Rough Draft

Rough Draft

On September 11, 2001, a date popularly branded 9/11, four airliners were hijacked by several members of the al-Qaeda terrorist group with the aim of carrying out attacks on specific targets in the United States of America. The four planes attacked the country at different times and places, but on the same day. One of the planes crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, another one struck the Pentagon house which serves as the U.S headquarters of the defense department, and the other two hit the Twin Towers in New York City (Jiwani 2017). The attacks led to the death of many Americans, property destruction, tension among the Americans, and social issues both domestically and internationally. The main aim of the attacks was to reduce America’s influence and support for Islamic governments, hindering their ability to spread and take over the leadership in Middles East (Mitnik 2018).

The main target was the World Trade Center, which hosted the Twin Towers, which were the center’s centerpiece. The al-Qaeda targeted the center due to its large population, hosting more than four hundred companies, hosting more than thirty-five thousand people. Apart from the population mentality, the militia targeted the towers, which were embodied in America’s signs of power to the world.

On a particular day, the four planes which were hijacked by the members of the terror group. The probable reason why they were chosen for the mission is that they were better fueled for the journey. The first plane, Boeing 767, which was leaving Boston for California, crashed into the north tower in the World Trade Center at 8.45 a.m.  Hundreds of people were killed during this crush, leaving hundreds trapped in the higher floors. Eighteen minutes later, the second plane, Boeing 747, which was one of the United States airlines, hit the southern tower, causing a huge explosion due to the high supply of gasoline. The buildings later collapsed and destroyed other neighboring buildings. The southern tower collapsed at 9.59 a.m. while the Northern tower collapsed at 10.28 a.m. Around 9.18a.m, another plane, Boeing 757, which was heading to Los Angeles from Washington DC, was crushed on the Western façade of the Pentagon House (Mitnik 2018). The fourth attack was meant to be in Washington D.C, but the passengers took the matter onto their hands and fought the militia, managing to steer the plane off the target into the Pennsylvania fields killing everyone on board. The World Trade Center completely collapsed at 5.20 p.m. (Huang 2019).

A total of three thousand people from over 90 nations around the world died on that day from the attacks, leaving the American citizens in fear. This greatly affected the country’s economy and its international relations. The country lost over $60 billion due to the attack, which is a huge economic dent. The World Trade Center was priced to be $8 billion, the expected income from the lives lost was $25 billion, another property lost was estimated to be $6 billion, $1 billion for area clean up, and about $5 billion to treat and take care of the injured. Airlines lost billions of money after most of the planes were destroyed, halted services, and low turn-up of the passengers due to the tension. Apart from this immediate economic impact, the country also suffered the closure of the stock market for some days and low international business due to the tension instilled by the terror group.

Final Draft

September 11, 2001, remains to be a memorial day for the Americans and the world as a whole. It is on this day when nineteen terrorists from the al-Qaeda terror group hijacked four planes and steered them towards their destined targets, which were heavily populated and used as both power and economic centers. The terror group wanted to affect the country’s economic stability and its influence on the Middle East issues. The main targets were the Twin Towers in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, which hosts the United States Department of Defense, and the country’s capital Washington DC- a target that failed.

At 8.46 a.m., the North Tower in the World Trade Center was hit by American Airlines Flight 11, Boeing 767(Jiwani 2017). About 18 minutes later – while the officers were evacuating the people trapped in the tower and the trade center, the South Tower was hit by another United Airlines. It was at 8.03 a.m. when the Boeing 747 hit the 75 floors leading to a huge explosion. About thirty minutes later, another explosion was reported at the Pentagon after American Airlines Flight 77 hit the western façade of the house (Mitnik 2018). The attack, which happens at 9.37 a.m. on the workspace of more than 24000 people, intensified fear among the Americans. At 9.59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed, killing many people who were trapped in the tower and in the surrounding buildings, which were smashed by the falling tower. At 10.07 a.m., another United Airlines plane, Flight 93, crashed onto the field, Somerset County, after the passengers wrestled the hijackers and managed to steer the plane of the target – Washington D.C. 102 minutes after its attack, the North Tower collapsed at 10.28, falling on more buildings in the trade center, causing more casualties. At 5.20 p.m., the Americans watched the last part of horror as the World Trade Center collapsed after burning for many hours (Gross 2017).

This was one of the worst economic moments for the Americans as the country lost lives with an income worth billions of dollars, property, and low investment trust from the international markets. The country had a physical loss of about $60 billion ranging from the lives, property, planes, debris clearing, and treatment of the injured (Huang 2019). The country also closed its stock market for days, which was a huge loss for the country. The passengers maintained the plane phobia about a year, sending most of the planes to the parking. This was a great economic loss to the country.

Work Cited

Mitnik, Zachary S., Joshua D. Freilich, and Steven M. Chermak. “Post-9/11 coverage of terrorism in the New York Times.” Justice Quarterly (2018): 1-25.

Jiwani, Yasmin. “11 Orientalizing “War Talk”: Representations of the Gendered Muslim Body Post 9-11 in The Montreal Gazette.” Asian Canadian Studies Reader (2017): 202.

Gross, Gregory. “After the Fall: An Inverse Apotheosis.” Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping 23.2 (2017): 46-52.

Huang, Debbie, Xiaoran Wang, and Winnie W. Kung. “The impact of job loss on posttraumatic stress disorder among Asian Americans: 11–12 years after the World Trade Center attack.” Traumatology, (2019).