9/11 - One of the Worst Terrorist Attacks in History

September eleventh 2001 was one of the scariest days in America. Nineteen terrorist attacked four United States’ planes and nobody knew what else they might had been planning. These planes were all headed west, and two of them hit both of the The World’s Trade Center towers in New York City. Later, the third one hit the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth one crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Osama Bin Laden was responsible for orchestrating these attacks. Many victims including: firemen, civilians, police, and rescue people were killed. This attack also created a major financial impact on America to repair the damages. The country’s security was also impacted after the attack to keep Americans safe. This attack was meant to make America weak, however it made us stronger. The United States made a memorial in New York City and a national day to remember the lives lost on September eleventh.

September eleventh was the deadliest terrorist attack in America. There were about three thousand casualties, roughly sixty of them being police officers and three-hundred and forty-three of them being firefighters. There were very few survivors that escaped from the towers and the impact of the heavy smoke killed a lot of them. Many of the victims were unidentifiable and not found because of the massive fires. Also all nineteen of the hijackers were killed during the crash. There was about forty people killed at the attack in Pennsylvania and one-hundred eighty-four people killed at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Most of the murders happened in New York where two thousand seven hundred fifty people were killed.(CNN Library 2018) There they placed a memorial, created by architects: Daniel Libeskind, Peter Walker,and Michael Arad where the twin towers used to be with the victims names engraved on the two pools. It is open to the public daily to remember the lives lost on September eleventh.

The hunt for the people who were responsible for this tragedy was on. The capture for Osama Bin Laden had a twenty-five million dollar reward. He was the founder of the Al Qaeda which is the group responsible for the attack. Many people thought that Osama had died because he was not anywhere to be found; however, in 2002 an article from a Taliban leader was published stating that he was alive. After this, President George W. Bush promised to kill Osama, but they still did not know where he was hiding out. It was not until years later on May 2, 2011, when they finally found him in his compound stationed in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Navy Seals rushed in and killed Osama by a gunshot wound to the head along with three other men protecting him. United States military officials then took him in for identification and buried him at sea in respect for the Islamic tradition.

The financial impact on the United States was huge. An estimate of 3.3 trillion dollars was spent recovering from the attack. Roughly out of the 3.3 trillion was spent: fifty five billion went to physical damage and toll, one-hundred twenty-three billion on economic impact, five- hundred eighty-nine on homeland security and related cost, one-thousand six-hundred forty-nine billion on war funding and related cost, and eight-hundred sixty-seven on future war and future Veterans’ care. (howstuffwork.com 2018) The attack only cost the Al Qaeda half a million to do all this damage; however, it costed the United States a lot more to repair.(Bergen 2018) Businesses also lost a lot of money and were forced to close down. There was about four hundred businesses lost in The World Trade Center due to the loss of employees and business buildings. In that area, more than one thousand businesses shut down. Many businesses relocated swiftly; however, with the lost economic output and the cost that insurance companies faced, New York lost billions of dollars. Airlines also lost billions because Americans were afraid to travel after the attack. The four planes that were lost costed them about three hundred eighty five million dollars. Overall the United States not only lost lots a valuable lives, but they also lost a lot of money.

The Al Qaeda meant for this attack to show that America was weak, but it only made the United States stronger. Thanks to America’s strong military, intelligence, homeland security, and law enforcement the United States has never been stronger. Security in America has been taken a lot more serious and made lots of improvements since September eleventh 2001. After the attack, America moved quickly to make the country as safe as possible. Homeland security and more preparation for tragic events like: faster response time and faster recovery for disasters like this one, helped to make our country safer. Homeland security helps with border security, emergency management, and is largely focused on federal preparation. This was created after 9/11 happened and helps keep out terrorist. Airline security is also way stricter with searching, metal detectors, and other specific rules. After this event police and other rescuers go through tougher training so that they are more prepared if another tragedy happens. This event also made Americans work and come together making them stronger.

President George W. Bush named 9/11 a Patriot Day. On this day Americans remember and pray for the all the people who lost their lives on this day. America is much more prepared for situations like this. Although you can never be fully prepared for tragic event, giving their extensive training and hard courses that they put in , America is now inclined when it comes to these situations. This event also showed America that they can come together and do great things. Even though the United States lost a lot of money, they were able to bounce back and become better from the attack. It also showed how powerful America is to the other countries, and that our country is strong and intelligent even in bad events. Overall America is much stronger after 9/11.

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