A Deliberate Attack

Terrorists hijack two planes

American Airlines Flight 11 and
United Airlines flight 175and crash
them into the World Trade Center.
Terrorists hijack American Airlines
Flight 77 and crash it into the
Pentagon.
Terrorists hijack United Airlines Flight
93, which crashes in southwestern
Pennsylvania.
In New York and Virginia, firefighters
and police officers rush to the scene
of the attacks.
The Twin Towers Collapse
Both the South and the North Towers
of the World Trade Center collapsed.
Fires caused by the planes full fuel
tanks weakened the buildings
structures.
A stunned nation watches these
events unfold on television.
 The Death Toll
All 265 people on the four airplanes
were killed.
Estimates of the deaths at the World
Trade Center were in the thousands.
After years of investigations, the New
York death toll stood at 2,749.
125 people died in the attack on the
Pentagon.
The Nation Reacts
People were sad and angry.
Many admired New Yorks firefighters
and mayor, Rudolph Giuliani.
Americans reached out to the victims,
donating blood and money.
Rescue workers from around the
country traveled to New York to help at
Ground Zero.
 Background to the Attacks
Osama bin Laden Al Qaeda
Member of a wealthy Saudi Made a number of threats
Arabian family against the United States
Wanted to start a Connected to the
worldwide Islamic bombings of the U.S.
revolution embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania
Angry at the presence of
American military in Saudi Clinton launched a missile
Arabia during the Gulf War attack into an al Qaeda
training camp in
Developed a terrorist Afghanistan.
network called al Qaeda,
or the base Carried out a bomb attack
against the USS Cole
Had links to a 1993
bombing at the World Terrorists entered the
Trade Center United States in 2000 and
enrolled in flight schools
Trained attackers that killed to learn to fly airplanes.
American soldiers in
Somalia
 How did the United States respond to the attacks?
War in Afghanistan & Iraq
A group known as the Taliban ruled in
Afghanistan.
Governed according to strict Islamic law
Close relationship with bin Laden
Bush demanded that the Taliban seize bin
Laden and give him to the United States.
The Taliban refused and so on October 7,
2001, the United States and Great Britain
attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Bush declared a war on terror and listed
Iraq as a possible foe.
Iraq was to destroy its weapons of mass
destruction after the Gulf War and allow
UN weapons inspectors inside the country.
Although Iraq allowed weapons inspections
following 9/11, Bush insisted that Iraq had
failed to account for weapons it was known
to have possessed after the Persian Gulf
War.
Many of Americas longtime allies advised
against going to war, but Bush insisted that
Iraq was a threat and invaded Iraq in March
2003.
Results of the War in Afghanistan
U.S. and British troops relied on fighters
of Afghanistans Northern Alliancea
group that opposed the Taliban.
The Taliban was defeated by early
December.
Bin Laden, however, managed to avoid
being captured.
Results of the War in Iraq
Within a month, Saddams regime fell
and Saddam was captured within the
year.
American forces remained in Iraq to
help keep order and train a new Iraqi
security force.
Terrorists continued to take a terrible
toll on American soldiers and Iraqi
citizens.
Bush faced criticism when no weapons
of mass destruction were found.
However, he was re-elected and made
clear that U.S. forces would remain in
Iraq for as long as necessary to ensure
peace and order there.
 Cost of 9/11 Wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq

Over 2600 Americans killed and approximately 17,000 wounded

Over 30,000 civilians (including children) killed and uncounted thousands of other military
dead
$300 billion and counting
National Debt $5.7 trillion and falling till September 2000
$8.3 trillion now and rising rapidly
Lost opportunity to pursue real problems
 Unresolved Mystery
At least six of Hijackers were reported to be
alive after 9/11/01
Some of them were anything but devout
Muslims as they were known to enjoy alcohol,
drugs, gambling and lap dances
Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker -- A former
high-level intelligence official told me whatever
trail was left was left deliberately
AG John Ashcroft, SF mayor Willie Brown, and
several Pentagon officials were warned not to
fly on 9/11
Attorney David Schippers attempted to share
exact details with John Ashcroft, as provided to
him by FBI agents, weeks before the attacks
In August 2001, Rowleys Minneapolis FBI
Office requested permission to search the
computer of Zacarias Moussaoui because they
believed he might fly something into the
WTC. This request was not only denied, but
FBI HQ changed the evidence file, downplaying
Moussaouis connection to Al Queda.
Waleed al-Shehri was interviewed by a London
newspaper then, as reported by AP, spoke on
9/22/01 to US embassy in Morocco
Ahmed al-Nami told British newspaper
Telegraph that I have never even heard of
Pennsylvania
Saaed al-Ghandi was interviewed by several
newspapers and reported by the BBC to have
been in Tunis for 10 months including 9/11
Mohan al-Shehri, Salem al-Hazmi and Abdulaziz
al-Omari were all reported alive and well in
Saudi Arabia by the Saudi embassy in
Washington. Al-Omari visited the US Consulate
in Jeddah to demand an explanation
Donald Rumsfeld said that a missile damaged
the pantagon building
FBI refuses to release the videos they
confiscated from area cameras
 Wheres the fire?

Windsor building, Madrid, February 2005 Twin towers shortly after WTC2 hit