Marwan al-Shehhi

Marwan al-Shehhi was born on May 9, 1978, in the United Arab Emirates. Details about his life were hard to find, but press reports show that al-Shehhi's family lived in a village in Ras-al-Khaimah. Shehhi's father was rumored to be the person who called everyone to prayer in the local mosque. During 1997, al-Shehhi moved away from home after a family crisis, and into Germany to study the German language. Then he moved into Hamburg where he enrolled in the same school as Mohamed Atta. In Hamburg, he became radicalized, after seeing how western powers were influencing his own country and began to feel alienated by them. He then went on to become an al-Qaeda member from the United Arab Emirates. al-Shehhi was motivated enough to be the leader of the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 175 on 11 September 2001, and the plane was crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

AL Qaeda and The Taliban

AL QAEDA:

This group was formed in 1988 led by Osama Bin Laden and Mohammed Atef. It strictly followed Wahhabism, which is an extreme form of Sunni Islam that insisted on a literal interpretation of the Koran.

Al Qaeda means “formation” in Arabic and believed that they must use Jihad to mobilize their variation of Islam. They believed that every Muslim’s obligation is to fight who opposes Islam. This group viewed Western culture and itself was a threat to Islam. The main goal was to make an Islamic state based on Sharia law.

This group was behind the 9/11 attack in 2001 in New York and killed about 2,977 people.

THE TALIBAN:

This Group came to prominence in Afghanistan in 1994 and governed there for five years. The Taliban is different from Al-Qaeda although both practice branches of Sunni Islam.

The name “Taliban” means “student” in Arabic. It is widely theorized that the group was first formed from a religious seminary which preached a strict variation of Sunni Islam. They first promised that they would restore peace and security via law in the Pashtun areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

They had a very strict law that every citizen had to follow. Women over 10 years old were prohibited from getting education, Tv and any other internet/social media was banned. The most effective group in Pakistan are the TTP and it was the group that attempted to kill Malala Yousafzai for going to school under the group’s rule.

Changes that happened because of 9/11

Because of the horrific attack, multiple changes were made. In aviation for example, security was severely increased with the creation of the TSA. Prior to 9/11, only about 5% of baggage was checked by security whereas now, all baggage is checked. Social changes occurred as well. Prior to 9/11, violence against muslims simply because they were muslims weren't very common. However after the attack, assaults against muslims became increasingly common with no sign of slowing down.

Emergency Responders After 9/11

Emergency Responders After 9/11

        During and after 9/11, emergency personnel, including firefighters, paramedics, and police responded to the emergency. This was, and still is, the largest rescue operation in US history. Despite, or perhaps because of, the scale of the operation, there were communication issues that led to the death of many, especially firefighters. Their radio system failed several times on the morning of 9/11, and it was not directly connected to the police communications system. This led to many deaths when the North Tower collapsed and resulted in 343 firefighters dying during the collapse of both towers. 

        As well as this, protocols for fires in the World Trade Center towers dictated that only the floors nearest the fire be evacuated, leading to many more civilian deaths when the towers collapsed. Despite these protocols, however; many people decided to evacuate the building even after receiving messages telling them not to. This most likely saved many lives.

        Many firefighters who survived and were later interviewed would describe the lack of communication on 9/11 as an absolute catastrophe. The lives of many civilians and emergency personnel could have been saved had communication been better organized and not failed. In general, emergency responders were not aware of how dangerous the towers were and how likely they were to fall. It is impossible to know exactly how many lives could have been saved with better communication, but it is certain that communication systems and emergency protocols were not up to the task of handling such a disaster.

Daisy Ad

the Daisy Ad was a controversial commercial which was used in President Johnson's campaign. What the commercial did was, it showed the bad about nuclear war and started hinting that Barry Goldwater, the other candidate running for president would start a nuclear war. right away people did not like the ad because it used kids to show bad and horrible things that can happen and kids should never be used for that.

