september 11two

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Brandon Knill

Professor N. Narain

POL3366E

October 25, 2011

Remembering 9/11

On September 11, 2001, (henceforth 9/11) nineteen members of the radical Islamic group Al

Qaeda launched a series of attacks against the United States of America. Their goal was to hijack four

passenger planes and crash them into three targets: the World Trade Center (henceforth WTC), the

Pentagon, and Washington DC.1 Ultimately, these attacks would provide the basis for the Bush-led War

on Terror and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this essay will not be analyzing the whole

War on Terror; rather, it will examine the first attack on American soil – the 9/11 attacks. Specifically,

this essay will focus on the human costs surrounding the WTC

attacks.

At 08:46 EDT, the first hijacked plane, American Airlines

flight 11, crashed into the WTC’s North Tower. Initially, many

onlookers believed that this crash was an aviation accident;

however, seventeen minutes later a second plane, United Airlines

flight 175, crashed into the South Tower—creating the realization

that it was not accident, rather an act of terror. In the adjacent time-

lapse photo (Fig1), flight 175 can be seen crashing into the South Tower. Explosions caused by the

impacts instantly killed all passengers and crew on board as well as most of the employees working on

the floors surrounding the impact zone. The two explosions also caused massive fires that cut off access

1According to the 9/11 Commission, the Washington target is currently unknown; however, it is believed that the

intended target was either the White House or the United States Capital Building.

Fig1: A time-lapsed photograph of flight

crashing into the South Tower. Photo cr

Robert Clark

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/?s=

F11 (Accessed: Oct 20, 2011)

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/?s=9%2F11







Fig 2: Firefighter Mike Kehoe rushing up

the North Tower moments before it

collapsed.

Photo Credit: John Labriolahttp://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/?s=9

%2F11 (Accessed: Oct 20, 2011)

Fig3: A unknown man plunges to his

death after jumping off of the World

Trade Center

Photo Credit: Richard Drew

http://news.yahoo.com/photographer-

behind-9-11-falling-man-retraces-steps-

recalls-unknown-soldier.html

(Accessed: Oct 21, 2011

to the upper portions of the buildings. This created a major obstacle for firefighters as they attempted

to rescue people trapped above the impact zone.

As the upper floors of the towers burned, WTC

workers and visitors began to evacuating the buildings;

however, fire and debris from the crash made several

stairwells inaccessible—effectively trapping everyone located

on the floors above the impact zone. Indeed, more than 90%

of the victims were trapped above the point of impact. While

people raced out of the towers to safety, hundreds of NYC

firefighters raced in; attempting to aid the wounded and help

people escape the blaze. However, their efforts to help the stranded individuals were unsuccessful—

only 18 people from above the impact site escaped from the South Tower. Ultimately, 341 firefighters,

paramedics, police officers, and port authority personnel perished when the towers collapsed. In the

adjacent photograph (Fig2), NYC firefighter Mike Kehoe is heading up the North Tower to help evacuate

the wounded. Journalists later discovered that Kehoe survived

the collapse of North Tower and promoted him as an

internationally recognized hero. This photo captures the

dedication and bravery of the emergency personnel that risked

their lives to aid in the evacuation of the WTC.

In the moments between the initial attacks and the fall

of the tower, Associated Press photographer Richard Drew

would capture one of the most emotional and controversial

photos of the 9/11 attacks. The photo, called The Falling Man




http://news.yahoo.com/photographer-behind-9-11-falling-man-retraces-steps-recalls-unknown-soldier.html











Fig5: An NYPD aviation unit captures

a picture of the dust cloud as it

envelops Manhattan.

Photo Credit: Det. Greg Semendinger

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art

icle-1249885/New-World-Trade-

Center-9-11-aerial-images-ABC-

News.html (Accessed: Oct 21, 2011)a

Fig6: Firefighters begin searching the

rubble for survivors.

