Why 9/11 Happened Essay

Words: 2769
Pages: 12
Open Document
The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 were the direct result of the failure of US agencies, ranging from the White House to airport security, to recognize vulnerabilities present in the various symptoms. The reason why these vulnerabilities were not acknowledged and repaired is that these various agencies were trapped in a cognitive dissonance cycle of thinking. After the Cold War, terrorism was seen as a regional problem (9/11 Commission, 92). The majority of terrorist groups were either groups sponsored by governments or militants trying to create governments (i.e. Palestine Liberation Organization). As a result, the tactics used for fighting terrorism were centralized mostly in the Middle East and were restricted to …show more content…
The cursory security was easily bypassed, as it is believed that the September 11 terrorists got their knives through the X-ray machine simply by lying them on their edges between two books, so that to the inspector the blades appeared as nothing more than a dark line (Easterbrook, 168). Airline security is even more culpable because, prior to 9/11, there had been numerous warnings that improvements were necessary. For example, the report of the presidential commission on airline security, chaired by Vice President Al Gore, strongly recommended that the federal government begin certifying the contractors who run airport screening stations (Easterbrook, 169). Furthermore, "Red team" inspectors, who staged tests of airport security, found it alarmingly easy to smuggle weapons onto planes or enter the tarmac areas without identification (Easterbrook, 164). Due to the cognitive dissonance of the people in charge of security at airports, they were unable to stop the 9/11 attackers. When warned that their security was not strong enough, FAA officials gained information that was contradictory to that in their cognitive system. They used the technique of twisting beliefs to fit this data into their old cognitive model. Rather than realizing that terrorism had changed, they told themselves that because there had been no recent incidents of massive terror in the
Show More

Related Documents: Why 9/11 Happened Essay

Compare And Contrast The Holocaust And 9/11

What comes to your mind when hearing the word Holocaust or 9-11? Internally, many thoughts can come to mind. For example, when or where did the event occur? Also, how did the event occur? The Holocaust and 9-11 were horrible events in our history. There are many similarities and differences between the two events. The Holocaust was an event that occurred on January 30, 1933 – May 8, 1945, which was a longer time period than 9-11. This event began slowly, with strict restrictions of the life…

Words 464 - Pages 2

Essay about Remembering 9/11

Remembering 9/11 There are anniversaries for 9/11 but why are they called anniversaries? When I think of anniversaries I think of happy times, not a sad time where our country had a terrorist attack. It’s one thing to remember what happened every 9/11 and do something about it. It’s completely different to call it an anniversary and have street vendors selling trinkets about it as if it was a good thing. Our country was attacked for no reason and many people died because of it. The people who…

Words 660 - Pages 3

9/11 Narrative

On September, 11 2001 the United States was hurt emotionally and physically. Many people still ask themselves why did this happen? Why did it happen to America and not another country? My mother told me that 9-11 was the most scariest events of her life. The story started when she was home taking care of me at the age of one. Sitting in the living room, she was watching a fashion show and Fox 5 local news stopped the fashion show and started to show what was happening with 9-11 . She told me that…

Words 517 - Pages 3

The 9/11 Overreaction By Charles Krauthammer

In the article “The 9/11 “Overreaction “? Nonsense,” Charles Krauthammer argues that we as Americans have created a fear and overreacted to 9/11. This article was published in the Washington Post on September 8, 2011. Krauthammer provides research and then analyses the results. Krauthammer is trying to persuade Americans we created the fear ourselves. He then uses the article to show how we “overreacted.” He thinks we are over dramatic and took it to far on what really happened. Krauthammer explains…

Words 196 - Pages 1

Compare And Contrast Pearl Harbor And 9/11

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are two events that changed the course of American history forever and they are two days that most Americans have engraved in their memory. It is through these events that we learned how strong our country could be when we all come together. These events also changed everyone’s opinion on war because our country was in danger. Pearl Harbor happened in 1941 and 9/11 happened in 2001, although these events are over 50 years apart they still share a lot of similarities. December…

Words 589 - Pages 3

WTC Destruction: An Analysis Of Peer Reviewed

Reviewed Technical Literature. Journal of 9/11 Studies, 37, 1-16. In this article, Eastman and Cole dissect the events of September 11 1. Both Journalist take into account scientific evidence and first hand accounts of September 11. This research in turn describe how the events of September 11 simple do not add up. This journal also address public poles on topics such as how the Twin Towers really fell, and what really hit the pentagon the morning of September 11. The evidence presented in this Journal…

Words 1407 - Pages 6

Art Spiegelman 9/11 Research Papers

work of comics called In the Shadow of No Tower (“Jeff Melnick’s 9/11 Culture,” 4). This image was drawn in reaction to the terrorist attacks. Spiegelman was affected by the events of that day because his children were attending school nearby. He witnessed the towers getting attacked and beginning to fall as he was trying to make sure that his daughter was safe from all the terrible affairs that were occurring nearby. That is why he drew this image and was inspired to put his feelings and thoughts…

Words 528 - Pages 3

Final Draft RBAA Essay example

Eng101 205 12 November 2013 The 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Our own government purposing an attack on our own land and people? Yeah, right. The idea that a lot more happened on 9/11 than what we know about as a nation is not far stretched. I know exactly what most people are going to think when they look at this paper. 9/11 is a day, with no doubt in my mind, that is tragic in many ways. 2,996 people lost their lives, and countless other lives have been lost in result to 9/11. (Avery) To say that the…

Words 2938 - Pages 12

Dbq 9/11 Analysis

September 11, 2001, a day that no American will ever forget. Four airplanes were hijacked. Three of which hit major points of interest in America. All four of which killed many people and left many people sadness. America quickly determined who was responsible, Islamic Extremists. American’s all knew who; they all knew how, but there was one question no one knew, “why?”. Why would anyone do something so terrible? America came together and thought of many possible reasons, some based on emotion…

Words 1008 - Pages 5

Essay on September 11

September 11, 2001 8:46 A.M. I was just getting up from a late night and seen what had ahppened on television. I was in shock, at this time i wasnt in the military, however this was one of the the things that made me want to join. there are many theories of conspiracy and then there are the beliefs that it was actual terrorism, I know the only thing that really matters is that 2,974 innocent lives were taken. This is unnacceptable no matter whether it was terrorism or a conspiracy, this is the United…

Words 460 - Pages 2