report concludes that the fireproofing on the
Internal review of
the CIA
The
Inspector General of the CIA conducted an internal review of the CIA's pre-9/11
performance, and was harshly critical of senior CIA officials for not doing
everything possible to confront terrorism, including failing to stop two of the
9/11 hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, as they entered the
United States and failing to share information on the two men with the FBI.[154]
Senators
from both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party in May, 2007
drafted legislation that would openly present an internal CIA investigative
report. One of the backers, Senator Ron Wyden
stated "The American people have a right to know what the Central
Intelligence Agency was doing in those critical months before 9/11.... I am
going to bulldog this until the public gets it." The report investigates
the responsibilities of individual CIA personnel before and after the 9/11
attacks. The report was completed in 2005, but its details have never been
released to the public.[155]
Long-term effects
Economic aftermath
The
attacks had a significant economic impact on the
September
11 from space: Manhattan spreads a large smoke plume
The
economy of Lower Manhattan, which by itself is the
third-largest business district in the United States
(after Midtown Manhattan and the Chicago
Loop) was devastated in the immediate aftermath. Thirty percent (31.2
million sq
ft, 2.7 million m³) of Lower
Manhattan office space was either damaged or destroyed. The 41-story Deutsche Bank Building, neighboring the
The
rebuilding has been inhibited by a lack of agreement on priorities. For
example, Mayor Bloomberg had made New York's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics the core of his capital development
plan from 2002 until mid-2005, and Governor Pataki largely delegated his role
to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
which has been widely criticized for doing little with the enormous funding
directed to the rebuilding efforts.[159][160] On the sites of the totally destroyed buildings, one, 7 World Trade Center, has a new office tower
which was completed in 2006. The Freedom
Tower is currently under construction at the site and at 1,776 ft
(541 m) upon completion in 2010, will become the tallest building
in
North
American air
space was closed for several days after the attacks and air travel
decreased significantly upon its reopening. The attacks led to nearly a 20%
cutback in air travel capacity, and severely exacerbated financial problems in
the struggling
Potential health
effects
The
thousands of tons of toxic debris resulting from the collapse of the Twin
Towers consisted of more than 2,500 contaminants,[162] more specifically: 50% nonfibrous material and
construction debris; 40% glass and other fibers; 9.2% cellulose; and 0.8% asbestos,[163] lead,
and mercury. There were also unprecedented levels of dioxin and PAHs from the fires which burned
for three months.[164] Some of the dispersed
substances (crystalline silica, lead, cadmium, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons) are carcinogenic; other substances can trigger kidney, heart,
liver and nervous system deterioration.[165]
This
has led to debilitating illnesses among rescue and recovery workers, which many
claim to be directly linked to debris exposure. For example, NYPD Officer Frank
Macri died of lung cancer that spread throughout his body on September 3, 2007;
his family contends the cancer is the result of long hours on the site and they
have filed for line-of-duty death benefits, which the City has yet to rule on. [166] Health effects have also extended to some residents,
students, and office workers of Lower Manhattan and nearby Chinatown.[167]
On May 24, 2007, for the first
time a death was linked to the toxic dust caused by the
Legal
disputes over the attendant costs of illnesses related to the attacks are still
in the court system. On October 17, 2006, federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected New York City's
refusal to pay for health costs for rescue workers,[169] allowing for the possibility of numerous suits against
the city.
There
is also scientific speculation that exposure to various toxic products and the
pollutants in the air surrounding the Towers after the WTC collapse may have
negative effects on fetal development. Due to this potential hazard,
a notable children's environmental health center is currently analyzing the
children whose mothers were pregnant during the WTC collapse, and were living
or working near the
Government
officials have been faulted for urging the public to return to lower
Memorials
Main article: September 11, 2001
attack memorials and services
The Tribute in Light viewed from Jersey City on the anniversary of the
attacks in 2004
In the
days immediately following the attacks, many memorials and vigils were held,
including candlelight vigils in New York on September
12 and September 14,[172] and a candlelight procession in Washington on September
14.[173] In Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, over
100,000 people attended a memorial service on Parliament
Hill,[174] while all across Europe a three-minute
silence was held at noon, Paris time.[175] The UK paid special homage on September
13, 2001,
pausing the changing of the guard for two minutes in
silence, then playing the American national anthem.[175]
Temporary
memorials were quickly erected at the three sites, with permanent memorials in
the planning stages, or under construction. One of the first was the Tribute
in Light, an installation of 88 searchlights at the footprints of the
At the
Pentagon, an outdoor memorial is currently under construction, which
will consist of a landscaped park with 184 benches facing the Pentagon.[179] When the Pentagon was rebuilt
in 2001-2002, a private chapel and indoor memorial were included, located at
the spot where Flight 77 crashed into the building.[180] A temporary memorial is
located 500 yards (500 m) from the Flight 93 crash site near
Shanksville.[181] A permanent Flight 93 National Memorial is in
planning stages, which will include a sculpted grove of trees forming a circle
around the crash site, bisected by the plane's path, while wind chimes will
bear the names of the victims.[182] Many other permanent memorials are being constructed
around the world and a list is being updated as new ones are completed.[183]
In
addition to physical monuments, scholarships and charities have been
established by the victims' loved ones, along with many other organizations and
private figures.[184] Numerous public benefits and
concerts have been held to raise money for the families of victims. In
addition, the Raoul Wallenberg Award was given to New York
City in 2001 "For all of its citizens who searched for the missing, cared
for the injured, gave comfort to loved ones of the missing or lost, and
provided sustenance and encouragement to those who searched through the rubble
at ground zero."[185]
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