9/11 Is Considered to Be

9/11 is considered to be a day of alarm and pain in the recent times of America. The changes took place around 8.46 in the morning of 9/11. A commercial airplane filled with about 10,000 gallons of petroleum, flying at a speed of several hundreds miles in an hour dashed through the North Tower of World Trade Centre, located in Lower Manhattan. Another airplane crashed into the South Tower of World Trade Centre at 9.03 the same morning. And both the towers came down within ninety minutes of the attack. The number of people who worked at the World Trade Centre everyday was estimated at fifty thousand. It was a sight filled with ash, bodies, steel and glass. On the same day at 9.37 in the morning, another airplane crashed into the western side of the Pentagon. The fourth in row on the same day was the airplane which hit the grasslands of South Pennsylvania killing all on board. Passengers aboard this airplane sensed that it was either targeting the White House or the U.S. Capitol and those heroes compelled the hijackers to crash land the airplane at Pennsylvania. (the 9/11 Commission Report - Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States - Executive Summary)

The number of people who lost their lives from the four incidents on 9/11 was accounted at 2600 at the Twin Towers, 125 in the Pentagon and a total of 256 persons aboard the four airplanes. These violent actions were carried out by nineteen Arabs who followed the commands of Islamic fundamentalist from a far away place in Afghanistan. Before carrying out their mission, these young men lived in America and mingled with the public. Most of these young men were not learnt, though four of them were qualified pilots. It is understood that a few of them could speak English while others could not even help with the language. These young men boarded the flights in small gangs and took control of the airplane with meager weapons like pepper spray, small sized knives, box cutters and packets of Mace. The airplanes were later used as lethal weapons to cause mass destruction to human lives. (the 9/11 Commission Report - Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States - Executive Summary)

Though the weapons carried by these terrorists were small and unimportant ones, they used it to hurt the crew aboard the flight and even kill some of the travelers. The terrorists also warned that they were carrying bombs to divert and grab the airplanes from the pilots. It was later conceived that some of the hijackers were qualified to fly huge jets and that is how the airplanes were diverted to their target location to carry out the attacks. It is opined by flying specialists that airplane pilots of America would not commit such damage by ramming into high profile offices in Washington and New York. The details of the weapons and the number of terrorists on board were obtained from passengers who made phone calls from locked bathrooms to bid farewell to their loved ones. There is no clear information as to the time when the airplanes were hijacked. (Crockatt 2003)

However, it is understood that the airplanes were hijacked as soon as the flight took off which proves the quality of flying talent the hijackers had and the amount of preparation they had undergone. The progress of the hijackers before the flight took off made it clear that they had high levels of scheduling and were keen on their methods of operation. Though it was difficult to assimilate the situation, it was immediately learnt from the names of passenger who boarded flights on that day that two more airplanes were due to be hijacked to cause similar attacks. The two flights which the hijackers had intended were the one which was landed on emergency due to a technical error and the other was redirected to another destination after the information of Twin Towers were passed on to the flight. The former flight was to fly to the western region while the latter was bound to San Antonio. (Crockatt 2003)

It was not anticipated that the towers hit by the airplanes would fully comedown. However, the tower on the southern side came down at around 10:00 A.M. while the tower on the northern side came down at 10:29 A.M. The number of people who were locked inside the towers and the number of relief workers who were inside the towers in not known. The collapsing building showered huge wreckage and collapsed more nearby constructions. The collapse of the twin tower brought down the nearby World Trade building which was forty storied. The attack on Pentagon caused severe destruction on the western part of the building which housed senior officers of American defense. Several initiatives were undertaken to give an account of the number of people who died in the twin towers. This gave way to mere guess since the twin towers accommodated huge offices with large number of workers on role or otherwise. (Crockatt 2003)

The number of people who visited the twin towers on a daily basis was also not counted on that day. The number of people who managed to leave the tower before the second attack and the number of people who fled the building after the first attack is also not known. Other than the number of people who worked at the twin towers, the number of relief operators who lost their lives while rescuing people was also not accounted. However, two weeks after the incident, the number of people who lost their lives and who were not located after the day of attack was put at 6,400. A small number of bodies could be retrieved from the debris while others were presumed to be dead. To hasten financial assistance to the victim's relatives and families, the office of New York's Coroner declared that it would provide certificates confirming death for those who did not know about the state of the missing. The number of people who died in Pentagon was accounted at two hundred and fifty, though initial reports estimated the number to be eight hundred. (Crockatt 2003)

The objective behind such an attack remains a question while the biggest question is on the method of training and the mode of operation. Various steps are required to stop such attacks on America in the future. Though the terrorist act of September 11, 2001 has raised alarms about security, the United States could have been more cautious to the several notices given by Islamic fundamentalists, that they would end the lives of American masses. This is not the single sign about attack from Islamic fundamentalists. There have been several incidents in America as well as towards American offices abroad in the past which prove the acts of Islamic fundamentalists. In the year 1997, it was found that Osama Bin Laden provided funds to develop terrorist groups. These findings did not portray him as the mastermind of terrorism. However in the year 1998, a clear statement from Osama Bin Laden and his companions declared that their objective was to take away the life of any American around the world, be it a common man or defense personnel. This was towards their dissatisfaction on the policies of United States which suppressed Islam. The declaration of Osama Bin Laden was followed by the killing of people in the world where Americans either lived or attended. (the 9/11 Commission Report - Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States - Executive Summary)

The loss of lives on 9/11 has created a sense of determination in the minds of Americans. With this decision in mind and the marvelous work from the American public, the House of Representatives was proposed to be maintained as the house of the public with high levels of security. Security is given primary importance after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The alarm created upon United States on 9/11 was not restricted to that day. But it caused more fear among people when possible anthrax laden mails were sent to the House of Representatives, which lead to the shifting of office. Efforts to restore the affected people and places were the challenge of the time rather than leaving it to be reinstated later. A team of men and women were formed on the day following September 11, 2001 to work in various departments of public administration. The disaster of 9/11 brought together the people of America to find solutions in a more refined manner. The disaster which sent caution to the freedom enjoyed by the people of America was taken with good spirit by being more cautious in terms of intelligent security while maintaining the day-to-day routine of the public in a normal way. The security measures designed by the board of House Administration comprised security for information, physical security and vigilance for the House, regular follow ups and reporting. (Committee on House Administration 2003)

The economical damage caused by the violent actions on human lives and infrastructure may be classified into direct and indirect damages. The city of New York was supported with assistance from various organizations from the state, nongovernmental, federal and local front to bring the situation under control. Direct damages included the lives of people, infrastructure, business establishments, appliances and gadgets in offices, telephone, power, travel facilities, airlines and automobiles. There were expenses involved to handle the situation, cleaning the site and the destructed building. Other expenses included emergency health assistance, medical support for health problems, wounds and assistance provided to stabilize the mental condition of the affected people. (Kingsbury 2002)

Indirect damages included returns from employment of a person, gains from business establishments which were terminated for the time being or forever due to the loss of office and equipment, loss incurred by business establishment which depended on business located in the twin towers, decrease in the expenditure of companies which wound up, financial reductions in terms of less income from tax and the excess time spend by workers to reach offices and homes due to the loss of proper transportation. The effect of low tax payment is accounted in the damage caused to total gain since tax is paid by people out of their wages to the government. Direct damages can be leveled out of funds from insurance companies, charitable trusts and from the assistance programs of the government. The damages caused to economy by the attacks will last for sometime and slowdown the economy. Such losses can be accounted later and written off by consider the value of money at both times. There are certain other damages which cannot be recovered due to its nature. These are with respect to uninsured workers and people who did not have insurance for themselves, uninsured enterprises and those wound up enterprises who were entitled to make payments. However, the total amount of damages could not be calculated due to various criteria assessments of each category which incurred loss. (Kingsbury 2002)

The September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States resulted in the amendment of IRS norms that enabled the distribution of relief to the needy. Some charitable institutions gave prime importance to provide aid to the firefighters and defense personnel who lost their lives during rescue work. The IRS norms were also amended for people who lived through the attacks. This was done by taking into account the situation that led several people into pain. The norms were amended to assist the charitable institution to work freely without much legal barriers. Such assistance was accounted on the basis of requirement of the person, in good faith and reasonable criteria. Financial assistance was provided to the victim's families under ad hoc basis which also brought some charitable trust under pressure to mobilize and distribute funds to the needy quickly. This rule was not prevalent before the September 11, 2001 attacks. Besides the relaxation on IRS rules to provide assistance, there were question related to the mode of payment of money and the person to whom the fund should be credited. (United States General Accounting Office 2002)

Other related questions were the provision of long-term assistance in terms of jobs in the place of money which cannot meet the requirement of a person in the long run. Families of some victims were given financial assistance soon after the loss of lives, while some of them were provided with service assistance which would benefit them in the long run. The financial aid set up by the Red Cross of America alone was estimated at $133 million which was proposed to be used to treat mental state of affected person and provide assistance to uninsured person to meet health related expenses. The fund created specially to meet the disaster of September 11, 2001 was allocated to treat mental depressions, counseling, health assistance, legal and financial and employment assistance. The Survivors Fund was formed to cater to the needs of people who escaped the attacks on Pentagon. This was mainly used to meet the requirement of these people in the long run. (United States General Accounting Office 2002)