News articles and media coverage

¶ … September 11, 2001, most Americans went on with their daily activities without fear of invasion of their own country. They read about the bombings and wars in other countries, but did not believe that similar events could happen in the United States. Those men and women who lived through World War II naturally recalled exactly what they were doing when they heard about Pearl Harbor. Yet, since that event happened so many years ago, even these individuals assumed that their land was now protected. After September 11, 2001, these peaceful thoughts were shattered, but for how long? Are Americans going back to their complacency? Do they now once again believe that the country is once again invincible?

Many people who were watching television at 8:45 AM, Eastern Daylight Time, on September 11, 2001 thought they were watching a commercial for a movie when they saw an explosion of the north tower of the New York World Trade Center tear a huge hole in the building and set it aflame. Then, as TV viewers began hearing the news reports, they assumed that a jet had accidentally flown off course and hit the building.

In a matter of minutes these assumptions were proven wrong. At 9:03 AM, a second crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center and exploded. Both buildings began burning. At 9:43 AM, a third airliner crashed into the Pentagon, and part of one of the most protected structures in the United States collapsed beneath the huge clouds of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately. All over the United States, people stared at their TVs, strained to hear the news on their radios, and excitedly made phone calls to friends and family. In less than a half, the calm of decades ended.

The tragic reports continued. United Airlines reported that United Flight 93, flying from Newark to San Francisco had crashed in Pennsylvania. The continuing news from New York became increasingly horrible and terrifying. When the newscasters finally found out what really happened, they reported that three --American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, and American Airlines Flight 77 -- had been hijacked and directed toward American buildings. Uncertain thousands of people were injured or killed. Who did this and why remained unknown.

At about 6:00pm, news reports from CNN and other stations started coming out about explosions in Afghanistan just hours after the explosions in the United States. It was reported that bin Laden, who U.S. officials say was possibly behind the attacks, was in Afghanistan. The attack was credited to the Northern Alliance, a group fighting the Taliban in the country's ongoing civil war.

For the next several weeks into months, the events shook America. After two months, smoke continued to rise from the rubble in New York. Increasing numbers of stories of employees, pedestrians and firefighters being hurt or having died filled the news reports. It was difficult to find anyone who was not impacted by 9-11 in one way or another. In December, the last standing structure of the World Trade Center was demolished after 99 days of burning. New York City officials put the death toll from the attacks at less than 3,000 including the passengers in the two hijacked planes.

In January 2002, President Bush pledged that the U.S. "will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons." First sanctions are placed against Iraq and then in June, Bush stated that the U.S. must strike first against another state to prevent a potential threat from growing into an actual one: "Our security will require all Americans ... [to] be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives" (infoplease).

In September 2002, a year after the U.S. terrorist events, the President addressed the United Nations, asking to swiftly enforce its own resolutions against Iraq. If not, the U.S. would have no choice but to act on its own. A month later, Congress authorized an attack on Iraq.

During the next two years, a large number of Americans promoted the war, showing their support with yellow "Support our Troops" and "God Bless America" ribbons on their cars and homes. However, it appears that support of the war is waning.

A CNN/USA poll released June 20 of this year showed 59% of Americans want at least a partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and a New York Times/CBS poll said 51% of Americans think invading Iraq was a mistake (Bloomberg.com).

Meanwhile, what about the concerns of terrorism in the United States that were at their height after 9-11? A CNN/USA Today Gallop Pole asked 1,006 respondents on July 22-24, "How worried are you that you or someone in your family will become a victim of terrorism: very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?" People who are "not worried at all" and "not too worried" add up to 53%. "Somewhat worried" is another 33%.

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. July 22-24, 2005. N=1,006 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"How worried are you that you or someone in your family will become a victim of terrorism: very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?"

Very

Worried

Somewhat

Worried

Not Too

Worried

Not At All

Another question, "How likely is it that there will be further acts of terrorism in the United States over the next several weeks: very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely?" showed that Americans are divided on their fear of a terrorist attack on the U.S. For "unsure," and "not likely," there is 43%. For "likely," there is 57%. Most likely, the attacks in London are having an impact on Americans, but it appears that Americans and the government may be going back to the original feelings of fearlessness.