The September 11 attacks: causes, investigations, and international responses

¶ … 11th of September 2001 two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. The event was termed as 'day of reckoning' (CNN World News online news, Sept 2001). Never did the people of America realize that they'll be subjected to such barbaric attacks.

Pentagon was the second location that was jolted by another plane crash.

The fourth plane that was headed towards Washington DC, analyst suspect that the plane was hijacked and was targeted towards White House, was successively diverted by fighter planes towards the forest of Pennsylvania and where it crashed into the trees.

DISASTER:

RESPONSIBILITES

According to intelligence agencies Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were responsible for this barbaric act, which killed thousand and affected millions.

The 'National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States' was formed by the United States government to investigate the event and was named '9/11 Commission'. The commission concluded its report on 22 July, 2004, according to the Commission the attacks were conceived and exercised by the members of Al-Qaeda. The Commission stated that, "9/11 plotters eventually spent somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000 to plan and conduct their attack, but that the specific origin of the funds used to execute the attacks remained unknown" (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon U.S.: Report 2004).

MOTIVES

The U.S. government officials believe that 9/11 attacks were consistent with the mission statement of Al-Qaeda. The mission statement of Al-Qaeda claims revenge from the U.S. And its people and supporters. The mission statement lists and condemns U.S. For following reasons,

U.S. support of Israel.

U.S. military occupation of the Arabian Peninsula.

U.S. aggression against the Iraqi people.

The mission statement of Al Qaeda expresses its discontentment with American government for following reasons,

U.S is hold responsible for plundering the resources of the Arabian Peninsula.

American government is accused of dictating and influencing the policies of Arab rulers.

America is accused of its open support towards abusive regimes and monarchies in the Middle East, thereby oppressing their people.

U.S military has military bases and installations upon the Arabian Peninsula, which violates the Muslim holy land.

U.S is accused of creating disharmony and differences between the Muslim states, thus weakening them as a political force.

U.S is accused of supporting Israel, and its non-serious commitment towards the resolution of Palestinian issue.

However U.S. government condemns Al Qaeda and considers Al-Qaeda to be motivated by hatred of the freedom and democracy exemplified by the United States.

REACTIONS: INTERNATIONAL and PUBLIC

INTERNATIONAL REACTION

The International community condemned the heinous act, and declared it open act of terrorism. The attacks had major international political ramification. 9/11 was denounced by the world wide media, which represented the thoughts of international community affluently. The headline of French newspaper Le Monde reads: "We Are All Americans" (Le Monde Newspaper 12th,Sept 2001), expressing world wide sympathy that each and every individual shared not just for the American government but for its people.

Numerous countries, including the UK, India, Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, China, Canada, Russia, Pakistan, Jordan, Mauritius, Uganda and Zimbabwe introduced "anti-terrorism" legislation and froze the bank accounts of businesses and individuals suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda (the New York Times, Edition: Oct 2001).

LOCAL PUBLIC RESPONSE

9/11 had overwhelming impact upon the American population. The local citizens stood along with the policies of its government and supported it whole heartedly during the initial period.

The firefighters and rescue workers working outside New York abandoned their tasks and rushed towards New York to assist and be part of the ongoing efforts towards removal of debris and recovery of bodies. Blood donations also saw a surge in the weeks after 9/11, and local people flooded the blood banks with unlimited blood supply and other financial and material assistance.

AFTERMATH: STRATEGY

DOMESTIC FRONT

The U.S. government within short notice passed USA PATRIOT ACT, stating that it would help in the detection and prosecution of terrorists. The U.S. government also launched National Security Agency Operation, "to eavesdrop on telephone and e-mail communications between the United States and people overseas without any notification or warning" (Objectives of National Security Agency Operation). After the attacks, U.S. immigration staff was authorized to fingerprint 80,000 Arabs under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

All these actions and strategies were formulated and exercised "to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States." (Clause of U.S. Patriot Act)

INTERNATIONAL FRONT

The U.S. government declared war against Al-Qaeda and its network. The Central Asian countries, India, Pakistan and Middle Eastern governments provided U.S. forces with their bases. U.S. forces launched an attacked on Afghanistan, country which was under strong hold of Al Qaeda, supported by Taliban authorities. The U.S. led coalition comprising UK and NATO officers launched an attack for ousted of Taliban and Al Qaeda from Afghanistan. The Taliban and Al Qaeda were toppled from administrating Afghanistan, and their activities were confined within limited region having extremely rough terrains. The operation against Al Qaeda and its network still continues in Afghanistan, however U.S. authority has been successful is dismantling the terrorist network. CIA with the support of intelligence gathered from other foreign countries has arrested more than 600 terrorists and active associates of Al Qaeda.

FEDERAL RESPONSE

After the 9/11 terrorists attacks, the federal government responded timely and launched many packages and programs at parallel. The main idea behind the launch of such programs on short and immediate notice was to heal the emotional sufferings and mental trauma that the people of States were undergoing.

The Presidents and members of Congress immediately implemented "$40 billion emergency response package" (9/11 Commission Report), to deal the tragic happenings of September 11. The main objective of the funding was to ensure that U.S. has the resources to retaliate and recover from the attacks and guard national security. The funding was released to support New York and other affected areas.

Economic Woes

9/11 had major constrains on the economic development of U.S. It restricted and limited the global business activities, which are heavily U.S. economic dependent. The bearish trend dominated the American stock exchanges for large period. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American Stock Exchange and NASDAQ did not open on September 11 and remained closed until September 17. Due to the major damage to the communication facilities of the business center i.e. World Trade Center the listed stock companies, customers and markets were unable to communicate (Business Report CNN Edition).

