9/11
You’re disoriented and dazed. Among a plume of deadly, black smoke and raging fires, the North Tower is the first to collapse. Sirens, yelling, and screaming surround you as you attempt to flee the black dust that engulfs you. You run blindly as the toxic fumes threaten to choke you, passing by numerous other people attempting to flee Ground Zero. However, you also pass by firefighters who run head first into their deaths. The second impact knocks you off your feet and disorients you, leaving you in a foggy daze as you slowly lose consciousness.
The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 was the single biggest terrorist attack in human history. Around 3000 people were killed, leaving 343 firefighters dead and 200 others dead due to the effects of the toxins in Ground Zero. The details of 9/11 have already been widely covered before so I’ll keep it brief. On 9/11, 19 militants associated with the al Qaeda terrorist hijacked four planes from various U.S. commercial airlines. While two were crashed into the world trade center, one was crashed partially into the pentagon and one into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to wrest control from the terrorists.
One of the principal causes of high firefighter deaths can probably be attributed to negligence in the use of masks. Amidst the confusion and panic, many firefighters simply didn’t have the mind to think about using one. In addition, it seems as if the firefighters were improperly supplied with masks. Firefighter Greg Gould recalls that he has only a “paper mask” that “you could go into a hardware store and buy”. In studies conducted the years following the terrorist attack, doctors reported that many of the firefighters had potentially permanent lung damage in addition to increased lung aging. Ultimately, amidst the horribly toxic asbestos and carcinogens, a reported 200 firefighters would die following the terrorist attack.
The 9/11 terrorist affect had an adverse effect on both America’s political and societal climate. It would trigger Bush’s “War on Terror” policy, which was an international military campaign with the goal of putting an end to the al-Qaeda regime in addition to other terrorist networks. Military spending would also increase by 50 percent just after the events of 9/11. In contrast, the events shocked the aviation industry leading to an immediate 31 percent decrease 5 months following the attack. Interestingly enough, although driving was statistically much more dangerous than flying, the lingering fears of the terrorist attack lead to a 5.3 increase in traffic on interstate highways which actually lead to increasing fatalities on the road (source down below in case anyone is interested). Another effect was an increase in airport security with the introduction of now common practices such as the banning people without tickets to enter security.
Thus, the 9/11 memorial in New York City serves as a reminder for the devastating events that occurred on that day. We should all take some time to honor the lives that were lost during the time and especially the countless firefighters and people who gave their lives to save others.
Effect on driving/related deaths
Video of Ground Zero
Other
I enjoyed reading your post since you did not hesitate to research quite a bit, and this shows up in your analysis of 9/11. On the topic of 9/11 and the "War on Terror", the question of whether or not the US's actions were justified is still up for debate. As a result of one terrorist attack (albeit a large one that killed thousands), the U.S. has gone and killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Middle East and created a war zone for just under 2 decades. This leads some to believe that the U.S. seems to have a double standard of what is unjust for them and what is unjust for others and that our country is willing to destroy but not heal other countries.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://theintercept.com/2018/11/19/civilian-casualties-us-war-on-terror/