11th of September 2001 Two

¶ … 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.

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT OFFICE RESPONSE

The 9/11 attacks had negative impact on the economy of all the affected areas, particularly New York City. In the aftermath of the attacks, Congress launched Emergency Supplemental Funds with appropriate budget for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the victims. Government Accounts Office was asked to provide assistance to the owners of small businesses from Emergency Supplemental funds.

Congress appropriated $3.5 billion in community development, of which $500 million was allocated for compensation of small businesses, non- profit organizations. The fund within one year of its allocation provided opportunities to 9000 small businesses, many with fewer than 10 employees. The aim was to retain small businesses in efforts to revitalize the affected areas. (GAO Report 2002)

Following initiatives were taken with the support of federal government:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

Amount of $2 billion was allocated for Federal Emergency Management Agency. These funds were released to support overall emergency assistance plan in New York and other affected surroundings. The amount was utilized for removal of debris, launch of emergency protective measures, individual and family assistance, for search and rescue operations, and other related disaster assistance efforts.

FEMA was authorized by the President to provide unprecedented funding. For example, the President authorized FEMA to pay the complete expenses towards public assistance activities in New York and other affected states. The agency has also put efforts along with local governments towards the removal of debris.

FEMA established Disaster Field Offices in New York City and Virginia where disaster victims can seek assistance. FEMA also operated a toll-free hotline for information and registering disaster victims. FEMA supported city, state, and volunteer organizations in organizing a long-term strategy for proper utilization of donated funds worth millions of dollars. FEMA coordinated with the American Red Cross and other volunteer and Federal agencies in providing maximum humanitarian and financial aid to the victims of this tragic event.

Department of Health and Human Services:

Amount worth $126.2 million was sanctioned for providing health related assistance to the disaster-affected areas of New York, Virginia, Maryland and District of Columbia.

Small Business Administration:

Package of $100 million was introduced for supporting and providing those renters, homeowners, businesses with financial assistance, settled and operational in affected areas and jurisdiction.

Department of the Treasury, $48.4 million:

Funds worth $48.8 million were introduced for supporting the immediate response and recovery needs of the approximately 1,000 Treasury employees, whose offices located in the proximity of World Trade Center, were completely tarnished.

Department of Labor:

Amount worth $29 million was sanctioned towards Department of Labor's Dislocated Workers program for providing temporary jobs in clean-up and restoration efforts in New York. Assistance was useful towards recovery of unemployment insurance claims. Labor Department was assigned the responsibility of monitoring safety of rescue personnel and for providing financial assistance to dislocated workers.

Department of the Interior:

Amount worth $3.1 million was used towards monitoring activities of National Park Service and U.S. Park Police emergency in New York City and Washington DC. The security patrols in both sensitive cities were significantly increased after release of funds.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's New York office which was located in World trade center, was funded $200,000 for purchasing computers and other related accessories, the fund was also used fur renting or purchasing new office space on temporal basis.

Department of Education:

The Education Authority provided $5 million for Rehabilitation Services Administration of those individuals who suffered from physical or mental disabilities as a result of collapse of WTC. The department also provided funds to help those disabled Americans who lost their jobs, rehabilitation or other support structures sue to this tragedy.

The department also provided assistance to the state schools for counseling and mental therapy of affected children. The department established 'Loan Forgiveness Scheme', under which individuals living or working in New York were provided temporary relief from student loan payments.

Department of Justice:

Legislation was introduced for expeditious payments of compensation to the families of those who lost their relatives as a result of 9/11 terrorist attacks. The program launched in this regard was 'Victims Compensation Benefit Program'.

Legislation was introduced for speedy payment of compensation to the families of the police officers, firefighters and rescuer, who sacrificed their lives. The payment was made through Public Safety Officers' Benefits program.

Health and Human Services (HHS):

More than 500 HHS personnel were deployed in New York City to further augment the number and services of medical personnel assisting victims and recovery workers.

HHS made available services of more than 100 doctors, nurses and other para-medical staff round the clock, offering continuous services of care and recovery to the workers toiling in the aftermath of the attack in New York City.

HHS was along with New York City Health Department, and provided assistance for patient care and follow-up needs.

Small Business Administration (SBA):

Disaster Field Officers in New York and Virginia launched Disaster Loan Program; the program was launched for providing assistance to the victims. The program was launched in collaboration with FEMA. SBA was authorized to offer low-interest disaster loans. SBA launched different workshops to approach maximum numbers of victims.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

Environmental Protection Agency was formed to monitor the disaster sites to ascertain that rescue workers deployed on site were not facing any imminent environmental risks.

EPA was involved in cleaning and washing down of all workers, equipment, and resources employed during the rescue stage. EPA was vacuumed and cleaned sidewalks, streets, and buildings in the World Trade Center area. The agency was conducted radiological and dust monitoring.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS):

The IRS extended deadlines for all taxpayers affected by the tragedy. IRA gave tax-exempt status to the charities, so that the donated amount can be used completely towards the assistance of victims.

IMMINENT THREATS

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.