In many ways the 9/11 attacks on World Trade Centre in USA how Al Qaeda gained their goals and succeed in reaching their real objects. Many of the researchers on the tragic incident now believe that the ultimate goal of the terror attacks was to create an emotional distress on the citizens of New York. Osama Bin Laden declared the war against USA 20 years ago people didn’t pay attention to his agenda or his claims. Even when Bin Laden was found fighting side-by-side against Soviet Union with Mujahideen in the 1980 and released a Fatwa declaring war against Americans nobody paid much much attention to his political Agenda.
As he went ahead and faxed the fatwa titled ‘Al-Quds Al-Arabi’ to gain support from all across the world to reach a consensus of global Jihad against United States of America his thoughts on the issue thought by many as ramblings often unstable mind and he was badly ignored by many. Aymen Al Zawahiri, one of the prominent members of Al Qaeda declared on 15 August 2011
“Seek to attack America that has killed the Imam of the Mujahideen and threw his corpse in the sea and then imprisoned his women and children. Seek to attack her so history can say that a criminal state had spread corruption on earth and Allah sent her his servants who made her a lesson for others and left her as a memory.”
Hence, the next series of attacks on pentagon and twin towers was something that was sure to come.
However an attack on the civilians of America in the daylight with 4 commercial planes even though didn’t meet his entire game plan but help him gain one thing that he desired the most that is fear and emotional distress. In opinion of Steve Maraboli
“September 11… I will never forget feeling scared and vulnerable… I will never forget feeling the deep sad loss of so many lives… I will never forget the smell of the smoke that reached across the water and delivered a deep feeling of doom into my gut… I will never forget seeing what hate can destroy.”
The state of minds of the citizens of USA was devastating. People all over the world was stricken with grief and dismay. The ever-growing hostility by the militants and mujahideens against policies of USA and the west sponsored by Bin laden’s attempt to bring down the Twin Towers. The outcome was just the response he had been dreaming of.
As a backlash the government of USA went back into cold war Paranoia where civil liberties was snatched and the Muslim residents of America were stereotyped as terrorists having ulterior motives. Even though the Islamic Centre of Washington continually preached the concept the Arabs and Muslims residing in US were Patriots of America, however the Retribution of such attacks came in one way or another. The non-muslims blamed all the Muslims and their religious ideologies which supported such attacks. Muslim children were bullied and pulled out of schools and workplaces for investigation, many of them were even tonight the opportunities of job and the rest were deported. Such hatred and atrocities against a single group created mixed feelings of hatred and empathy in many.
There are many instances of hate crimes which were aftermath of the real attacks in 9/11. Some of the Muslims stepped forward to protect themselves and hence the agenda of Bin Laden to create an in group animosity was successful. In a way, he created a chain reaction where one thing led to another; the twin tower strike might have ended, but the adverse reactions kept on coming. Some of the recoil incidents were resultants of fear and some were just to protect their ownselves. But one significant thing remained; no one no longer questioned Bin Laden and Al Qaeda as a weak terrorist network.
The Attacks changed the world forever in the eyes of many historians who acknowledge Al Qaeda’s failure in the 20 years’ war to spread terrorism. However, they still apprehend the failure of United States in the war at a broader level. This thought is due to the fact that what cannot be regarded as simply a match between two opponents everyone can win or lose instead the success lies in the great powers response to vindictive terrorist acts. Tom Harkings made a statement regarding the 911 attack on twin towers by saying
“The planes were hijacked, the buildings fell, and thousands of lives were lost nearly a thousand miles from here. But the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were an attack on the heart of America. And standing here in the heartland of America, we say in one voice
We will not give in to terrorists;
We will not rest until they are found and defeated;
We will win this struggle, not for glory, nor wealth, nor power, but for justice, for freedom, and for peace.”
Inspite of this statement, the sober analysis of past two decades brings out a true picture of the state of America after in the 9/11 attack and that violence is never an answer to violence. American government needed to understand that the true power was not in the destructive potential as a recoil sense killing innocents in the name of peace can never be Justified.
The sheer Example of World War 1 and how violent responses of a single attack lead to a collapse of 4 Empires named Russia, Germany, Ottoman and Austria-Hungaria is a lesson in itself. However, the exorbitant price of initiating wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was paid by innocent Americans in one way or another.
On a positive side of things, the war of Al Qaeda was unsuccessful in a way Stanford course of spreading territorial control by spreading terrorism globally and creating and insurgency buy hiring many militants in the name of religion failed badly. In fact the formulation of better policies by the US government to ensure the safety and security of all of their citizens against terrorist attacks led to a safer environment. It has been 20 years since Washington has witnessed any terrorist attack.
Furthermore, due to the Vigilance of Each country of the world in preventing terrorism, the challenge of global Jihad has become an impossible endeavor. Terrorists are continually being shunned down and clawed by the armed forces of America by denying them an opportunity to travel, trade money or by any sort of weapons to wage war to gain their hideous agenda.
According to Jonathan pawal a regular contributor In the Guardian,
‘The attack of 9/11 may help in the high water mark for all Al Qaeda.’
The writer says this because the Twin Towers strike in 9/11 fundamentally change the strategy of United States of America which was generally A Pearl Harbour at that time. However, the strike of the airplanes made the nation realize how vulnerable and susceptible they were to terrorist attacks for the first time in their entire existence. Henceforth, naturally in the decision of the administration to intervene overseas to remove the radical groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda and wage war against Global terrorism. The state that preached the concepts of peace by negotiations was seen having Quasi isolationist Tendencies.
As a result of such ideologies the administration focused on creation of Battle strategies investing huge amount of resources into the war. The physical Battles however cost thousands of lives alone with millions of dollars. The insurgency raised by taleban most commented by more than 8000 US troops even though ended in late 2014.