Photo credit: James Nachtwy

http://www.time.com/time/photogal

ry/0,29307,1660644_1442567,00.htm

(Accessed Oct 21, 2011)

(Fig3), captures the fall of a man who decided to commit suicide rather than burn to death. Many have

criticized the picture as being disturbing and offensive. However, the picture manages to capture the

despair that faced the individuals who were trapped above the

impact site. Overall, it is believed that more than 200 people chose

to jump from the WTC in an attempt to escape the fires.

After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower collapsed at

09:59 EDT (Fig4) and almost half an hour later the North Tower

collapsed. The collapses caused a toxic dust cloud and large debris

to spill over lower

Manhattan (Fig5). The falling

debris caused extensive damage to surrounding buildings, killed

emergency workers, and hindered the response effort. The dust

cloud contained toxic particles of cement, gypsum, asbestos, glass

fibers and other caustic materials. It is believed that exposure to

the toxic cloud has resulted in over 18,000 reported illnesses in

response workers and Manhattan residents. Subsequently, the

9/11 death toll has increased to reflect the number of people

who died because of dust

related illness.

In the aftermath of the collapse, firefighters and rescue

workers began the daunting task of sifting through the wreckage of

the two towers for human remains (Fig6) and search for survivors

(Fig7). During the search, emergency workers and volunteers

Fig4: The South Tower comes crashing

down at 09:59EDT.

Photo Credit: Bolivar Arellanohttp://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/?s=9

2F11 (Accessed: Oct 20, 2011)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249885/New-World-Trade-Center-9-11-aerial-images-ABC-News.html





http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1660644_1442567,00.html















Fig7: Firefighters remove the body

popular chaplain Mychal Judge fro

the debris.

Photo Credit: Shannon Stapleton

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.co

s=9%2F11 (Accessed: Oct 20, 2011

Fig8: A Navy Corpsman treats an

Afghan civilian’s after a firefight

erupted between NATO forces andlocal insurgents.

Photo Credit: Pfc. Simon Lee

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases

/2011/06/warcosts (Accessed Oct 21,

2011)

Fig9: In this photo, soldiers are

unloading caskets of soldiers killed in

Iraq at Dover Air force Base,

Delaware.

Photo Credit: Pentagon

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/2941

0258/ns/us_news-

military/t/pentagon-lifts-media-ban-

coffin-photos/#.Tqbn2t6AqU8

(Accessed Oct 22, 2011)

managed to rescues 20 individuals from the debris. In addition, the rescue

workers also began recovering the human remains scattered throughout

the site. In total, the recovery effort would collect several thousand

fragments of human tissue that would become essential for the

individuation of potential victims.

The official death toll of the 9/11 terrorist attacks – including all

hijacked flights, the WTC, and the Pentagon – was set at 2,977 and

included victims from over 90 different countries. Indeed, the 9/11

attacks are considered some of the worst acts of terrorism ever

to be committed on American soil. In response, the Bush

administration enacted sweeping anti-terrorist legislature –

such as the Patriot Act – and called for a global War on Terror.

Ultimately, the 9/11 attacks would provide much of the basis

for the invasions of Iraq

and Afghanistan. As of

2010, the war in

Afghanistan annually costs

the United States government over $93 billion dollars – this number

is expected to increase to $118 billion for fiscal year 2011. In

addition, the US Department of Defense has placed the number of

casualties at 1,732 and the number of wounded at 13,896. These

numbers do not account for the number of Afghan civilians (Fig8)

that have been injured or killed since the initial invasion.

Conversely, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has been more deadly than the Afghanistan mission has.




http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2011/06/warcosts



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29410258/ns/us_news-military/t/pentagon-lifts-media-ban-coffin-photos/#.Tqbn2t6AqU8















As of May 2010, there have been 4,404 American soldiers killed in action and another 31,827 listed as

wounded in action. In total both wars have resulted in 6,136 deaths (Fig9) – nearly double the number

of people who died in during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists would launch attacks against the World Trade

Center, Washington DC, and the Pentagon. Of the three targets, only two would be successfully attacked

– the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In response to these attacks, the Bush administration

implemented several counter-terrorism acts and led the United States into a complicated War on Terror.

In sum, the September 11 attacks caused the death of 2,977 innocent individuals provided the catalyst

for a decade long War on Terror that continues to this day.



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