The Effect of Terrorism on the Status of Muslim Americans

As terrorist organizations become a larger threat to American Safety as a result of 9/11 and threatening rhetoric, Americans began to associate violence and hatred of Western culture with the Faith of Islam.

During this period of time, representation for Muslim-Americans was severely lacking, which rendered them susceptible to being closely associated with the only reference of their faith in the media, radical terrorism. While radical groups claim the name of Islam, their malicious actions do not represent the peaceful teachings of the faith. Every Middle Eastern/ Muslim person knows the feeling of watching the news and seeing bombings, shootings etc. and immediately after the shock and sadness wares off, the secondary reaction is hoping that the assailant was not Muslim otherwise for the next few months a heightened sense of fear would surround our identities.

The biggest turning point for the status of Muslim/Middle Eastern Americans (both are susceptible to the same types of discrimination in America), was 9/11. The horrific terrorist act and it’s high death toll resonated deeply with Americans and instilled them with a deep hatred that has persisted to this day. While Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans condemn the actions they still face blame and association due to their culture and faith which is unrelated to the radical ideologies of terrorist organizations.

The most effective way to combat these stereotypes is for their to be increased representation of education about the Islamic faith and it’s presence in various communities in America. Muslims are also victims of radical groups in the Middle East as any group that disagrees with radical ideologies are at risk of retaliation from terrorist organizations. Muslim Americans are tired of having to justify their faith and reinforce that they do not subscribe to violent beliefs.

The Rise of Terrorist Networks in the 90's

The organization that the United States was affected by the most during the late 80’s and 90’s was Al Qaeda. Founded and led by Osama Bin Laden, the organization funded weapon developers, and smaller organizations that were radicalized and unified against their hatred for “infidels”. They even sought recruits who were living in the United States. Most of their recruits were people who were susceptible to manipulation.Al Qaeda funded training camps that familiarized recruits with chemical weapons, explosives, and firearms.

To gain influence and support, Al Qaeda formed close relations with the terrorist organization the Taliban. Together they endorsed the declaration of jihad. Those that they opposed were Shia Muslims, the US, and essentially anyone who disagreed with their fundamental ideas regardless of their faith or country of origin. It is a common misconception that the US and western nations are the only victims of terrorism, especially from well-known organization, but in reality Shia muslims throughout the Middle East face the threat of terrorism as they are a minority and Terrorist organizations claim their faith is false.

Cost of AZT

During the 1980’s AIDS epidemic only one drug was approved for use, AZT. Given the hysteria surrounding AIDS and the fact that no other pharmaceutical company had a drug approved, the makers of AZT sold their product at the insanely high price of $10,000 knowing that patients would either pay or die. At the time only 35% of AIDS victims were insured causing the drug to be inaccessible.

Rather than drastically improve public health and curb a national epidemic, the producers chose to make profit while people were dying and incredibly high rates.

In recent years, producers of HIV/AIDS medication have followed suit and risked lives of patients for monetary gain. In 2018, the company Gilead was sued for delaying development to market off of their incredibly lucrative monopoly of the drug. Allowing for health care providers and the pharmaceutical industry to profit at the cost of lives and livelihoods of the American people is incredibly unethical and unjust.

Missile Strike on Afghanistan and Sudan

On August 20, 1998 President Clinton chose to take action against Bin Laden’s involvement in the US Embassy bombings by launching missiles in Afghanistan.

The Clinton administration was pressed by the public and by political opponent about the choice of location of the targets. They claimed that the targets were site of terrorist organization meetings and a Sudanese pharmaceutical company that Bin Laden was producing chemical weapons in.

The missile strike resulted in 24 deaths, which did not include Bin Laden. It appeared to be an act of Terrorism taken by the US government. The evidence that the US government used to justify their actions were incredibly flawed. Their test of the plant’s soil to prove if there were chemical weapons being produced was inconclusive. Additionally, the US government was not able to come up with evidence linking the plant of Bin Laden or affiliated organizations.