The budgets incorporated for ensuring defense mechanism of the country skyrocketed. FBI and countries Homeland security now invested 2 more than 43 billion dollars to ensure that they received active intelligence and data against the terrorist groups. The cost associated with transportation security administration, border Patrol and the coast guard have also been doubled since the war in Afghanistan was started.
The intervention of America in the alleged Islamic States which were regarded as safe houses of the terrorist groups required the deployment of soldiers overseas. Henceforth, millions of young US troops was sent away from their home to a discrete region where they were brutally slaughtered or Murdered and tourist sustained disabilities or lasting mental injuries.
In lieu of this tragedy, many books have been written on the horrors of counter terrorist wars and associated assassination. They ascribe the genuineness of war tragedies where factors such as glory and honor in the name of serving one’s country along with an adventurous journey are highlighted. However, some of the authors stress to portray the real sequence of events in a war where the soldiers go through a traumatic series of war instead of the idealistic depiction of glory and heroism.
Remarque’s novel also focusses on the dramatic features of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan against terrorism which led to massive physical and psychological impairments. As the book reached its end, almost every main character died a tragic death all the while suffering and presenting an accurate picture of the young soldiers who were lured to fight such wars for their countries which counts for a debate that some of us might actually not have an inherent desire to hurt others to gain our advantages at all.
Many war researchers placed a strong criticism of the theories of nationalism preached by the US government and see no one has winner of such battles as innocent lives are lost at both ends. While history shows the instances of soldiers fighting in the battle zone, it also features the destructive influence that war brings to the soldiers as well. The Warriors face a relentless risk of losing their lives or being amputated or only blustered into tiny shards at any time.
The constant threat to lose their lives puts enormous stress on their nerves, often leading them to handle with continual fear at every rousing minute. Furthermore, being forced to live in a filthy environment where they were compelled to deal with decaying corpses, rats and lice and cold had profound psychological damages. Soldiers were forced to live without proper food and sleepless nights along with skimpy outfits and medical care. They had to witness sudden deaths of their close friends in front of their eyes.
The survivors explain all the tragic scenarios as psychologically incapacitating and overwhelming. The only way for soldiers to save themselves is to either accept defeat and give up on their lives or kill innocents without any regard for humanity. Many counter terrorist war researchers see wars as a huge reason behind disparaging influences on a warrior’s humanity along with leaving permanent scars on their physical and mental health. They lose everyone from their families and friends while risking their lives for a cause that doesn’t even have the same meanings as promised.
Many US fighters lost all senses of their identity and their families and now thought there’d be no future without war. William Glum’s statement
“Most terrorists are people deeply concerned by what they see as social, political, or religious injustice and hypocrisy, and the immediate grounds for their terrorism is often retaliation for an action of the United States.”
Is a true testimony of how the unfair strategic advances by states against terrorism might lead to more and more terrorist to rise against these unjust killings.
The army troops of the US waited in the city of Baghdad from where they directly controlled and manipulated the direction of drones. The drones used would move to the position of militants, they would wait for the civilians to move out and then they would destroy the building along with its inhabitants. The precision in striking abilities and unmatched surveillance through the drones resulted in the establishment of exemplary stabilization in the city with minimum casualties, but the state conveniently ignored the fact that this policy of drones was still causing deaths, adding to more and more terrorists in the terror groups striving to avenge their beloved dead ones. (Boaz, 2002) As per
“I think what’s going on in Guantanamo Bay and other places is a disgrace to the U.S.A. I wouldn’t say it’s the cause of terrorism, but it has given impetus and excuses to potential terrorists to lash out at our country and justify their despicable acts.”
Jodie Evans has also supported this assertion by saying
“What causes terrorism is disrespect, a lack of justice, and poverty.”
However, many critics are against the usage of drones for warfare. Their argument results from the absence of International laws and regulatory framework on the extent of usage of drones in warfare. So far, only US has dominance and has created a monopoly in the usage of drones and follow set ethics on its usage. However, other countries like Russia, Germany, and Israel are not going to be lacking behind for a large time. And it is largely believed by critics that they may not follow the set ethics set by the US if it comes to war. Serj Tankian believes
“We first fought… in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in the name of drugs and terrorism. Our excuses for global domination always change.”
However, what the US government and every person fighting in the name of religion or their loved ones need to realize is that war will only kill innocents, the people who don’t have a clue about what might have happened to them, let alone being responsible. All the wars of the world have been, in fact, a representation of insignificance butchery of innocents in the name of peace. It is one of the reasons why Mel Gibson said
“I am politically incorrect, that’s true. Political correctness to me is just intellectual terrorism. I find that really scary, and I won’t be intimidated into changing my mind. Everyone isn’t going to love you all the time.”
Every war changes the theory of fighting and killing innocents to win over military conflicts with the disastrous results and outcomes it brought forward. If wars are continued, the cycle of terrorism and killing in the name of passion and violence will continue to generations causing massive physical and psychological impairments. It may be source to gain control and reach decisions but the people need to stop to understand if we are doing it to satisfy out innate desires else the endless dramatic atrocities and murder of innocents at the hands of powerful by the name of war need to end now so we can build a better future for our children. As per Alan Dershowitz
“Asymmetrical warfare is a euphemism for terrorism, just like the collateral damage is a euphemism for killing innocent civilians.”
To conclude, 911 incident is a terrible reminder of terrorist attacks. It was an incident where millions lost their homes, lives, families and watched their dreams die right in front of their eyes. However, an event so brutal gave birth to a better world that we live in today where everyone valued life and peace before any lust for power.
