September 11 Essay Example

Terrorism Essay on September 11

September 11, 2001 was a tragic day for the American people, which witnessed a loss of hundreds of lives. The Al-Qaeda terrorist network with its leader Osama bin-Laden was responsible for the attacks on September 11. One of the results of the terrorist attack, which took place on that day, was that the American nation changed, to a certain degree, how it perceived itself and other nations. It brought about a rise of patriotism and certain aggressiveness towards the Arab world.

The terrorist attacks were followed by a series of unrelated bioterrorist threats of letters containing anthrax, which resulted in a number of deaths. This, combined with the events of September 11, made Americans feel intensely vulnerable. They could not understand why terrorists targeted at peaceful citizens. The explanation was that Al-Qaeda felt hatred towards the American values, culture and power. The terrorist attacks have also brought about a rise of the feeling of patriotism and unity of the nation. The American response to the attacks was swift and forceful. In October, America launched a military campaign against terrorist groups and the states, which supported them; the beginning was the battle against Taliban, the Afghanistan government, which supported Al-Qaeda.

Many Americans looked for someone to blame and viewed Arabs as their enemies, who caused the September 11 events. This was expressed not only in the military campaign in the East, but also by a certain aggressive behavior towards Arab Americans. In Arizona, an Indian immigrant who practiced the Sikh faith was murdered, because of his religious beliefs, just as a Pakistan grocer in Texas. Near Detroit, an Islamic school was closed, because of daily reports of bomb threats. People stormed a mosque in the area of Chicago and fired bullets into the Islamic community center in Texas. Such behavior was condemned by President George Bush who claimed that Muslim Americans were a valuable part of the community and should be treated with respect.

The terrorist attacks and the feeling of vulnerability, which they caused, called for changes in the country; as a result, the national security was tightened. About a thousand of people, mainly Arabs and Muslims, were detained as they were thought to have certain information about terrorists. As a means of war on terrorism, law enforcement agencies obtained a right to widely wiretap suspects and monitor their online communication. Immigrants who were associated with members of terrorist organizations were deported or detained.

In 2002, President George Bush declared Iraq, Iran and North Korea the ‘axis of evil’ countries, which were a threat to the American nation. The primary concern was Iraq, and its leader Saddam Hussein who developed weapons that might be provided to terrorist groups, though intelligence reports, which were a proof of this, later turned out to be incorrect. Invasion of Iraq was the next step in the America’s war on terrorism.

The events of September 11, 2001 have shown to the American people that economic power and wealth do not protect them from aggression of hostile terrorist attacks; moreover, partly due to this wealth and prosperity, America has become a target for Al-Qaeda. As a result, Americans felt that they are vulnerable and have to take steps to protect themselves from future threats. This was the reason for intensified surveillance of potentially suspicious people, for detention of a big number of suspects, due to their possible connection to terrorist groups, for the military conflict in the East; nevertheless, these steps were taken by the government, which tried to make its citizens feel safe again. As for common Americans, some started to view Muslims as enemies, which resulted in several murders and instances of aggressive behavior towards Muslims.