Editorial:
It has been nine years since the terrorist attacks on the United States when four airliners were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists. Two airplanes, loaded with passengers, crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The third crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth airplane crashed into an open field after heroic passengers stormed the cockpit.
There were no survivors from any of the planes. The world mourned the 2977 deaths that day. The impact of the devastating events reached beyond the immediate deaths of passengers, office workers, and public safety officials. The Twin Towers collapsed, the Pentagon suffered major damage, and the United States, on a whole, changed that day.
For the editor, it was like any other day, waking up to the news on the radio. But then the news broke. My wife was startled, “Did you hear that?” she exclaimed. We could not believe our ears. We turned on the television to watch the first reports as they showed the planes crashing into the towers. Even seeing it with our own eyes, it was hard to believe that this was happening, the United States was under attack!
That whole day and for weeks thereafter, we followed the news. We heard the shocking stories of destruction, and learned of the heroic efforts of the flight crew and passengers who sacrificed their lives in order to prevent the fourth plane from reaching its intended destination, the White House. We saw and heard of the heroic actions of the New York Fire Department, the stories of individuals acting heroically in the face of danger, and the country coming together in this time of shock, confusion, grief, and anger.
Al-Qaeda was identified as the terrorist group under the leadership of Osama bin Laden.
The War on Terror was launched when the United States invaded Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda terrorists, and find, if not kill, Osama bin Laden.
From there the war on terrorism went a little sideways. The focus shifted from Afghanistan and bin Laden to Iraq and the deposing of Saddam Hussein as president. The rationale for the war on Iraq was based on a foundation of lies including assertions of weapons of mass destruction. However, when those weapons weren’t found after military action had begun, there was no turning back. President Bush and his administration was intent on seeing this war through and there was no political will to question the rational.
Finally after seven years of war in Iraq (the war on Iraq was declared in 2003), after the destruction of that country, President Barrack Obama declared an end to the war this month. The war against the Taliban and bin Laden continues on in Afghanistan.
The United States was forever changed after 9/11. We lost a bit of our innocence on that day. Historically, United States civilians had never been under this type of attack. The idea of what war is has changed, and the threat of another terrorist attack possibly happening is with us every day.
We shall always remember September 11, 2001 not only for what happened that day but for the changes that have happened since that day and that will continue on into the future.
God Bless America as we pray for the day when we can all live in peace.