Lawrence Wright's "The Looming Tower" Essay

September 11th catalyzed a major revival in the American public’s concern for domestic national security, which had dropped off following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The attacks, which were the first on American soil since Pearl Harbor, prompted American leaders to respond with swift and ambitious military action. At this time, the public perceived security of American territory against “terrorism”–an intentionally broad and emotionally charged term– as its chief national interest. Following the attack, President Bush announced the launch of a “global war on terror”, an international effort to combat terrorist groups and the nations that harbor them–prompting him to establish the Department of Homeland Security later that year.

The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 were the direct result of the failure of US agencies, ranging from the White House to airport security, to recognize vulnerabilities present in the various symptoms. The reason why these vulnerabilities were not acknowledged and repaired is that these various agencies were trapped in a cognitive dissonance cycle of thinking. After the Cold War, terrorism was seen as a regional problem (9/11 Commission, 92). The majority of terrorist groups were either groups sponsored by governments or militants trying to create governments (i.e. Palestine Liberation Organization). As a result, the tactics used for fighting terrorism were centralized mostly in the Middle East and were restricted to

wreaked more direct damage on the United States than the Soviet Union had done throughout the entire cold war, a tragedy seen by more people than any other event in history. (Bergen, 2006) Many questions were garnered after September 11, 2001. What caused this horrific attack and who’s to blame for it? Was this attack forecasted, could we

The September 11th terrorist hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon caught the United States largely by surprise. Once the dust had settled, and the shock and horror of such an unprecedented event had waned, the American public began to ask questions. Names such as Osama bin Laden, countries such as Afghanistan, and organizations such as Al-Qaeda were brought into the public's consciousness for the first time. Through newspapers, talkback radio and television programs the nation asked ‘why do they hate us so much?' Others, such as those in the government and public service, asked ‘what could we have done to have prevented this?' It is

September 11, 2001 was one of the most influential days in the history of the United States to date. Although the physical attacks only happened in New York City, Washington DC, and a field in Pennsylvania, not a sliver of our country has been left untouched. 16 years later, our country is still facing challenges that can be directly tied back to the effects of 9/11. It was not just an event that changed the United States, but also has completely changed how the entire world has come to interact and cooperate. As a consequence, the way that we view terrorism and certain ethnicities have been drastically altered as a means to justify the excruciating crisis that our country went through at the turn of the new millennium.

Preventing the actions that took place on 9/11 is the top priority of the United States. The U.S.A. has taken many precautions to limit the rise of terrorism. One being more security on what a person can do. They check our bags in the airport, making sure we don’t have anything that can cause harm to the people. People have to be checked to enter events, and public spaces to give us more precaution. I believe people should be thoroughly checked in public places, vehicles, and on event where there would be many gathered. Security has to be stricter to prevent less actions of terrorism in the

In the aftermath of the worst terrorist attacks in American history, the September attacks of the world Trade Center in 2001, Americans are obligated to look at the mistakes that were made before and after the attacks, especially in recent lite of increased acts of terror globally. A critical mistake made before the attacks was the neglection of terrorism as a top priority in President George W. Bush’s administration. And after the attacks, inaction would also have been viewed negatively by the public, and so the government acted swiftly in retaliation to the attacks, resulting in the death of many brave American soldiers and a huge cost to the American taxpayer.

Despite being the superpower of the world, the United States of America does not enjoy any exception from the global threats and challenges. The people in denial of such global threats finally woke up to the reality on the dawn of September 11th, 2001, when terrorists struck American financial hub in the city of New York. A badly shaken nation shocked by the magnitude of brutality quickly assembled behind its president to pass a legislation, known as the USA Patriot Act, to tackle internal and external threats to this nation on a war footing basis. The haste with which this legislation was passed made it controversial almost immediately. No doubt, the intent was valid and there was an absolute need to tackle threats to the homeland, however,

Often in American history terrorism has gotten the best of us. Terrorism has torn our people apart and caused us to be afraid of going about our lives, therefore succeeding in its purpose. One of those attacks being the event that occurred September 11, 2001 when “terrorists

Over the past years, we have come under constant attacks by Terrorist, overseas, lone wolf, and homegrown. On September 11, 2001, I have witnessed the tragic that has unfolded of the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and the plane crash in Pennsylvania. When this happened, I was in grade 6 school at the primary level when I heard teachers running up and down the hallways whispering that they bomb the World Trade Center. As a nation, we have first experience with people trying to cause mayhem up the citizens and especially people that are currently living here in the United States.

On September 11th, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks overwhelmed the United States citizens in many forms. According to Villemez “After September 11, Americans lived in the shadow of terrorism which united in fear” (2011). The attack led to advanced technology, public depression and more security with more fear in our daily lives. The tragedy of nine-eleven exposed our generation and generations to come with constant fear and living with paranoia . The attacks were categorized on a whole new level. The events of September 11th by far has the largest amount of American lives loss on American soil caused by a foreign terrorist group called Al-Qaeda.

The United States has been attacked many times by different terrorist organizations, but never more vicious than the attacks on September 11, 2001. During that time the US was utilizing the resources of the Central Intelligence Agency and the military to find and disrupt terrorist plots. However, sometimes once information was obtained that an attack attempt was imminent, there was not always action. There was too much data to sift through and not enough resources to track down every possibility (possible lead?). This is still the case today, however the tactics and ability of the government to find the more credible threats is substantially better than it was fifteen years ago. Though the resources and

The Looming Tower, written by Lawrence Wright, examines the people involved and the events leading up to the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The text included the personal accounts of Osama bin Laden and other middle-eastern influences such as Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri (the most significant ideological frontrunner of al-Qaeda), Abdullah Azzam, Khallad, and Sayyid Qutb, along with western factors like, Daniel Coleman, Jack Cloonan, Patrick Fitzgerald, and John O’Neill. The choices made by those influencers in the Middle East, and in the west, during the 20th century created the climate in which the terrorist organization al-Qaeda was formed, and the terror of 9/11 was executed. Two specific

The looming tower by Lawrence wright is a nonfiction book that covers the decades that lead to the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, and around the world. This book described the how the lives of men from different backgrounds and countries came together and organized the most fear terrorist organization in the modern history. This book goes on to show the lack of understanding that the United States intelligence community had when dealing with the Islamic community, and how all of this culminated into what most remember as 9/11.

September 11th changed the lives of many Americans, irrevocably. The horrendous attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon altered the way American’s viewed their positions within the world, not to mention their lives and their safety. The attacks brought terrorism to the forefront of national attention, in every aspect. The government became immediately immersed in an effort to understand and defeat terrorism, and simultaneously, the media, with its perverse fascination with violence and profit-driven espousal to round-the-clock, up-to-the-minute coverage, demonstrated an obsession with the attacks, by broadcasting almost nothing but the latest developments in the search and rescue efforts and investigations