COLEGIUL NAIONAL MIHAI EMINESCU BAIA MARE

LUCRARE SCRIS REALIZAT N VEDEREA OBINERII ATESTATULUI PROFESIONAL LA LIMBA ENGLEZ

9/11: TERRORISM IN TERMS OF AMERICA

PROFESOR COORDONATOR: LAZR MONICA 2011

CANDIDAT: JUHASZ BIANCA PATRICIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRCIS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Terrorism.............................................................................4 2. CHAPTER I: The History of the World Trade Center 2.1. Planning...............................................................................7 2.2. Construction.........................................................................7 2.3. Major Events........................................................................8 3. CHAPTER II: The Day of the Attacks 3.1. Events.. 9 3.2. Terrorists..11 3.3. Immediate response.14 3.4. War of Terror...14 4. CHAPTER III: Aftermath of the Attacks 4.1. Victims15 CONCLUSION APPENDICES BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRCIS
The day of September 11, 2001 is known as one which marks yet another tragedy in the history of mankind, when terrorism transformed from an isolated issue into an acute problem spreading rapidly throughout the entire world. We were all witnesses to that horrendous happening that has remained imprinted in our minds and which has changed our perspective upon the world. Being a child at that time, I was stupefied by the images and the events that were unfolding in front of my eyes, incapable of understanding the gravity of such a catastrophe. This is why I chose this subject for my paper, in remembrance of the day that has changed peoples mentality, with the purpose of better understanding the incident itself and its implications on todays world. There is general acceptance that terrorism is a term used not only to refer to the United States of America, but also to the western societies to define the violent acts of a group upon innocent victims, in order to create terror among people. The World Trade Center was the target of the most violent terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Situated in Manhattan, it was a landmark for the United States of America, being the centre of world commerce and one of the tallest buildings in America. Four planes were hijacked by a terrorist group and driven into the twin towers of WTC and the Pentagon. The White House was also targeted, but eventually this target was missed as the plane hijacked for this purpose crashed on a field in Pennsylvania. The other planes hit their targets, the two towers being entirely destroyed and the Pentagon being seriously damaged. The terrorist attack took its toll, thousands of people dying on that day. In response to the attack, the USA started a war against the terrorists and all the organizations involved in such activities, taking measures to prevent other possible attacks.

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. TERRORISM We live in a world where appearances dominate every aspect of our life, be it social, cultural, economic or even political. It is generally believed that this is a world of freedom, peace and liberty, a world that has now found its balance after a tumultuous history ravaged by wars, terror, deaths and blood but this is only a facade for keeping people under control. Behind this illusion of democracy and equality between states, the reality lies frightening, impregnated with corruption, an avid lust for power and a desire to satisfy personal wishes, exceeding any barriers of morality, ethics or human rights. The process of globalization has transformed the world into the playground of the great powers which gained control in a subtle, but efficient way over the less developed states, threatening their national identity. Thus, some states voluntarily comply to the actual mainstream, whereas others feel undermined by the new trends designed to sneak in their traditional culture and therefore, they feel obliged to react for the protection of their country, but most of the times in a tough, violent manner leading to acts of terrorism. (Jean Servier 2001: 30) War can be defined by the confrontation between two armies and the invasion of a territory may be a possible reason for war, but the massacre of the civilian population, along with the infringement of its liberties, is related to terrorism. What we call terrorism includes the violences executed by one or more individuals against arbitrarily chosen victims, exclusively for sustaining a power, a will of domination, through fear, through terror which immediately becomes contagious for the entire population. Therefore, terrorism is an offensive system used by an individual or a group more or less ample, in order to impose their will in front of an entire people, even in front of an entire civilization, to exert an influence on history. (Jean Servier 2001: 31) Terrorism is a criminal act that influences an audience beyond the immediate victim. The strategy of terrorists is to commit acts of violence that draw the attention of the local populace, the government, and the world to their cause. The terrorists plan their attack to obtain the greatest publicity, choosing targets that symbolize what they oppose. The effectiveness of the terrorist act lies not in the act itself, but in the publics or governments reaction to the act.

