Terrorism

Here in the United States, we have experianced terrorism. The most well-known attack in (semi) recent years was the September 11th Attacks. They occurred on September 11, 2001. On that day 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners. They flew them into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Passengers on the fourth plane realized what was happening and were able to overcome the terrorists and fly the plane into a remote field instead of its intended target. Over six thousand were injured during the attacks and 2,998 were killed.

Other terrorist attacks have taken place but none so well known as those of September 11. People attack our country for various reasons. One of the most prominent is that our country has a tendency to make other people mad. Many disagree with our foriegn policy and, occasionally, disagree with it strongly enough to attack us. Many people also attack for religious reasons.

The best example of how the U.S. responds to terrorist attacks is, once again, the response to 9/11. Like most people around the world, fear tends to bring out the best and worst in Americans. Immediately after the attacks, many people showed great courage by returning into the affected buildings to search for survivors. Some of these rescuers, many of them firemen, did not come out again. At the same time, many people responded with hysteria and paranoia. To this day, some people believe that Muslims, even Arabs in general, are not to be trusted.

The response on a higher level was, basically, tighter security. Everywhere. Airline security got so bad that some people now show up for flights hours in advance. Security got even tighter after attempted terrorist attacks in Europe. Now, not only will one's nail clippers be confiscated, but one's shampoo will be taken away as well. The government also responded to the attacks by sending troops into the middle east, beginning a 'war on terror'.