Fifteen years ago the day on September 11 began just like any other bright sunny day but soon it became one of the darkest in America’s history. No other date signifies an event and its global consequences to such an extent as 9/11.
The United States changed forever when four airliners crashed into the Twin Towers (World Trade Center) in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The WTC towers were reduced to rubble. The Pentagon was in flames. A Pennsylvania field burned with the wreckage of a plane. Nearly 3,000 innocent people were killed – Sons, daughters, husbands, wives, neighbours, colleagues and friends.
It was a rude awakening for America. The live news coverage of the horrifying 2001 terror attacks became the most riveting event ever watched on TV beating out by a gaping margin Neil Armstrong’s moon walk in 1969.
With 9/11 the age of terror had begun. The ‘War on Terror’ followed. The world became anti-Muslim. Islamophobia became the most dreaded word. Terms such as jihad, radicalism, and homeland security became ubiquitous in media’s reporting on acts of terrorism in North America and around the world.
Post 9/11, hundreds of thousands of innocent Muslims were looked with suspicion – Ask Shah Rukh Khan.
India’s most loved Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is grilled for hours at US airport every time he visits America. Not because he is a terrorist, but because he is a Muslim. He and many other good Muslims in the world have come to terms with this unpleasant aspect of post-9/11 scenario.
Since 9/11 nothing has been the same, everything has changed, the world has changed.
9/11 changed the way we travel, the way we are governed, and the way we view, experience, and confront the terrorist threat.
Now, passengers find themselves removing their belts and outer clothing to be put through a scanner. Blades and sharp objects, generally, are not allowed in carry-on bags. Over the years, the removal and separate scanning of carry-on liquids and aerosols entered the mix. And gone are the days where small children could be taken to visit the pilot in the cockpit during a flight.
9/11 provoked the US into the invasion of Afghanistan, which has led to ongoing battles against the Taliban and its successors over the last 15 years.
For Americans, the experience of vulnerability in their own country was a shock. The war against Iraq destabilized not only the country itself but also an entire region. With the rise of the Islamic State, the threat from Islamist terror has grown worldwide. Former General David Petraeus, who commanded the US forces in Iraq from 2007-2008, says: “These are protracted wars. These are conflicts that will last for generations.”
The 2016 US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump calls for a total ban on Muslims entering the country, much to the chagrin of the resident Muslims already suffering from persecution complex and discrimination.
Aber Kawas, a 24-year-old New York social worker with Jordanian roots, says: “I’m so sick of Islamophobia. It’s followed me all my life. I was in the 4th grade when 9/11 happened. It’s now been 15 years – and Muslims are still being attacked and arrested. How long is this supposed to go on?”
The terror attacks were the handiwork of al Qaida and Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden was its chief architect, who was eventually killed by the US.
Over 2,700 people died in the twin towers and many who escaped from the buildings are still severely traumatised. One of them is retired policeman Denis Frederick. He was inside the blazing towers and helped save many lives. Today the 64-year-old cannot bring himself to visit Ground Zero alone. He was unable to work again after 9/11.
For the parents of James McNaughton, their son is a hero. He died in 2005 in Iraq, killed by a sniper. While they still mourn their son, they have never questioned the United States’ military response post-9/11. As convinced Republicans, Michele and William McNaughton will probably vote for Donald Trump in November presidential elections. Needless to say, 9/11 has divided America and the world at large.
While the US government responded to 9/11 with enhanced security measures by monitoring everyone, the terror attacks have left a sense of deep insecurity that hasn’t mellowed till date.
The biggest impact of 9/11 is – security everywhere. Whereever you go, you have to go through security.
However, the worldwide sympathy has faded in the 15 years since the 9/11 attacks. Much of the Arab world resented the US occupation of Iraq. In May 2011, the hunt for capture and killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad near Pakistan military base strained relations further with Pakistan. Throughout the Middle East and Pakistan, protests against the US have continued over the years since the attacks.
