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.