Context of 9/11

Never Forget: Context of 9/11

Social media is saturated with the message "never forget" every year on 9/11, even from those not directly connected or even born at the time.
A Google image search for "never forget" pulls up imagery of 9/11.

Personal Connection

The speaker initially avoided sharing personal experiences of 9/11 with students who had their own memories.
Now, most students have no direct memories of 9/11.

9/11 as a Subject in Schools

9/11 is the most taught subject from the 20th century in schools.
The message "never forget" is consistently conveyed.

What to Remember?

The heroism of first responders is a primary focus of 9/11 commemorations.
The heroes on the plane that crashed in Western Pennsylvania are also remembered.
However, the speaker questions what else we are supposed to remember about 9/11.

The Best and Worst of 9/11

9/11 stories include Americans at their best, but also two unsuccessful wars (Afghanistan and Iraq).
The spirit of vengeance and fear resulting from 9/11 had devastating, ongoing effects.
It's essential to remember both the positive and negative aspects of 9/11.

Speaker's 9/11 Story

The speaker's experience began in a haze, waking up to news coverage of the North Tower on fire.
Living in New Jersey, the speaker initially perceived it as a local New York story.
The World Trade Center was familiar to the speaker from frequent visits to New York City.
Recalls visiting a Borders bookstore in the World Trade Center complex shortly before 9/11.
Upon seeing the second plane hit the South Tower, it became clear it was a coordinated attack.
The attack on the Pentagon was shocking, highlighting vulnerability beyond New York.
The speaker remembers hearing about the plane crash in Pennsylvania, initially mistaking it for a location near their home.
The grounding of all aircraft and the subsequent stillness, followed by the roar of fighter jets from Fort Dix, are vivid memories.

The Bigger Picture

News over the following hours, days, and months was unforgettable.
Four transcontinental flights were involved, each with hijackers (three flights with five hijackers, one with four).
Hijackers used box cutters to attack the crew and gain access to the cockpit.
Planes being used as missiles was an unforeseen tactic.
Pilots now have strict instructions to never open the cockpit door.
The attacks were orchestrated by Al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, and carried out by ringleader Muhammad Atta.

The Attacks

North Tower: Hit between floors 93 and 99 at 8:46 AM.
The North Tower had 110 floors and was a well-known tourist destination.
People below the impact zone evacuated safely, while those above could not due to blocked stairways.
Cantor Fitzgerald lost 583 employees, almost a quarter of those killed on 9/11.
The CEO, Harold Ludnick (currently the secretary of the treasurer), was not in the building that day.
People jumped to their deaths to avoid the fire, captured in the famous "Falling Man" photograph.
South Tower: Hit 17 minutes later between floors 77 and 85.
Firefighters and law enforcement rushed into the buildings to help evacuate people.

Collapse of the Towers

South Tower: Collapsed at 9:59 AM, 56 minutes after being hit.
- Planes were full of fuel for cross-country flights, creating intense heat (up to 1000 degrees).
- The impact damaged the concrete core, and the heat melted the steel structure.
- Weakened structure caused upper floors to collapse onto lower floors.
North Tower: Collapsed 17 minutes later.
343 firefighters, 71 law enforcement officers, and 8 paramedics died in the towers.

Pentagon and United Flight 93

The Pentagon was struck around 9:30 AM.
United Flight 93, delayed and already aware of the attacks, had passengers who learned about the situation via in-flight phones.
Passengers stormed the cockpit, preventing the plane from reaching its target (believed to be the White House or Capitol) and crashing it in Pennsylvania.
The phrase "let's roll" became an iconic phrase of 9/11.
The memorial to the passengers of Flight 93 is in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Casualties and Aftermath

9/11 killed 2977 people plus the 19 hijackers; victims were from around the world.
President Bush was in Florida and was taken to a secret location.
On September 14, he visited Ground Zero in New York City.

Ground Zero Visit

Two weeks after 9/11, the speaker and his brother visited Ground Zero, noting the toxic air and burning smell.
A beam resembling a cross was a memorable part of the wreckage.
That beam now resides in the Bush Library at SMU.
The photograph of firefighters raising the flag at Ground Zero is reminiscent of the Iwo Jima photograph.

Bush's Address

Bush gave an impromptu address to rescue workers, sending a message of unity and vengeance.
His approval rating was at 90%.
The famous line was "the people who knocked down the buildings will be hearing from all of us soon."

Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden

Policymakers immediately recognized the attack as being orchestrated by Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.
The United States had helped train Bin Laden and his Mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight the Soviet invasion.
The CIA provided cash, training, and weapons, including Stinger missiles.

Blowback

The term "blowback" refers to the long-term consequences of decisions made for short-term gain.
The US support of Bin Laden in Afghanistan had devastating long-term consequences.
Bin Laden turned against the United States due to the presence of US military bases in Saudi Arabia during the first Iraq war.
He also criticized US support for Israel and economic sanctions on Iraq.
Bin Laden orchestrated the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa.
He was on the FBI's most wanted list before 9/11.

Bush Administration's Response

The Bush administration was shocked by 9/11, as they had not prioritized terrorism as a major threat.
They were primarily focused on the threat posed by China.
Clinton's chief terrorism advisor, Richard Clark, had his position downgraded under Condoleezza Rice.
Clark wrote a memo titled "Bin Laden determined to strike in US", but Bush was not concerned.
The FBI received reports about Muslim immigrants attending flight schools but not learning how to land planes.
These were dots that were not connected.

Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security was created after 9/11 to improve coordination on homeland security issues.

War on Terror and Executive Power

The Bush administration declared a war on terror (Global War on Terror).
They treated 9/11 as a time of war, claiming significant expansion of executive power.
Individuals associated with Al-Qaeda were labeled "enemy combatants" and denied Geneva Convention protections.

Patriot Act

The Patriot Act expanded the surveillance powers of the US government, particularly the NSA.
It allowed for wiretapping, spying on citizens, and obtaining records from third parties without a court order.
National security letters allowed the government to subpoena records from third parties without probable cause or court order.
The administration claimed the right to reinterpret international law.

Torture and Rendition

Vice President Cheney stated, "We have to work the dark side" and "use any means at our disposal."
The "dark side" included torture and rendition.
The Geneva Convention, which considers torture a war crime, was deemed "out of touch."
Al-Qaeda prisoners were sent to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and held without trial.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times.
The Bush administration called torture "enhanced interrogation."
Abu Zubaydah was locked in a coffin-sized box and put in stress positions.
The administration redefined torture to only include suffering that results in death, organ failure, or permanent damage.
The CIA set up "black sites" in other countries where prisoners were tortured.
Tapes of the torture were destroyed in 2005.

Problems with Torture and Rendition

Moral Argument: Losing the moral high ground by behaving like enemies.
Inaccurate Information: The potential to get false or unreliable information.
Incorrect Person: The chance of torturing the wrong person, creating false confessions.

Cultural Context

Americans expressed little concern about these methods at the time.
Television shows and movies, like "24", popularized the "ticking time bomb scenario."

Age of Terror

The period was marked by both terrorism and the terror it provoked.
"Cancel culture" emerged, with people being fired for saying the wrong thing.
Bill Maher was fired for questioning the cowardice of Americans vs. Al-Qaeda.
The Bush administration suggested Americans should watch what they say and do.
The attorney general implied that criticizing restrictions on freedom aided terrorists.
There was a clear illustration of the conflict between freedom of speech and national unity/patriotism.

Anthrax Scare

Letters containing anthrax were mailed to prominent figures in the media and to senators Tom Dashell and Patrick Leahy.
The letters contained messages like "Death to America" and "Allah is great."
Postal workers got sick and died from inhaling the anthrax.
The strain of anthrax was traced to the US military.
The FBI focused on a suspect who later killed himself, but the case remains unsolved.

Invasion of Afghanistan

The United States invaded Afghanistan because the Taliban government gave safe haven to Osama Bin Laden.
The Taliban almost immediately relinquished power following the arrival of US soldiers, but melted into the countryside.
The US attempted to build a democratic nation but has found lasting success in the country.
Capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden was also a primary mission.
Bin Laden escaped into Pakistan and was not found until 2011.

Failure to Capture Bin Laden

Lack of US ground troops and Pakistan's potential role in assisting Bin Laden's escape contributed to the failure to capture Bin Laden.
The Bush administration's focus shifted toward Iraq.

