I.

Introduction

September 11 Attacks, coordinated terrorist strike on the United States in 2001 that killed about 3,000 people and shook the nation to its core.

On the sunny morning of September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists, working in teams of 4 or 5, hijacked four commercial jetliners and turned them toward targets chosen for destruction. Two of the planes, loaded with fuel and passengers, were flown at full speed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the financial district of New York City. The buildings burst into flame and then collapsed, killing thousands. A third terrorist crew smashed their plane into the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. military in Arlington, Virginia. The hijackers of the fourth airliner apparently intended to hit another target in the Washington, D.C., area, but passengers on the plane realized what was happening and fought back. This airplane crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania.

The 19 men who carried out the hijackings came from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Arab states. They were affiliated with the al-Qaeda network, a radical Islamic group led by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden and dedicated to waging a holy war against the United States. The targets they chose to destroy perfectly symbolized U.S. financial, political, and military power. Years in the planning, the attacks in New York and Washington constituted the first major foreign assault on the continental United States since 1814, when the British army invaded Washington, D.C., and burned the White House. More people were killed on U.S. soil on September 11 than on any day since the American Civil War.

United States citizens, feeling their country under attack, rallied behind their leaders in a display of national unity, patriotism, and generosity unseen in decades. The country celebrated anew the values of courage and heroism, exemplified by the New York firefighters and rescue workers who unhesitatingly rushed into the World Trade Center towers to save as many people as possible.

Before long, it was clear that September 11 would alter the course of U.S. history. President George W. Bush announced that fighting terrorism and preventing future attacks would be his administration’s top priority. Governments around the world were told they must decide whether to stand with the United States in this antiterrorist effort or face U.S. wrath. Americans had to accustom themselves to new security measures that complicated their travel, work, and recreation. United States agencies rearranged their action agendas, and local governments scrambled to make preparations for new terrorist attacks, possibly involving biological, chemical, or even nuclear weapons.