There are three perspectives of terrorism: the terrorists. The phrase one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter is a view terrorists themselves would accept. Terrorists do not see themselves as evil. They believe they are legitimate combatants, fighting for what they believe in, by whatever means possible. the victims. A victim of a terrorist act sees the terrorist as a criminal with no regard for human life. the general publics. The general publics view is the most unstable. The terrorists take great pains to foster a Robin Hood image in hope of swaying the general publics point of view toward their cause. This sympathetic view of terrorism has become an integral part of their psychological warfare and needs to be countered vigorously.1

Terrorism practises four types of attacks: Kidnapping personalities in order to obtain a ransom and often in exchange of detainee terrorists Hijacking planes, followed, in general, by the same demands Robbing banks and weapons stockpiles, for sustaining the armed groups Destroying buildings or different types of plants, depending on the terrorists subjectivity ( Jean Servier 2001: 63)

http://www.terrorism-research.com//

Added to all these attacks are measures intended to shock the international opinion, such as official statements to the press and publicity and their broadcasting. Mass media gives the terrorism a new depth and vivid colors. Through it, an assassin becomes a star -especially if he is photogenic- and gives press conferences, presented as a victim of a society of all vices. ( Jean Servier 2001: 152)

Almost no week goes by without an act of terrorism taking place somewhere in the world, indiscriminately affecting innocent people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. These massacres will not change positively the mentality of people in the way of commiserating with the terrorists, as they intend, but will arouse anger among the population and among states, determining the victim state to react with violence and leading to large-scale conflicts which have devastating consequences on peoples lives. Apparently, there is a free world, divided by different interests, countries that disapprove with terrorism, but which, paradoxically, sell weapons to other countries which help the terrorists. ( Jean Servier 2001: 156) Judging by the facts we encounter nowadays, we are led to believe that the contemporary society is acting in the personal interests of the people in power, ignoring the populations interests and without any initiative of changing this situation. So is there anything we, the common people, could do or are we going to be bystanders witnessing acts of terrorism and corruption which will eventually represent an attack on our moral values?

2. THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER

"The original twin towers... were built at a time when New York's future seemed uncertain, the towers restored confidence and helped bring a halt to the decline of lower Manhattan. Brash, glitzy, and grand, they quickly became symbols of New York." David Johnson and Shmuel Ross, World Trade Center History

2.1. PLANNING 1946 The story of the WTC began in the 1950s, when several visionary New Yorkers planned to make downtown Manhattan the home of world commerce. During the late 1940s and 1950s, economic growth in New York City was concentrated in Midtown Manhattan, while Lower Manhattan was left out, therefore a plan was created to unify and revitalize downtown through an original proposal for only one 70-storey building, not the final twin towers design. September 20, 1962 The current site for the World Trade Center was chosen and a Japanese-American architect, Minoru Yamasaki, was selected to design the project. Yamasaki's designs were often related to classical themes but his use of modern technology resulted in contemporary structures of glass and concrete. A tube-frame structural system was developed which allowed for open floor plans without columns in the office spaces, the World Trade Center plan being estimated at the sum of $525 million. It was a complex of six buildings consisting of 10 million square feet of office space. However, the Twin Towers were considered to be the focal point. The 110-storey buildings were to be the worlds tallest skyscrapers. 2.2. CONSTRUCTION 1966 Demolition at the site began with the clearance of thirteen square blocks of low rise buildings for construction of the World Trade Center. WTC 1, the North Tower, rose ahead of WTC 2. August 1968 Construction on the north tower began. January 1969 Construction on the south tower began.

