September 11, 2001, was probably the most challenging day for firefighters in American history. Four attacks masterminded by the late al Qaeda militant group leader, Osama Bin Laden, occurred. Nineteen rebels associated with these attacks skyjacked four planes and executed targeted suicide attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, Shanks Ville, and Pentagon outside Washington DC (Bergen, 2020). The 9/11 attack suicide bombers were Islam from Arab countries, mostly Saudi Arabia. Reports suggest that Osama Bin Laden funded the attacks to react to American soldiers’ prolonged existence in the Middle East. Also, the militant group targeted America to punish her for supporting Israel in the Persian Gulf War. These attacks left the world associate the Islam religion with terrorism, which is still hitting the headlines with the French President recently making claims that related Islam with terror and war.
The first plane, which hit the World Trade Center, collapsed at 8:46 am, hitting the North Tower. The second hit followed 17 minutes later on the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Several people were already injured, trapped, or killed, and the structure was badly destroyed by the huge and quick-razing inferno (Bergen, 2020). The Pentagon attack struck at 9:37 am, setting the southwest of the building ablaze. The Federal Aviation Authority directed a ground stop before the fourth plane rammed in Shanks Ville at 10:03 am. Several other adjacent buildings to the World Trade Center were damaged. Rescue missions began forthwith as about 3000 people lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Police officers, firefighters, terrorists, and other volunteers rushed to rescue others were among the victims.
Samuel Huntington’s postulation of the Clash of Civilizations explains the attacks on the United States in 2001. The thesis suggests that cultures or religious identities would define future world wars (Haynes, 2019). According to Huntington, an American political scientist, wars would no longer exist between nations but cultures. In the 9/11 attacks, Islam terrorists attacked America because they interfered in the Gulf war. Huntington’s prediction holds for these attacks as later interpretations and analysis lead to religious or cultural differences (Haynes, 2019). Still, the fight against Israel in the Gulf War is thought to be an underlying reason the American attacks are associated with religion and culture.
The United States and allies have been a major terrorist target. The Boston Bombing is an example of a recent attack in the US. Kenya and Tanzania, allied to the US, also suffered various attacks, especially on American embassies (Bergen, 2020). The Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi that left 68 people dead and several casualties is a recent incident of terror attacks on a US ally. There is a possibility of resolving these threats of terror attacks. However, cultural and religious differences could pose a challenge to such developments. Besides, the United States’ active involvement in peacekeeping in the Middle East reduces the possibility of reducing terror threats.
Bergen, P. (2020, September 10). September 11 attacks. https://www.britannica.com/event/September-11-attacks.
Haynes, J. (2019). Introduction: The “clash of civilizations” and relations between the West and the Muslim world.
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