OH+Research

**Interview subjects** - Ross (Marin's dad), Jeanne (Lizzie's sister), Manu (Riya's dad)
 * Topic ** - 9/11 from multiple varying perspectives

............ 2001 was to be just another year for the American people. There was an economic slowdown working its way through the whole world, not just America. This economic recession, along with George W. Bush’s new tax cut law which was the largest in the past 20 years, caused the budget surplus to dwindle. George W. Bush had been sworn into office as the 43rd president on January 20th, of 2001. This mean that Bill Clinton’s presidency was at an end. Americans in 2001 didn’t have much to do with terrorism at all. The only other event about terrorism in America in 2001 was four people being declared guilty in the 1998 terrorist bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Prior to September 11, 2001, most Americans didn’t have a single thought about terrorism, and didn’t even know what events were going on related to it. ............ As disaster struck, the media realized the importance of coverage. Hounding the Twin Towers were newscasters, photographers, even fellow citizens and their mobile cameras recorded the life-changing event. This immediate reaction helped capture the event from multiple perspectives (literally) and later was used to record facts and statistics. On September 11th, 2001 at 7:45 a.m. the American 11 taxied around the Logan International Airport. At 7:59 the plane took off on its last ever flight. Within about an hour the plane was hijacked by five passenger from the Al-Qaeda terrorist group and was flown towards New York City, where it, along with hundreds of passengers were to crash to their death. At 8:46 the plane crashed into the World Trade Center, instantly killing passengers and unsuspecting workers in or around the tower. Cameras were focused on the towers when roughly 17 minutes later, at 9:03 United Airlines Flight 175 sliced into the south tower of the World Trade Center. It had left at 8:00 that morning. As this was happening, a third flight, United 93 had taken off at 8:10 from Washington’s Dulles Airport and crashed in Pittsburgh destroying the Western side of the Pentagon at 9:40. There was also a fourth flight from Newark crashed near Pittsburgh, possibly aiming for the White House. It was a failed attack - the passengers ended up taking over the plane but 266 of them perished in the collision. Hundreds of people died on site and in the end over 3,000 lost their lives. The World Trade Center was destroyed in a blazing inferno. The Pentagon was later rebuilt with a new West Wing (that had been destroyed). Over 100 nations were covering this event and the world’s eyes were focusing on the first ever major terrorist attack. This is the attack that changed the world. ............. A speech that Bush delivered enforced one of the most emotional events in the nation’s time. Conspiracy theories were rampant, and the Office of Homeland Security was born. This tragedy had not only struck the US, since New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world. Victims originated from more than 100 different countries, and the international responses proved that other nations were also theirs as well. The initial reactions to the attacks was shock, disbelief, anger, vulnerability feelings, and thoughts of war. Nationalism was at its peak since WWII, as America united. Doctors and nurses flocked around the city to help, and thousands volunteered to donate blood. Once America was united, we were all willing to help. ............. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, America’s war on terror had just begun. More than ten years after September 11th, we still remember the effects the terrorist attacks had on America’s economy and the moral of citizens. Restoring order and setting up safeguards of the country’s travel has cost billions of dollars. The attacks triggered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which led to the staggering cost of $1 trillion. Ken Kreitner, a Vietnam veteran said, "It's the first time in the history of our country that an act of terrorism of this magnitude ever took place. People finally got mad and they wanted something done about it," he said. "Anyone with any sense at all realized our country would never be the same again and that we were not only going to pay with lives the way we did, but we were going to be paying for it probably for the rest of our lives." The psychological effects on citizens touched by the attacks are still painful. Some horrors evoked such pain and sorrow that since September 11, some citizens have never set foot inside a plane ever again. Yet, on May 2, 2011 US Navy Seals killed the prime suspect of the tragedy, Osama Bin Laden. This moment in time has not only united America, but also changed the way Americans have and will evermore define tragedy.

WORKS CITED:
"9/11 Attacks." History. A&E Television Networks, 2012. Web. 23 May 2012.  .

 Atkins, Stephen. "September 11, 2001 (Overview)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 13 May 2012.

 "World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 13 May 2012.

 Commission Staff. "The 9-11 Commission Report." Avalon Yale. Yale, n.d. Web. 23  May 2012. .

 Schmemann, Serge. "Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit Pentagon." The New  York Times. N.p., 12 Sept. 2001. Web. 23 May 2012. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/national/12PLAN.html?pagewanted=4>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #121917; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Shanty, Frank. "Ten Years On: Background." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 23 May 2012.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Beijing Time. "Top 10 World News Events of 2001." People's Daily Online - Home Page. Beijing Time, 1 Dec. 1929. Web. 23 May 2012. < __http://english.people.com.cn/200112/28/eng20011228_87645.shtml>.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Pearson Education. "Information Please: 2001." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 23 May 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/year/2001.html>.

MEDIA:




[|__http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPh7ECq9sc0__]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks