9/11 360
The nation looks back at a day of reckoning 10 years ago and looks ahead with fear and uncertainty. Right now, a time to reflect on what’s been done, gained and lost is necessary to gaining some form of clarity for looking to the future.
On September 11, 2001, four coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States were launched against New York City and Washington, D.C.
Nineteen terrorists from the al-Qaeda, hijacked four passenger jets and intentionally crashed two of them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The third plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Before it could reach its Washington D.C. target, the fourth plane, United 93, went down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The passengers had risked their lives to attempt to take control of the plane and prevent the terrorists from getting to their final destination.
Death toll: 2,977 died in the attacks.
It was one of the moments where the world stood still. The banking system had in some ways come to a screeching halt due to an archaic method of clearing checks from one state to another. Flights were cancelled. Businesses shut down and people stood idly by as their country was rocked to the point where an inevitable change was forthcoming; things would never be the same again.
The right to question law enforcement agencies’ ability to infringe upon an individual’s privacy was already beginning to dissipate.
The War on Terrorism would begin. This is not just the fight that the United States troops are fighting in Afghanistan; it is the intention to protect the nation against terrorism from within.
The first law that was enacted as a response to the 9/11 attacks is one that falls under much scrutiny and debate to this day. The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. It is commonly known as the USA Patriot Act.
The Patriot Act was responsible for seeing the dramatic reduction in restrictions on law enforcement agencies’ ability to search communications records and the personal, medical and financial documentation of any individuals or entities that are suspected of being terrorists or aiding in terrorism against the United States.
This act also gave the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those that involve foreign individuals and entities.
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