December 23, 1970 The topping out ceremony of the north tower took place. 1 WTC featured many innovations such as the Twin Towers' high-speed elevators, sky lobbies, and the "hollow tube" building model. January 1972 The first major tenants moved into the south tower. April 4, 1973 The twin towers debut as the tallest buildings in the world --at 1,368 and 1,362 feet and 110 stories each-- surpassing the height of the Empire State Building. In addition to the twin towers, four smaller buildings and a hotel, all built nearby around a central landscaped plaza, completed the complex. 2.3. MAJOR EVENTS February 13, 1975 A fire broke out on the 11th floor of the north tower. The fire then spread from the 9th to 14th floors by igniting the insulation of telephone cables that ran between the floors. Most of the damage was concentrated on the 11th floor. Fireproofing protected the steel from melting, being no structural damage to the tower. December 1975 The Top of the World Observation Deck opens at Two World Trade Center (South Tower) on the 107th floor providing breathtaking views of Manhattan 1976 The world-famous restaurant, Windows on the World, opened on the top floors (106th and 107th) of the north tower. February 26, 1993 A truck filled with 1,500 pounds (680 kg) of explosives detonated in the underground garage of the North Tower, producing a 100 foot (30 m) hole through five sublevels, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. Six people were killed. The terrorists aim at the time of the attack was to destabilize the north tower and send it crashing into the south tower, destroying both landmarks.2

3. THE DAY OF THE ATTACKS

2

http://www.wtc.com/about/original-wtc

3.1. EVENTS On 11th September 2001, an incredible piece of news, which encircled the entire world with the speed of a lightning, made the hearts of billions of people from each corner of the planet to shudder: at least 6 persons died after an explosion at World Trade Center from New York. ( America sub teroare 2001: 5) These were the first words that spread around the globe, words that did not give anyone the possibility to foresee the seriousness and the real dimensions of the tragedy that would shake from the roots in the next half of hour not only the United States of America, but also the entire civilized world. A few minutes were enough to change forever the appearance of the world as we knew it, transforming it into an image always to remain deeply imprinted in our minds. The consequence came soon, placing the humanity in front of an unprecedented situation: at least 6 persons died and 1000 were injured after the explosion produced by the collision of two planes with the towers of the World Trade Center building from New York, at an 18-minute interval. The two planes seemed to be part of a terrorism act. ( America sub teroare 2001: 5) The United States of America represents a landmark from all points of view, being considered so secure that nothing could happen to breach this security. New York can also be considered, through everything that it represents, a world capital. In this way, all the inhabitants of the planet were partakers in the horrendous events that took place there. (America sub teroare 2001: 6) Two impacts had taken place, both towers were surrounded by smoke, the firefighters were concentrated in the area, the policemen dismissed the area; it was supposed to act with speed for evacuating especially the two affected buildings, as well as it was supposed that the fire would spread, affecting more and more floors of the twin towers. (America sub teroare 2001: 7) Events started to unfold rapidly. One of the two planes that hit the World Trade Center was a Boeing 767 of American Airlines company, which took off from Boston and most likely, it had been hijacked. A third plane hit, at the same time, in the same manner, the Pentagon, the impact causing a fire that covered a side of the building which houses the U.S. Department of Defence, and which did not withstand the impact and collapsed. As a consequences of this attack, the White House had been evacuated in a rush. (America sub teroare 2001: 7)

The attacks on New York and Washington started at approximately 8.45 a.m, local time, and took place over a period of 18 minutes, time elapsed between the first collision with the WTC North Tower and the last collision with the WTC South Tower. Meanwhile, the Pentagon was attacked and a fourth plane crashed somewhere near Pittsburgh. ( America sub teroare 2001: 8) For New Yorkers, this is a rush hour, 9 oclock being the time when the working programme starts in Manhattan. It was supposed that some of the employees of the companies that had the headquarters in the two towers were already at work, others were in the one hundred elevators which served the towers and others were heading for their work places. ( America sub teroare 2001: 8) The different nature of the attacks from Washington lies in the fact that in this case, there were attacked targets of national interest, namely the Pentagon and the State Department. Therefore, this is not about a typical terrorist action, although the scale at which the action developed in New York exceeded by far the dimensions of any other previous terrorist attack. ( America sub teroare 2001: 9) A dramatic moment of that day was the one when the American television stations announced that evidence showed that the Boeing plane that crashed near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania state actually targeted the White House. If the attack on the White House had succeeded, the main symbol of the United States would have disappeared and the scale of the disaster would have been much greater. ( America sub teroare 2001: 12) People worldwide realized that terrorism is not limited by any boundaries and that any of the people on this planet can be the victim of these forms of fanaticism taken to unimaginable extremes.

10

3.2. THE TERRORISTS Within hours of the attacks, the FBI was able to determine the names and in many cases the personal details of the suspected pilots and hijackers, by finding the luggage of one of the terrorists which did not make the connection between two flights. The bag was filled with documents and papers that revealed not only the identities of all 19 hijackers, but also important clues about about their plans, motives and backgrounds. Fifteen of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon. AMERICAN AIRLINES #77 BOEING 757 1) Khalid Almihdhar - Possible Saudi national 2) Majed Moqed - Possible Saudi national 3) Nawaf Alhazmi - Possible Saudi national 4) Salem Alhazmi - Possible Saudi national 5) Hani Hanjour AMERICAN AIRLINES #11 BOEING 767 1) Satam M.A. Al Suqami- Possible Saudi national 2) Waleed M. Alshehri - Possible Saudi national -Believed to be a pilot 3) Wail M. Alshehri -Believed to be a pilot 4) Mohamed Atta - Possible Egyptian national -Believed to be a pilot 5) Abdulaziz Alomari - Possible Saudi national -Believed to be a pilot UNITED AIRLINES #175 BOEING 767 1) Marwan Al-Shehhi -Believed to be a pilot 2) Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan Al Qadi Banihammad 3) Ahmed Alghamdi 11

4) Hamza Alghamdi 5) Mohand Alshehri UNITED AIRLINES #93 BOEING 757 1) Saeed Alghamdi 2) Ahmed Ibrahim A. Al Haznawi - Possible Saudi national 3) Ahmed Alnami 4) Ziad Samir Jarrah3

As the testimony of the passengers and the crew members reveals, the terrorists attacked somewhere between 8.42 and 8.46 a.m. They used knives, pepper spray and they even threatened that they would detonate a bomb. They stabbed members of the crew of pilots and also flight attendants and passengers. (Raportul final al Comisiei Americane de Ancheta privind atacurile teroriste asupra Statelor Unite ale Americii 2006: 4) The 19 Arabian Muslims have been portrayed as being extremely devoted Muslims, ready to meet their Creator. Their actions were submitted to a duty to their God and not to themselves. Western countries were considered faithless and responsible for all the injustices commited in the world. In the name of their religion, the Muslims considered it their duty to root out the sinners by any means possible, their mission being to gain victory over the faithless nations.

All these beliefs were listed in special books that each Muslim had to acquire, knowing by heart and rigorously fulfilling every action listed in the manual. These books were spiritually and physically preparing them for their meeting with the Creator, in other words, for death. What is paradoxical is that these people were convinced that their mission is sacred and that the slaughter of so many innocent people is a blessing, thanking the Creator that they were elected to accomplish this mission and being ready to sacrifice their life in the name of their God. Claiming that the United States declared war to God and to his messengers, they wanted the killing of any American, anywhere in the world, like an individual duty of every Muslim able to do it in any country where it is possible " (Raportul final al Comisiei Americane de Ancheta privind atacurile teroriste asupra Statelor Unite ale Americii 2006: 62)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks#Attackera_and_their_background

