Americans may have no clue what total unrest or anarchy is like, but the nation is no stranger to death or destruction. “The American experience of terrorism within her borders is so limited that attempts to extrapolate broader inferences and scenarios from the incidents are necessarily limited.” (Taylor 2001) Not for lack of effort though. As far back as 1987, the United States has been the number one target for international terrorists. (Onwudiwe, 2001) The American government has ordinarily been able to protect its peop

The Oklahoma City bombing and the 1993 bombing of the Twin Towers opened America’s eyes to terrorism and forced the country to realize that they are not untouchable or truly safe. Slightly separated from a majority of the world, it is fairly easy for America to watch the world’s problems at a safe distance and remain relatively unaffected. History has occasionally rattled them, but the country never stalled until September 2001, on a day that stopped time. “In an act of supreme chutzpah, coordination and technical skill, nineteen men seized control of four commercial jet planes, crashed two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, and rammed one into the shoulder of the Pentagon. In a single day of infamy- September 11, 2001- the terrorists had killed three thousand people.” (D’Souza, 2002) Three thousand human lives buried in burning rubble. This number of casualties may not be significant in terms of world history, but American history is much different and sheltered. To find as many American civilian casualties one would have to refer all the way back to the civil war. Never has America suffered such an attack. Not since Pearl Harbor had America been directly attacked substantially by a foreign power, and even then Pearl Harbor was a completely different form of attack.

The forces behind September 11th could not have over taken America, nor did they try to. These attacks were not like the unintelligent poorly thought out plans America had experienced in the past. The horror of that morning was strategically, sophisticatedly and intelligently thought out well in advance. The terrorists didn’t just find an easy way to kill Americans and gain acknowledgement… they had a message. Everything about the September attacks had meaning. “Terrorist target symbols of American capitalism and American government.” (D’Souza 2002) It wasn’t enough to hijack planes; the men chose American and United Airlines to make a point. The date, September 11th or 9-1-1 carefully paints a picture. And then the true evidence, the targets. The terrorist didn’t just head for an embassy or a military base; they went for symbols- The World Trade Center symbolizing the western markets and the Pentagon the western military and government. 9-11 was more than crushing buildings it was a strike against the western influence and pro-western government. The West is based on freedom and the East is based on virtue. “Terrorism of the Bin Laden variety is a desperate strike against a civilization that the fundamentalists know they have no power to conquer, but they do have the power to disrupt and terrify the people of America and the west. This is one of their goals, and their attack on September 11, 2001, was quite successful in this regard. But there is a second goal: to unify the Muslim and format uprisings against pro-western regimes.” (D’Souza 2002, pg. 183)

Pearl Harbor was the first major strike against America as a nation, which was terrifying enough, but it was different. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was during a time when Americans were on edge and the world was at war, unlike the peace and prosperity America was experiencing in 2001. The attack on Pearl Harbor wasn’t as terrifying; the target was at American military off the American main land. September 11th was undiscriminating and aimed to strike down anything American. The people targeted were average American civilians going about their daily lives. This terrorist attack struck the people and their way of life rather than the leaders and the structure. The terrorists went for the heart of America-the people, after all it is a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

America is a secular nation formed on Christianity, which ties the September 11th horror to a war that was raged ages ago based on religion. The hijackers were Muslim and from Islamic states. This singular reason refuelled the Crusades. The world’s two largest rel

Some topics in this essay:
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