The negligent actions shows that the Clinton administration was eager to admonish terrorism, but in the process of doing so lead an unwarranted attack.

The Patriot Act

Recovery workers surrounded by debris following the attacks

In the wake of 9/11, many Americans worried about the future and their safety.  The government's role was to keep a nation secure, and 9/11 was a massive breach of national security.  As a result, the Bush administration asked Congress for new powers to combat terrorism.  Only 45 days after the events of 9/11, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act.

George W. Bush renewing the Patriot Act in 2006

The USA Patriot Act loosened many restrictions on US law enforcement agencies concerning intelligence gathering.  Although many Americans wanted to improve their national security, they were also wary of how this act impacted their constitutional rights.

One of the most controversial sections concerned privacy rights covered by the Fourth Amendment.  The Fourth Amendment protected ciitizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.  It applied to "persons, houses, papers, and effects," which included modern communications devices.  This meant federal agents couldn't place wiretaps on telephones without a search warrant.  The Patriot Act allowed federal agents to obtain a single warrant for tapping all phones a suspect uses - a "roving wiretap." 

Under the Patriot Act, agents with a warrant could search a suspect's home or business in secret.  They could also use a National Security Letter (NSL) to acquire personal records from a number of sources, including banks, phone companies, credit agencies, and Internet providers.  Previously, the FBI could only issue a NSL when investigating a foreign power or its spies.

A poster by the ACLU that accompanied an article on the
Patriot Act

The extensions of government power under the Patriot Act were considered necessary to prevent additional terrorist attacks.  Some felt that the privileges granted to law enforcement agencies were too prone to abuse.  For example, National Security Letters can be used to invade a person's privacy - billions of records have been accessed since 9/11, many generated by law-abiding US citizens.  Roving wiretaps can easily violate the privacy rights of someone unknowingly in contact with a suspected terrorist.

In the wake of 9/11, it was necessary to improve national security measures.  9/11 undermined America and her position as the strongest nation in the world.  Americans no longer felt safe in their own country.  It raised many debates about how to balance our founding ideals of equality and liberty with our desire and security, many of which are still relevant today.

Osama Bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden, born on March 10 1957 was the founder of al qaeda. He came from a. Very wealthy family from Saudi Arabia. He first made an appearance in the Mujahideen force in Pakistan fighting against the Soviet Union. Right around the time of 1988 hr formed al qaeda and was banished from Saudi Arabia. Not much long after the declared a war on the United States because he disagreed with a lot of their policies like the forgien policy. He lead a ton of of bombing and attacks in the U.S causing him to be put on the FBI’s most wanted list. He was killed in 2011 when he was shot by U.S forces (seal team 6)

Conspiracy Theory About Bombs in the Twin Towers

There are many conspiracy theories about what happened on 9/11, and about who was really responsible. Phrases like "Bush did 9/11" and "9/11 was an inside job" are fairly popular among those who believe in such conspiracies or find such theories to be humorous.



One of these theories is the "Controlled Demolition" theory. This theory claims that the impact of the crash into the towers wasn't enough to weaken the towers to the point of collapse, and that there must have been additional explosives in the buildings to weaken the structural integrity.



The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Popular Mechanics Magazine rejected these theories after examining them. Structural mechanics and engineering professionals did tests and proved these theories wrong, so there couldn't have really been any additional explosives, as believable as it may seem that it was part of an agenda.

Security Before 9/11

There were massive changes in airline security as a result of the 9/11 attacks, but it is interesting to take a look at what things were like before these changes took place.

Things you could bring before the changes:

1. Blades up to 4 inches long
2. Baseball bats
3. Box cutters
4. Scissors
5. Darts
6. Knitting needles

These were just a few items that were now not allowed to be taken on board, and many items were gradually banned later as new threats or possible threats were discovered. These included some concealed liquids and printer cartridges.

It is interesting to question the thought process that many security teams and agencies may have had when determining these rules before the 9/11 attacks, as some of these items should have definitely not been allowed as carry-on luggage.

While there were obviously many holes in the security process, including scanners and the method in which baggage was scanned, it is at least good to see that many changes have been made to address the issue.

Nosair and the assassination of Meir Kahane

El Sayyid Nosair, born in Egypt on November 16, 1995, is a terrorist responsible for the death of Meir Kahane along with involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center attack.  Nosair was tried in court for the murder of Meir Kahane, but the jury acquitted the charge.

On the night of the fifth of November, disguised as an Orthodox Jew, Nosair shot and killed Rabbi Meir Kahane following a speech Kahane delivered.  Upon escaping the crime scene, Nosair attempted to take a taxi from a driver by force.  A police officer noticed the commotion, realized Nosair was in possession of a firearm, and ordered Nosair to drop the gun.  Nosair attempted to shoot and kill the police officer, but was unsuccessful, and was detained.

In December of 1991, the jury of Nosair's trial acquitted the charge of murder.  Nosair was also convicted with illegal possession of a firearm, along with assault and attempted murder.  In disbelief from the ruling of the jury, and outright frustration, the Judge of the case bestowed maximum time in prison upon Nosair for his crimes.

Nosair demonstrated connections to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.  Bin Laden even payed for the defense of Nosair in his trial.

Nosair later admitted to assassinating Meir Kahane.  To this day, he is serving out a life sentence in prison, not for the assassination of Meir Kahane, but for terrorism plotting and involvement.

1993 World Trade Center Terrorist Attack

On February 26, 1993, a bomb underneath the northern tower of the twin towers blew up.  The terrorists behind the attack, orchestrated primarily by Ramzi Yousef, planned for the northern tower to collapse onto the southern tower, killing thousands in the process.  Although the effects of the bomb did not extend to such damage, six people were killed and over one thousand were wounded in the process of evacuation.

Yousef originally entered the United States with Ahmed Ajaj.  While entering, Ajaj made it as obvious as possible that he was a terrorist in order to distract officials from Yousef's forged passport.  The strategy worked, and Yousef was admitted while Ajaj was taken into custody.

Yousef immediately began to make the 1500 pound bomb that would later be used in the attack.  He lived in Jersey City, NJ during the entire process.

On the day of the attack, Yousef and Eyad Ismoli, drove a van into the parking lot beneath the northern tower of the World Trade Center.  Yousef lit the fuse, and evacuated with Ismoli.  Just twelve minutes after lighting the fuse, the bomb exploded, ripping a 100 foot hole through the concrete underground.  Six people ended up dead- five tower employees along with a businessman in the parking garage.  Additionally, hundreds received injuries upon evacuation of the northern tower.  The explosion cut the power to the northern building, also preventing many radio and television stations from broadcasting information for days.

Yousef fled to Pakistan the same day, but not before ensuring that his message of future terrorist attacks with better planning and calculations was heard by New York news agencies.

Mohamed Atta

Mohamed Atta was born on September 1, 1968, in Egypt. He came from a well off family, with both parents holding respectable jobs in their fields. Atta moved to Germany in 1992 to continue his studies. He was often described by his dorm roommates as being introverted and close-minded. Throughout his stay in Germany, Atta became more and more affiliated with Islam and began feeling angry towards the world around him. Atta eventually came in contact with Al Qaeda, a radical Islamic association that was in need of recruitment. It is believed that Atta trained in Al Qaeda camps between 1999 and 2000. As Atta became more affiliated with Al Qaeda, he became fascinated by the idea of being able to be part of an attack against the United States, so much so that he volunteered on a suicide mission orchestrated by Bin Laden, which would later become known as 9/11. Atta took flight training in the year 2000 in the United States. He became specialized in piloting commercial aircrafts during his stay in the US. On September 11, 2001, Atta checked in for American Airlines Flight 11. 15 minutes after the flight departed, Atta and 4 other hijackers took control of the plane and crashed it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The crash lead to the collapse of the tower 102 minutes later, and ultimately caused the death of over 1600 people.
 