12

The young came to prepare themselves for Jihad4 [holy war], commanded by the majestic Allah's order in the holy Koran. [Koranic 'verse:] "Against them-make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies, and others besides whom ye may not know, but whom Allah doth know." . . . to make their women widows and their children orphans. . . . to make them desire death and hate appointments and prestige. . . . to slaughter them like lambs and let the Nile, al-Asi, and Euphrates rivers flow with their blood. Terrorists Training Manual

The terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks are believed to be part of Al-Qaeda, which is a militant Islamist group founded between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Muslim movement calling for global Jihad, most of the world considering it a terrorist organization. The founder of this organisation is Osama bin Laden, who has repeatedly insisted on the need for violent jihad to right what he believes are injustices against Muslims commited by the United States and sometimes by other non-Muslim states. Probably the most infamous part of Bin Laden's ideology is that civilians, including women and children, are legitimate targets of jihad.
Is far better for anyone to kill a single American soldier than to waste effort in other activities. We believe that the worst thieves in the contemporary world and the biggest terrorists are the Americans.Therefore, nothing leads us to do any difference between them. Should not make any distinction between soldiers and civilians. From our point of view, they are all targets Osama bin Laden (Raportul final al Comisiei Americane de Ancheta privind atacurile teroriste asupra Statelor Unite ale Americii 2006: 62)

3.3. IMMEDIATE RESPONSE

Jihad = an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihd translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Muslims use the word in a religious context to refer to three types of struggles: an internal struggle to maintain faith, the struggle to improve the Muslim society, or the struggle to defend Islam

13

The 9/11 attacks had immediate and overwhelming effects upon the American people. Many police officers and rescue workers everywhere in the country got involved in the process of recovering bodies from the twisted remnants of the Twin Towers. Blood donations across the U.S. also saw a surge in the weeks after 9/11. Over 3,000 children were orphaned, families were divided and many pregnant women were to raise their children alone after the death of their husbands.

3.4. THE WAR ON TERROR The phrase War on Terror was first used by President George W. Bush at that time to describe a global military, political, legal and ideological struggle against terrorist organizations and regimes that were accused of having a connection with them or providing them with support or, which were perceived or presented as posing a threat to the US and its allies in general. It was typically used with a particular focus on militant Islamists and al-Qaeda.

The President stated that the United States will not only punish the perpetrators of the attacks, but also those who granted them asylum. The United States was at war with a new and different kind of enemy. The President requested that all those responsible for causing suffering should be brought to justice and a strategy to eliminate terrorists and punish those who support them should be devised. The USA intends to use all resources to eliminate the terrorist threat, to punish those responsible for the attacks on 11th September, to make the countries and any other structure responsible for granting asylum to terrorists , to work with the coalition to eliminate terrorist groups and networks and to prevent aggression against people, religions and cultures. The United States wanted to drain the financial resources of all terrorist networks and to prevent them from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Their goal was the elimination of terrorism as a threat to their way of life.5

4. AFTERMATH OF THE ATTACKS

5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

14

4.1. VICTIMS Years after the tragedy of 9/11, people are still unable to get out of their minds the horrific images of the towers in flames, the desperate cries of people in torment or the hidden fear that everybody has experienced since that black day. Time is passing and maybe the measures taken against terrorism were intended to avenge the pain and suffering, but the reality is not as simple as it seems. The real victims of this terrorist attack are the ordinary people, their safety, their self-confidence and freedom. No war can bring back the peace they were enjoying before that day, nothing can banish the feelings inside their souls when they look back to the site where they used to work and these are the genuine consequences of an act like this. Their minds will be scarred for the rest of their lives.

