9/11: The Bush Administration

• There are reports that the September 11 attacks killed 2,996 people and injured more than 6,000 Americans. These deaths included 265 that were on four aircraft, 2,606 deaths just within the World Trade Center and surrounding areas, and the Pentagon had 125 deaths. These deaths weren’t necessary if the government was behind this evil intention just to bring Americans together for support of a war against another nation.

Every American knows of the horrifying terror attacks that took place on September 11th, 2001, in New York and Washington, DC. The terrorist organization al Qaeda hijacked four airlines and flew two of them into the World Trade Center in New York, and one of them into the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth plane was stopped mid ­flight by its brave passengers and did not reach its intended target. Innocent civilians were now the casualties of war waged by an extremist muslim terrorist group based out of Afghanistan. The United States had never witnessed any terrorist attack of this size on its own soil previous to 2001.

I remember a teacher walking into my English classroom to tell my English teacher that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. At that point, it was unclear what had happened, and it wasn 't until the second plane crashed that it became clear that it was a terrorist attack. Since that day, there has been an increase in border security and more surveillance activity on

After the horrific events that happened on september 11th, 2001, a wave of patriotism swept over the nation. Whenever news reporters tried to report on anything that wasn 't completely for the war on terror, they were considered unpatriotic and hurting the effort to stop terrorism for good. Pressures to report an official story and the consequences of using unverified facts lead the country to believe that some of the justifications for certain actions against terrorism were correct. When people found out that facts weren’t being reported, this made the public question all of the stories in the news. A certain trust in the government was also lost.

Niccolo Machiavelli was a philosopher from the 15th and 16th century, using his ideas I will examine the politics and public policy of the Bush administration following 9/11. After the attacks on 9/11, Americans looked to the government for protection and the government acted by implementing new policies. Policies that would prevent another attack, expose terrorist, and make Americans feel safe again. From a Machiavellian perspective, many of these policies were justly implemented.

In his “9/11 Address to the Nation” the 43rd President of the United States of America, George W. Bush assures that America will not be affected by the unruly and evil attacks carried out on September 11th, 2001. The President drafted this speech to resist the impending fear and questioning that American citizens around the country would soon be consumed by. Because 9/11 was the most impactful, yet devastating terrorist attack on the United States to date, Bush was not able to derive his thoughts from others’ ideas and speeches, thus he was forced to dig deep and extract the emotions and thoughts aroused by the “despicable acts.” Much like any great leader, President Bush wanted to stress the importance of instilling a sense of pride and resilience in the country and fellow countrymen and women to come together and remain as one. As the head of the “brightest beacon of freedom and opportunity” President George W. Bush declares that the United States of America will “remain strong” and appear unaffected as the country continues to build and rebound from the senseless acts of terrorism and hate.

September 11, 2001 is a day that shocked the world. Al-Qaeda is the terrorist organization responsible for the attacks. Bin Laden is the leader responsible for organizing the attacks. The September 11, 2001 attacks changed America forever; every aspect of public safety has heightened since the attacks. Every effort to put a stop to this “War on Terror” has been put into action.

The events that occurred on September, 11, 2001 were among the most catastrophic events in American history. The events of the day were summarized as 19 militants associated with the terror group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out targeted attacks in the United States. Out of the four planes, two of them were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, a third one into the Pentagon in Washington and the fourth one crashing off course into a field. The attacks resulted in the deaths of over 3000 people and the beginning of a soon to come American counter terrorism policy and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Although there are a lot of conspiracy theories around the real motives and players behind the attack,

Nearly the whole country watched in horror on the morning of September 11, 2001. As the planes crashed and the towers burned, many thought it simply wasn’t true. They believed that it was impossible that someone could hate America that much. It was true, and it left lasting effects on Americans everywhere. Al-Qaeda had carried out a plan so horrific that it killed nearly three thousand people.

Where was the disconnect that led to such a historic tragedy? The blame for the intelligence failure of 9/11 can go in any direction. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of investigations (FBI), the Department of Transportation (DOT)/ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the National Security Agency (NSA) all had issues in their protocols and policies. The Government, as a whole, failed to connect the dots on all intelligence and evidence that was available.

What Happened 2. Conspiracy Theories II. What Happened A. According to the Washington Post 9/11 was a terrorist attack on the US, which the 9/11 commission concluded al-Qaeda, a global militant Islamist organization formed in the late 80s, was responsible. Nineteen terrorists, split into four groups each containing a trained pilot, embarked on a suicide mission to hijack one commercial jet and fly and crash them into US landmarks.

On September 11th, 2001 the Twin Towers in New York City fell victim to a terrorist attack that left thousands dead, thousands more injured and millions in fear. Later that day George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America, created a speech to help calm the public about the events that occurred earlier that day. The speech was shown on national television the United States from the White House. The speech was effective because President Bush did help calm down the public with his speech. In President Bush’s speech to the public on the night of September eleventh 2001 he showed that his point of view was from the perspective that he was trying the comfort the American public.

All of these events demonstrated that al-Qaeda could carry out terrifying attacks thousands of miles away from its base in Afghanistan. Al- qaeda’s leaders did not care about their gruesome actions. In their minds, God was on their side so they could do no wrong. Many people to this day still question our government about the 9/11 attacks and why someone did not take action before it got to this point.

Initally, al-Qaeda considered targeting nuclear power plants on 9/11, but decided to go against it because they feared it would get too out of control. Four passenger airlines, all of which departed from airports in the northeastern United States bound for California, were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda members. One plane hit the Pentagon just outside of Washington D.C., the second plane crashed in a field in Pennslyvania, and the last two planes crashed into the Twin Towers. Within one hour and 42 minutes both 110 story towers were completely on the ground, with debris filling the air and fires starting to spread.

“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” George W. Bush delivered this speech on the night of the September 11 attacks. The shattered steel of the Twin Towers, once towering the New York City skyline, forever changed America and its response to terrorism. The largest foreign attack on U.S. soil appropriately gave reason to Americans to recoil in fear and lose trust in the future, but in reality, the country displayed the opposite reaction.