9/11 American Tragedy

The American Tragedy 9/11

One of the most catastrophic events in American history, the 9/11 attacks.

These attacks not only physically attacked the U.S , but it also attacked them psychologically. The attackers were a number of terrorist from members of al-Qaeda. Their motives were stated in a “letter”, Osama bin Laden was the leader of the terrorist group and he wrote they attacked because of our increased support in the Middle East. The attack involved the hijacking of four total planes, one for each of the twin towers, another for the pentagon, and the last one was an unknown target. September 11 had a major impact on the United States by changing airport security,changing national security and entering the US into a new war.

The changes

National security was put into excruciating doubt after 9/11. Americans had the feeling that nowhere was safe any longer. If the Nation’s major cities can be attacked, then where is a safe area was what too many Americans had running through their heads. President Bush had a response to this attack and it was Homeland Security. A terrorist attack on such a major scale was just something they could not wrap their heads around. Some Americans prior to 9/11 could struggle with explaining what a terrorist is. Now even older elementary students can tell you what a terrorist is; a word that never had to be used in the same sentence as the United States. The restrictions on who could enter the country have been revamped to be much more strict. Another change is the view on certain racial groups, especially people of Islamic descent. “Anti-Islamic violence in America jumped after the attacks. According to the FBI, 28 hate crimes committed in 2000 were found to be anti-Islamic”(Villemez). The outlook on the entire race is very bleak in comparison to what it was previous to 9/11. The measures taken by the government to try to improve national security will only continue to rise as more and more threats

The fact that not one American can deny is that the effects of 9/11 where major and they did not end on September 11, 2001. Some people lost their lives, others lost a friend or family member. Some children never got to know their parents because they died on that day. The event changed the United State’s national security, dragged them into a war, and lastly changed airport security forever. On that day 3,000 people died, not including the people who fought overseas to stop another terrorist attack. Whether an American chooses to believe it or not, one born before or one born after, 9/11 impacted their life