The economic activity of Lower Manhattan, which is considered to be the third largest business district of U.S., was damaged considerably because of terrorist attacks. Thirty percent (28.7 million sq. ft) of Lower Manhattan office space was either damaged or destroyed. The 41-story Deutsche Bank Building, neighboring the World Trade Center, was damaged extensively; the building was considered to be unfit for habitation and was subjected to demolition.

North American airspace was sealed for several days after the attack. The air travel reduced significantly after it's reopening, as the threat of terrorist activities still prevailed and people were much under psychological impact. The attacks led to nearly a 20% cutback in air travel capacity, and severely aggravated financial problems in the struggling U.S. Airline Industry.

Major downtown business district was virtually deserted for many days to come. This affected the purchasing and supplying power of the business industry.

Health Hazards

The giant towers of World Trade Center were constructed of many such particles that are highly hazardous for human body if inhaled in gaseous form. The collision of air planes with the buildings of WTC developed extremely high temperature that was enough to readily melt the building materials; major reason for the collapse of the towers.

According to the journal of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Sept 2006 edition, Dr. Dennis Charney reported "the presence of following materials from the debris in given proportion, 50% non-fibrous material and construction debris, 40% glass and other fibers, 9.2% cellulose and 0.8% asbestos, lead, and mercury, as well as unprecedented levels of dioxins from the fires which burned for three months,"(Dr. Dennis Charney, NIEHE Sept 2006 Edition). The detailed study of major hazardous substances is,

Asbestos

The release of asbestos fibers from the World Trade Center site into the adjoining areas was major environmental concerns. Asbestos is a known human carcinogen. It causes lung cancer and mesothelioma, a lung condition. Individuals who are exposed to such an environment for longer period of time are under extreme risk. The collapse of the Twin Towers caused the asbestos fibers that had been safely tucked into the walls of the buildings to disperse in the resulting dust cloud. According to Cervantes-Gross, "Asbestos contamination was one of the very first environmental health concerns that we had."

Particulate matter

The cement structures got shattered due to the heavy explosion and collapse of World Trade Center because of which plumes of dust and smoke covered the air. The shattered particles are of various size and compositions. Those particles adversely affect the health conditions, and aggravate illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and some cardiovascular conditions.

Lead

Lead has been legally banned and its usage is highly discouraged, the human body and environment are highly sensitive to the affects of lead. These are several reported sources from or through which lead had released. It includes the soldered joints of the computer chips; according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, each computer monitor contains four pounds of lead, at the time of collapse tens of thousands of computers were in the different offices of World Trade Center. The estimated amount of Lead is therefore very significant. In addition, lead paint was also used for protecting the steel beams from rusting. According to Paul Lioy, associate director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, "The reported level (of lead) from debris is not high, but is moderately high and cannot be ignored." The measurements of lead in dust ranged from 38 to 635 micrograms per gram.

Lead has plenty of negative effects on human body; it's a great source of damage. The persistence of lead in human body for a very long duration stores it in bones, from which it can be mobilized and transferred to fetuses during pregnancy and infants during breast-feeding. Lead also damages the nervous system and kidney system adversely.

PCBs

Many types of electrical equipment are containing PCBs. The Trade Center was containing many electronic and electrical equipments. The PCBs are used as lubricants and coolants in capacitors, transformers, and other equipment because they are good insulators. The exposure of human body to the environment of PCBs develops toxicity in human brains. PCBs also influence the hormonal system in fetuses. Another major concern about PCBs is that they are lipophilic, and thus tend to accumulate in the food chain and persist in the environment and the body.

PCBs were detected in some of the damaged areas. The release of PCBs can be termed as episodic, though it was intermittent, but the threat itself is constant.

Heap of Waste

The collapse of the Trade towers produced 1.2 million tons of tangled waste of innumerable materials. Debris was mainly composed of construction material such as steel beams, concrete and accessories placed inside the building. The debris constituents of above listed contaminants in varied proportion. The land of WTC was though considered to be hazardous waste site, but it also remained a source of recyclable materials.

MODIFICATION of BUILDING CODES

The findings of fire safety investigation conducted by the United States Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded and proposed following suggestions,

Improvements in design, construction, maintenance and usage of the buildings.

Improved tools and guidance for industry and safety officials

Adherence to building and fire codes, standards, and practices

Revised and improved public safety

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT of 9/11 and BIOTERRORISM

The attacks of September 11 and the anthrax cases in its aftermath provoked re-evaluation of public health infrastructure in U.S.. The imminent threat of bio-terrorism just after 9/11 turned public health a central element in national security. The government then increased its funding towards public health, which remains an area of focus ever since then. The political threat of bio-terrorism overshadowed the main public health concern i.e. The AIDS pandemic.

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and anthrax episode created a great psychological impact on the American nationals and humanity world wide. The World Trade Center attack precipitate an estimated half a million diagnosable mental disorders (mainly post-traumatic stress disorder and depression) in the New York region alone.

The public mental health is important towards combating the threats of terrorism, and strong and matured mental health guarantees effective national defense policy. Consequently government launched many funds in this respect to develop and nourish the mental growth of its citizens.

CONCLUSION

The event of 9/11 has modified the future course of America's relationship with foreign countries, the foreign policy has been thoroughly reviewed and new goals and aims have been introduced which are in the vital interest of the country.

Militarily, American government has devised and developed latest technology that is essential to combat terrorism. The latest technologies have been used at airports and other major installations for security purposes.

The economic activities have gathered momentum, and continue to grow stable and stronger on the assurances of U.S. government for safety and protection of the business investors, their interests and labors.