The world changed on September 11, 2001. |
The country's worst tragedy. September 11, 2001. Of course, we'll never forget.
Tuesday September 11, 2001 a clear day. Four airliners crash into the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The United States was caught off guard by men who hijacked planes and managed to cause one of the world's most deadliest attacks on soil.
September 11, 2001 was the day that George W. Bush was thrust into a war against a foreign terrorist organization that many barely known. Bill Clinton had dealt with this organization during the first attack at the World Trade Center, the Kenya and Tanzania embassy bombing, USS Cole, the attacks on American citizens in Saudi Arabia.
The organization al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for this mission in which apparently over a dozen individuals left their families and decided to join a conservative Sunni fundamental Islamic extremist group for a suicide mission.
Al-Qaeda was led by a Saudi Arabian man who was an heir to successful construction company. This gentleman, aided by an Egyptian doctor/activist, and a Kuwaiti engineer managed to plot a mass attack on the United States.
Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed were the backers of terrorist attack.
They saw lapses at American airports. They found that an opportunity was born when the United States lets their guard down after an election.
This tragedy brought together America.
When George W. Bush took office, many were fuming at the Supreme Court decision that allowed Florida's electoral votes go to him and the popular vote go to Al Gore, the Vice President of the United States at the time. The Texas governor's brother was John Ellis Bush (Jeb), and he was then governor of Florida at the time. Some questioned that tactics by Katherine Harris, then secretary of state and later congresswoman purging Black and Hispanic voters off the rolls. Voter irregularities and shady tactics at the polling booths.
Between all the partisan bickering and finger pointing our nation came to grips with a tragedy. Over 3,000 lives were lost that day alone. Counting the numerous injuries and property damages in New York, Washington D.C. and the rural countryside of Pennsylvania.
Bush led the nation into an endless war in Afghanistan and a now finished war in Iraq. At the time Fox News led the way to help the Bush Administration get its message out that Saddam Hussein was the bad guy and Osama bin Laden was harboring terrorism here and abroad.
When Barack Obama ran for president, he promised that he wouldn't rest until the leaders of al-Qaeda were captured or killed. His political rivals thought he was naive and foolish at the time. They were wrong.
After a landslide election, Barack Obama was elected to be president. As the successor of George W. Bush, Barack Obama inherited two wars, an economic crisis and congressional gridlock.
Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011. |
And of course, the president kept his promise. May 2011, the president announced to the world that the leader of al-Qaeda was killed by the United States Military Special Operatives in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
President Barack Obama has been really aggressive on disrupting al-Qaeda and its affiliates.
The president's political foes in the Republican Party wish Osama bin Laden was still alive. They refuse to credit the president for giving the orders to take out the world's most wanted terrorist
The Republicans could never take responsibility for a tragedy. They'll blame the Democrats for every domestic or international incident whenever there's a Republican president.
George W. Bush ignored the Richard Clarke warnings. He ignored the Clinton memos. He wanted to chart his own goals.
I have to admit that every year this will be a theme among the political leaders. They'll spent a few moments with families of the 9/11 victims.
CNN is the first news organization in the world to report of an airliner crashing into the World Trade Center in New York. This led to the 9/11 attacks. Carol Lin can claim credit for interrupting a Dietech commercial with the words:
"This just in. You are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center right now is just beginning to work on this story, obviously calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center."