"Initially, I thought I had died. I lost all sense. I had no sight. I had no smell. I had no hearing. Everything was just silent.Nobody will ever fully recover from what happened that day" - McLoughlin.- survivor "That day is one of those days where you can never forget, you remember every detail you experience from the moment of the plane hitting the building, to the evacuation and the building collapsing. Those images become a part of you." - Manuel Chea- survivor6

Deaths are counted in thousands: 265 in the four hijacked planes, 2596 citizens including 343 firefighters, 23 policemen, 37 employees of the Port Authority, all of them at World Trade Center; and 125 civilians and military personnel from the Pentagon. In total, 2985 people died. 200 people jumped from the burning platform of the towers where they had climbed hoping to be rescued by helicopters.About 1366 people were caught between the floors of the North Tower at the moment of the impact. There were no survivors. 600 people remained isolated in the South Tower - 18 had escaped before the tower collapsed. The authorities identified only 1600 bodies, the rest being impossible to be identified. (Raportul final al Comisiei Americane de Ancheta privind atacurile teroriste asupra Statelor Unite ale Americii 2006: back cover)

http://survivorsnet.org

15

A list of the 77 countries whose citizens died as a result of the attacks on September 11, 2001 . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Australia . Austria . Bahamas . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belgium . Belarus . Belize . Bolivia . Brazil . Cambodia . Canada . Chile . China . Colombia . Costa Rica . Czech Republic . Dominica . Dominican Republic . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . France . Germany . Ghana . Greece . Guatemala . Guyana . Haiti . Honduras . Hong Kong (China) . India . Indonesia . Iran . Ireland . Israel . Italy . Jamaica . Japan . Jordan . Kenya . Lebanon . Luxembourg . Malaysia . Mexico . Netherlands . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Norway . Pakistan . Panama . Peru . Philippines . Poland . Portugal . Romania . Russia . Slovakia . South Africa . South Korea . Spain . Sri Lanka . St. Kitts & Nevis . St. Lucia . Sweden . Switzerland . Taiwan . Thailand . Trinidad & Tobago . Turkey . Ukraine . UK . Uruguay . USA . Uzbekistan . Zimbabwe

List distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State

CONCLUSION

16

When starting the research and documentation for this paper, I never thought that I could change my mentality and perspective upon the world. I could hardly believe that there was anything that could make me react, as I thought that I had seen and heard everything. The information that I found ran contrary to my expectations. Despite all the contradictory theories about the people responsible for the attacks, which I did not find as important as the social, moral and psychological consequences on people, I changed my opinion about humankind. It was shocking for me to discover that man has such a tremendous potential for destruction, for violence inflicted on other human beings. I still cannot accept the idea that people are capable of killing, of judging and taking control over other peoples lives, deciding over their right to live or die. History will record this day as a starting point, as the day in which humanity began to realise that it was time terrorist organizations were disbanded. But it is also possible that this day will mark the beginning of an escalation in violence in the fight against some unforgiving forces. If this occurs, it will be terrible.

APPENDICES
17

Terrorists Training Manual

The terrorists

18

The remnants of World Trade Center

19

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS 11 Septembrie- Raportul final al Comisiei Americane de Anchet privind atacurile teroriste asupra Statelor Unite ale Americii. Bucureti: Editura ALLFA, 2006. America sub teroare. Bucureti: Editura Alex-Alex, Leti Press, 2001. Brinkbumer, K., Buse, U., Cziesche, D. (2004) 11 Septembrie: Ziua n care lumea s-a cutremurat. Bucureti: Editura Runa. Chiesa, G. (2008) Zero: de ce versiunea oficial despre atacul de la 11 septembrie este un fals. Bucureti: Editura Litera Internaional Laurent, E.(2006) Faa ascuns a lui 11 septembrie. Bucureti: Editura Vivaldi Servier, J. (2001) Terorismul. Iai: Editura Institutul European

INTERNET RESOURCES Al-Qaeda Training Manual: http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/aqmanual.pdf http://www.fema.gov http://www.terrorism-research.com/ http://www.fbi.gov/ http://www.survivorsnet.org http://whatreallyhappened.com http://www.11-sept.org http://news.bbc.co.uk http://www.wtc.com/about/original-wtc http://en.wikipedia.org A list of the 77 countries whose citizens died as a result of the attacks on September 11, 2001. U.S. Department of State, Office of International Information Programs

20