Security changes after 9/11

    The fact that 9/11 was possible relates directly to the lack of security in the US. After 9/11 the US realized how much of a threat terrorist could be and how they needed to increase security to prevent future attacks.

Air Travel
    Obviously, security in airports prior to 9/11 was terrible so within two weeks of 9/11 stricter security policies were set in motion. For example, before 9/11 5% of bags were screened, but after 9/11 100% of bags are screened. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act was passed and set up many of the policies that are still in place today, like removing shoes and banning liquids. In addition, fortified cockpits, first-class cabin curtains, and federal flight deck officers allowed to carry a firearm were introduced. As a result of the expensive changes being applied to airplanes and airports, a "Sept. 11 fee" was introduced to passengers tickets, $15 extra per ticket. Over nine years, TSA collected nearly $15 billion.

(fake)

Government
    The most famous and important act, the Patriot Act, was introduced after 9/11 to improve US abilities to detect and deter terrorism. The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act made it so that the State Department and Immigration had to share visa and immigration information with each other. In addition, the US doubled its defense spending by 2011 to reach a total of $708 billion.

Architecture
    The International Code Council released new and improve building plans for skyscrapers to be able to withstand similar attacks. Changes included elevators usable in emergencies, blast protection, protected ventilation, tougher windows, stairwell improvements, and higher fire-resistant and impact-resist walls for elevators shafts and exit stairwells.

(pressure sensing bacteria)

An Overview On The September 11 Attacks

The September 11 Attacks (more commonly known as 9/11) marked the start of the war between the United States and Al Qaeda. On its own, 9/11 is the single deadliest terrorist attack in human history and is responsible for the death of almost 3,000 civilians along with approximately 6,000 injured. Furthermore, it was the greatest incident for police officers and firemen, with 343 and 72 killed respectively.

The attacks involved the coordinated hijacking of 4 planes by 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists. The first plane (United Airlines Flight 93) crashed in a field in Pensylvania and the second plane (American Airlines Flight 77) crashed in the Pentagon in Virginia. The two crashes caused 189 and 44 deaths respectively. The other two planes (American Airlines Flight 11 & United Airlines Flight 175) crashed in the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. These two planes caused the most devastating aftermath because the crash lead to the collapse of both towers, which resulted in the death of 2,606 people.

The attack was almost immediately blamed on Al Qaeda and later lead to the US launching what is known as "The War on Terror" against Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden initially denied the accusations but later admitted in 2004 that he was responsible for the attack. The attack has also expanded the power of law enforcement and intel agencies to prevent terrorist attacks.

The Dot-Com Bubble and Crash

The dot-com bubble was a trend that occurred from 1994 to 2000 and was caused by the Internet's extreme growth. The rapid increase in the Internet's popularity and the ".com" suffix allowed a lot of investors to get rich quickly, therefore drawing in even more investors. During this boom, an unprecedented amount of personal investing took place and trading stocks as a full-time profession became increasingly common.

At the boom's peak, promising dot-com companies were able to raise immensely in value, even before they had actually made profit or product. This led to increasing amounts of "paper millionaires." Unfortunately, without organized business models and plans to earn profits, many of the largest ".com" companies were inevitably going to fail. However, the most successful entrepreneurs were able to protect their profits by selling their shares quickly.

The stock market values peaked on March 10, 2000, crashing immediately afterward. This dot-com crash spanned from March 11, 2000, to October 9, 2002. During the crash, many of the online shopping companies and other Internet-based businesses were forced to shut down. Those who weren't completely destroyed by the crash faced major losses, like Cisco, whose stock declined by 86%. However, many of the most popular online companies today, such as eBay and Amazon, were able to recover from the crash fairly quickly.

