9/11 Terrorism: EMS Response and Emergency Preparedness

Introduction: The September 11 Attacks

On September 11, 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists took control of four commercial airplanes and used them to carry out suicide attacks against American targets. Two planes were guided directly into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center, one struck the U.S. Department of Defense's headquarters at the Pentagon, and one crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Known worldwide as the 9/11 terror attacks, the day's events led to large-scale destruction and loss of life, sparking numerous major federal government initiatives aimed at combating terrorism — efforts that came to define George W. Bush's presidency. More than 3,000 individuals lost their lives in the Pentagon and Twin Towers attacks. Of these, over 400 were firefighters and law enforcement officials.

The attackers were identified as Arab — chiefly Saudi Arabian — Islamic terrorists, said to be funded by Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden's terror organization, al-Qaeda. The attacks were apparently carried out in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel, the role America played in the 1990–1991 Gulf War, and the continued presence of U.S. forces in the Middle East. Several of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than twelve months and had trained at American commercial flight academies. The remainder had entered the country quietly just months before the attack, serving as the operation's "muscle." The hijackers brought knives and box-cutters through security checkpoints at three East Coast airports, then boarded four California-bound flights. Those particular routes were chosen because the planes carried enough fuel for a long transcontinental journey. Once airborne, the terrorists seized control and transformed the commercial aircraft into deadly projectiles (History.com, 2010).

Al-Qaeda originally functioned as a logistics network supporting Afghan Muslims fighting Soviet forces during the late twentieth-century Afghan War, drawing volunteers from many Islamic nations. After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, the organization — though formally dissolved — continued to oppose the presence of foreigners, particularly Americans, in Muslim-majority countries, as well as what it viewed as corrupt Muslim governments. Based for part of the 1990s in Sudan, the group eventually reorganized in its original base of Afghanistan with the support of the Taliban. Several other radical Islamist organizations joined al-Qaeda, including the Egyptian Islamic Group and Islamic Jihad, with leaders frequently declaring holy war — Jihad — against the United States. The organization established training camps for Islamic radicals around the world, where thousands of members were trained in terrorist tactics. Trained operatives then carried out numerous attacks, including a suicide bombing of the USS Cole, an American warship, in the Yemeni port of Aden, and the destruction of U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.

History of Al-Qaeda

The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan challenged the country's viability as a training base and sanctuary for al-Qaeda, disrupting communication lines, operational connections, and financial flows between its leadership and members in the field. Rather than severely weakening the organization, however, the invasion accelerated a process of "franchising" and structural transformation. Gradually, attacks grew bolder and were organized both by senior leadership — operating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region — and by relatively autonomous local cells the group had cultivated. These self-governing grassroots units, united at the local level by a shared ideological agenda and loyalty to al-Qaeda's core ideology, represented a decentralized militancy that proved far harder to combat than anticipated.

Through this structural evolution, the parent organization was linked — directly and indirectly — to more attacks in the six years after 9/11 than in the six years before it. These included attacks in the United Kingdom, Jordan, Turkey, Kenya, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Israel. Concurrently, the organization made extensive use of the internet for recruiting, communication, disinformation, and the dissemination of video messages. Meanwhile, some analysts began questioning the effectiveness of the predominantly military-force-centered American strategy. By 2010, many observers believed al-Qaeda had achieved its greatest power since the 9/11 attacks.

On May 2, 2011, U.S. forces killed al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, after American intelligence located his hideout — a secured compound in Abbottabad, approximately 50 kilometers from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. A small helicopter-borne team carried out the operation, and following confirmation of bin Laden's death, President Obama announced the mission to the nation, calling it one of the greatest achievements in the fight against terrorism. On June 16, 2011, al-Qaeda released a statement announcing that bin Laden's long-time deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had assumed the organization's leadership (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2016).

Faulty communication arguably created more problems for rescue workers than any other single factor. The firefighters deployed to the Twin Towers carried radios identical to those used during the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing — radios that had already proven unreliable within the complex. Upon reaching the north tower, many members of the rescue team either failed to hear or failed to heed the evacuation order that was reportedly issued before the two towers collapsed. After the south tower fell, police officers in a helicopter hovering above the building correctly surmised that the north tower would soon collapse as well and transmitted an urgent warning to ground forces. According to numerous commanders and firefighters, however, that warning never reached most of them. These clear alerts — captured on police radio recordings — were broadcast a full twenty-one minutes before the building fell. Authorities confirmed that police officers received the message and that the majority escaped unharmed. Most firefighters, however, due to repeated radio system failures that day, never heard the warnings or earlier evacuation commands. Even had their radios functioned properly, there was no link between the fire department's radio system and that of the police. The firefighting and police teams on the rescue mission were not communicating with each other during the emergency at all.

Communication and Coordination Failures

Cut off from critical, life-saving information, at least 121 firefighters — the majority of whom could potentially have reached safety — lost their lives when the north tower collapsed.

Prior to 9/11, first responders from separate jurisdictions lacked inter-agency communication capabilities. Since fiscal year 2003, however, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has allocated approximately three billion dollars toward communications interoperability efforts.

At the time of the attacks, the United States also lacked a formal Incident Command System (ICS). Today, DHS requires that prospective state and local grant recipients adopt an ICS and a National Incident Management System (NIMS) at every jurisdictional level as a precondition for receiving grants.

The country similarly lacked risk-based security funding and a comprehensive critical infrastructure protection plan before 9/11. Currently, all Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding is distributed on the basis of risk and efficiency. DHS also developed its National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), described as a landmark public-private partnership for identifying and safeguarding the nation's key assets and critical infrastructure.

Conclusion: A New Safety Perspective

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (2016, October 14). Al-Qaeda Islamic Militant Organization. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.: https://www.britannica.com/topic/al-Qaeda

History.com. (2010). 9/11 Attacks. Retrieved from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks

McCallion, T. (2011). EMS providers recall 9/11. Journal of Emergency Medical Services, 36(9).