Invasion of Iraq Iraq

9/11 was the excuse, not the reason, for the invasion of Iraq.
Top officials in the Bush administration had wanted to remove Saddam Hussein for years based on his defiance of weapons inspections protocols.
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) advocated for removing Saddam Hussein.
PNAC members included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle.
The PNAC book "Rebuilding America's Defenses" called for regime change in Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.
Richard Clark testified that Bush asked him to find connections between Al-Qaeda and Iraq on 9/12.

Axis of Evil

Bush identified Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as the "axis of evil" in his 2002 State of the Union address.
The two main rationales for the Iraq War were: Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and Iraq was directly involved in 9/11.
American supported the invasion of Afghanistan (88%), support for the invasion of Iraq was lower (55-60%).
Millions protested against the US war in Iraq.

False Rationales

Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction, and Iraq did not have connections to Al-Qaeda.
The Bush administration may have known these arguments were false.

Propaganda of WMD

"Weapons of mass destruction" is considered a propaganda term, grouping together chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons to invoke more fear.
Saddam Hussein had used chemical weapons in the 1980s war against Iran and against his own citizens.
After the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam Hussein had agreed to surrender those weapons and submit to international inspections.

US Support for Saddam Hussein

The United States had supported Saddam Hussein's acquisition and use of chemical weapons in the 1980s, as Iran was considered a mortal enemy.
Donald Rumsfeld met with Saddam Hussein in the 1980s.

Nuclear Fears

The Bush administration suggested Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons.
Condoleezza Rice: "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
Dick Cheney: "We believe Saddam Hussein has in fact reconstituted nuclear weapons."

Al-Qaeda Connection

Reports of an Iraqi agent meeting with Muhammad Atta in Prague were false.
US intelligence documented that Mohammad Atta was not in Prague during the mentioned time.
Dick Cheney continued to promote that this was true.
There was no real evidence, making it hard to prove that Iraq was involved in nine eleven.
By 2003, 70% of Americans wrongly believed that Iraq was involved in 9/11.

Demonizing Dissent

Those who questioned the Iraq war were demonized and ridiculed.
French citizens were demonized for critisizing the US's intent to go to war; boycotts of cheese and wine occurred, renaming french fries to freedom fries.
The Dixie Chicks faced backlash after criticizing President Bush; country radio stations stopped playing their music, Natalie Maines received death treaths, and their tour was canceled.

Iraq Invasion

The invasion of Iraq began on March 20, 2003, Iraqi army was quickly defeated.
President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier with a "Mission Accomplished" banner.
Building a nation over the next eight years was a catastrophic failure.
Two reasons for the failure were ignorance and miscalculation.

Religious Factions

Iraq was home to the Sunni and Shia religious factions.
Saddam Hussein and the Sunni minority brutally suppressed the Shia majority.
Removing Saddam Hussein without planning for the post-Saddam environment created a power vacuum.
The United States disbanded the Iraqi police and military, creating tens of thousands of angry, unemployed, and armed men.

Miscalculations

The United States believed Iraq was a secular society without religious factionalism.
They believed Iraqis would welcome the American invasion.
Vice President Cheney believed the United States will be granted as liberators.
General Eric Shinseki recommended 300,000 soldiers for the occupation, but was initially given 100,00.
Ahmed Chalabi was an Iraqi exile who claimed to have tremendous support among the Iraqi population and no religious factions.
It's believed Chalabi was working for Iran the entire time.

Abu Ghraib

In 2005, photos were released showing U.S. Military police were torturing the prisoners (some justified and some not) at Abu Ghraib.
Inmates were told if they stepped off an elevated block, they would be electrocuted.
There was use of dogs (sacriligious to muslims) and were extremely intimidating.
Numerous accusations of ritual sexual humiliation.
Broadcasts of these photos created significant damage to American's global PR.

Aftermath of War

Insurgency raged until the end of the US occupation in 2011.
Estimates of the casualties in the Iraq War reached 500,000 with millions displaced.
The Iraq War damaged the U.S.’s prestige in the Middle East and around the world.
The Iraq War strengthened Iran since its main rival no longer has power in their country.

Fear and Rememberance

Fear can make or break society; Bush created a sense of terror for the American people.
Trillions went towards the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
FDR said America has nothing to fear, but fear itself.
When we say "never forget", you can't just remember the parts that make us feel good.
The speaker recommends it is a problem that the audience has never heard of Abu Ghraib, as that is selective memory.