The Nixon Tapes

The Nixon tapes are recordings of conversations that President Richard Nixon had with others between the years 1971 and 1973. The system was installed in February of 1971 in the Oval Office. The audio was recorded from the phones in the office and by hidden microphones elsewhere in the office. After three months, microphones were installed in the President's private office in the White House and then the presidential lodge at Camp David the year after. 

The Secret Service kept track of the system and the full tapes were hidden in the White House basement. The system was turned on manually when the President entered a room and was also triggered by sound. Only a handful of people were aware of the recording system's existence until it became public knowledge during the Senate Watergate Committee hearings on July 16, 1973. Two days later, the system was turned off.

Nixon's initial refusal of the congressional order to release the tapes was one of the many offenses that eventually led to his resignation on August 9, 1974. However, the tapes in their entirety were only released just on August 19, 2013. On that day, the Nixon Library and the National Archives and Records Administration released the last 340 hours of the tapes, which covered all the audio from April 9 to July 12, 1973. In all, the tapes cover over than 3,000 hours of conversation, including material about everything from foreign policy to Watergate references. With this abundance of content, less than 5% of the audio has been transcribed or published. 

Missed Opportunities to Kill Osama Bin Laden

Many citizens blame President Clinton for what occurred on 9/11, for not taking action when he had the chance. There were four important instances where if the plan was executed he would have been captured or killed.

May 1998: Tarnak Farms raid plan rejected
The CIA had developed a map of the area that Osama Bin Laden was living and was even able to identify the specific house Osama would be sleeping in at the time of the invasion. The invasion was already being rehearsed in 1997 meaning the only thing left to do was present the plan to the president for approval. In the end, the plan was tabled due to a "high risk of Osama being killed" during the invasion. Any successful plan required Osama to remain alive so they could put him on trial back in the United States.


August 1998: Continued airstrikes rejected after al-Queda attacks on two U.S. embassies in Africa
After two American embassies were attacked in Africa, Bill Clinton urged for a strike on al-Queda targets. Intelligence was also given to Bill Clinton that there was a meeting in Khowst, Afghanistan where many terrorist leaders were gathering to plan future attacks. Among these leaders, Osama Bin Laden would be present. Navy Vessels launched 75 missiles into the meeting area but Osama was not present.

The U.S. Embassy bombed in Africa
August 1998: Covert operations 
President Clinton gave the CIA authorization to kill Osama Bin Laden after the CIA began operations to capture Osama, because of this the CIA officials were under the impression that they were strictly to capture Osama without killing him.'

December 1998: Missile strike against Kandahar is rejected; memo to 'kill' Bin Laden misunderstood
The day before 9/11 Clinton admitted that he had the
chance to send a missile to destroy an entire city where Osama was staying, however, he decided not to in order to save many civilians. It was predicted that around 300 civilian casualties would take place if he decided to send the cruise missile.

City of Kandahar

Princess Diana's Driver was Intoxicated?

It is well-known that Princess Diana died on August 31st, 1997 as a result of serious injuries she sustained in a car crash. A second passenger and the driver were both pronounced dead at the scene, while a fourth person was the sole survivor with serious injuries that did not take his life.

After the public learned that her car had been chased by paparazzi, there was a huge movement condemning them for the degree of unwelcome and uncomfortable intimacy that kept seeking to get from celebrities. The paparazzi were blamed for Princess Diana's death, and people began reevaluating why they took so much interest in the lives of others.



However, in 1999, a French judicial investigation into the car crash discovered that the crash was caused by the driver, Henri Paul. In addition to being under the effects of prescription drugs, he was also intoxicated. He lost control of the car while driving at dangerously high speeds.



The investigation discovered some other things, too. One of these discoveries was that the paparazzi were not near the Mercedes when it crashed, and another discovery was that the driver had been taunting and provoking the paparazzi outside of a hotel earlier.

After the investigation concluded that it was the driver's fault that the car crash happened, Princess Diana may have not died after everything if she had just worn her seatbelt.