9/11: A Day Remembered Forever
It was a clear Tuesday morning; September 11, 2001, nineteen Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations boarded four fully fueled American airliners. These airliners were set to depart to cities in California. Little did the staff for each of the planes or the people boarding them know that plans had changed. Within the space of an hour, al Qaeda wreaked more direct damage on the United States than the Soviet Union had done throughout the entire cold war, a tragedy seen by more people than any other event in history. (Bergen, 2006) Many questions were garnered after September 11, 2001. What caused this horrific attack and who’s to blame for it? Was this attack forecasted, could we
(9/11 Attacks, 2012).
During the time that the towers were collapsing, a fourth plane bound for San Francisco, CA was being hijacked. Due to this plane being delayed in taking off, the passengers on board learned of the events transpiring in New York City and Washington D.C. through the use of the Airfones and cell phone calls from relatives on the ground. Since the passengers knew that this plane was not bound for an airport they decided to take matters into their own hands. The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane flipped over and sped toward the ground at a speed of upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m. All 45 people aboard were killed. Its initial target has never been completely determined; however, it is believed that it was bound for the White House, the U.S. Capitol, or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard. (9/11 Attacks, 2012) The people aboard Flight 93 have been deemed heroes, as their actions that day saved possibly hundreds if not thousands of lives.
After being transported around the country due to security concerns, President George W. Bush returned to the White House around 7 p.m. At 9 p.m. he addressed the United States from the Oval Office, affirming, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they