9/11 Anniversary
September 11, 2016, marked the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks. People across the US and abroad remembered the lives lost. With the anniversary falling on a Sunday, people turned out for the ceremony in much larger numbers than in previous years.
At the memorial service in New York, surviving relatives stepped to the microphones in pairs at the spot where the towers once stood. Some wore ribbons and buttons with photos of their dead loved ones.
The 2,977 men and women who died in the attacks that day were remembered with parades and solemn memorials throughout the country. Special services were held at the spots where the planes crashed.
Bagpipes played and bells tolled in solemn tributes.
In Lower Manhattan, bells rang to introduce moments of silence six times: at 8:46 am when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the north tower; at 9:03 when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower; at 9:37 when American Airlines Flight 77 careened into the Pentagon; at 9:59 when the south tower collapsed; at 10:03 when Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania; at 10:28 when the north tower tumbled.
Houses of worship throughout New York City tolled their bells, and families of victims of the 2001 attacks – as well as the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center –for hours recited the names of those killed.
Both presidential candidates, Republican Donald Trump, and Democrat Hillary Clinton, visited Ground Zero, though neither made public remarks and both agreed not to campaign for the day. Clinton left the 9/11 commemoration ceremony early after she felt overheated and went to her daughter’s apartment, the Clinton campaign said.
Many gathered at the Pentagon memorial to honour the 184 lives lost at the Pentagon and those aboard the American Airlines Flight 77. A commemoration ceremony was hosted at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. There was an attendance with the firefighters and emergency responders who paid tributes to those killed in the terror attacks.
In Washington, President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford addressed the families and friends of the 9/11 victims in a ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial.
“Fifteen years may seem like a long time but for the families who lost a piece of their heart that day I imagine it can seem like just yesterday,” Obama said.
“Perhaps it’s the memory of a last kiss given to a spouse or the last goodbye to a mother or father, a sister or a brother. We wonder how their lives might have unfolded, how their dreams might have taken shape. And I am mindful that no words we offer or deeds we do can ever truly erase the pain of their absence. And yet you, the survivors and families of 9/11, your steadfast love and faithfulness has been an inspiration to me and to our entire country.”
Obama said the “3,000 beautiful lives” lost that day will never be forgotten. To the survivors and families of victims, he said, “You remind us there’s nothing that Americans can’t overcome.”
Obama said it was important for the country to defend not only its territory, “but also our ideals”. He said that groups like al Qaida and the Islamic State know that they cannot defeat a nation such as the United States, so their attacks are intended to cause fear that leads Americans to turn on another and “change who we are or how we live”.
9/11 Timeline:
8.46 am – The first strike
An American Airlines Boeing 767 making a Boston-Los Angeles connection with 92 people on board — including five hijackers — smashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, leaving a giant hole in the building's facade. Thick smoke trails into the sky from the tower’s upper floors.
9.03 am – Second tower hit
A United Airlines Boeing 767 making a Boston-Los Angeles connection with 65 people on board — including five hijackers — hits the South Tower of the WTC, sparking a massive explosion.
9.30 am – Bush speaks
Then US President George W Bush, in Sarasota, Florida, calls the blasts “an apparent terrorist attack”. He orders “a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed these acts” and says he will immediately return to Washington.
9.37 am – Pentagon hit
An American Airlines Boeing 757 making a Washington Dulles-Los Angeles connection with 64 people on board — including five hijackers — smashes into the Pentagon in suburban Washington, setting off two explosions.
9.42 am – Planes grounded
The US Federal Aviation Administration orders the cancellation of all commercial flights in the US.
9.59 am – South Tower collapses
The WTC’s South Tower collapses in a huge cloud of smoke and dust.
10.03 am – Crash in Pennsylvania
A United Airlines Boeing 757 travelling from Newark to San Francisco with 44 people on board — including four hijackers — crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew apparently fought with the hijackers.
10.28 am – North Tower collapses
The north tower of the WTC collapses. A huge cloud of dust blankets lower Manhattan.
(Reference: http://cnn.com; http://www.torontosun.com)
