1

Haley Bandemer

3rd Hour

History of wars

1/20/17

Truth Behind 9/11

September 11th is a tragedy most people will never forget. It was the biggest terrorist

attack in the world. People sat there watching their country be under attack and not know why.

Panic and chaos shifted around the whole world as our home land was being destroyed. That day

the world stood still. Families hugged one another, as everyone mourned for the people that lost

their innocent lives. It was a day nothing else mattered but being with one another. 3,000 people

died that day. Countless people now question if September 11th was preventable. Could the

United States have prevented the killing of 3,000 innocent lives? America will forever be

different since September 11th, 2001.

Al- Qaeda has been a threat to the United States for many years. They have been fighting

a 20 year war between each other. 9/11 wasnt the first time the terrorist group attacked the

United States. In 1992, the first attack by Al-Qaeda was carried out in Aden Yemen known as the

Yemen Hotel Bombings. The mission failed because no Americans were killed. Even though no

Americans were killed, the United States knew Bin Laden was involved and didnt go after him.

The United States did not see this as a threat, although they knew Al-Qaedas mission was to kill

Americans. If they United States went after Al-Qaeda then, it could have prevented the first

World Trade Center Bombing.

The World Trade Center was first bombed in 1993. Ramzi Yousef was the mastermind of

this bombing. The plan was to hit underneath the North Tower and have it collapse into the South
 2

tower. This bombing killed six people. Six people were convicted of doing this crime. Yousef

was the last person found and was sentenced to 100 or more years in prison. While Yousef was in

court he told the court I am a terrorist and proud of it. All of Al-Qaeda were terrorist and yet

the United States only caught the six people. Almost 13 years later there was a trial upholding the

World Trade Center owners at fault for the bombing. The public believes they should of had

more security for people access in the underground levels. The law suit says New York and New

Jersey failed to end public access to the underground levels of the parking garage. Granted that

New York or the owners did make it hard to get in, the bombing may have not happened.

On account of the Yemen Hotel Bombings, Bin Laden was on the United States most

wanted list. Among all the threats Bin Laden made, the United States still never caught him. In

1996 Osama Bin Laden declared war on all Americans. Then the United States declared war on

him. Some claim he had security training from the CIA. In 1998, Bin Laden declares that all

Americans are targets of Al-Qaeda and any American or citizen must die. Why was it that Bin

Laden was the most wanted person and we didnt catch him until 2011? The United States was in

Saudi Arabia going after Saddam Hussein. Why didnt they go after Bin Laden too? The United

States knew what Bin Laden was capable of and knew he was planning something big because

he gave hints to it. An FBI agent, John ONeill, saw the attacks coming. He was arrogant and

selfish, but he was well noticed because he was good at his job. He looked into the Yemen Hotel

bombings and knew Bin Laden was involved. O'Neill had files that he kept secret. In his last few

days, he said Were due.

September 11th could have been prevented. The people who flew the planes learned how

to fly them and control them in the United States. The FBI agency knew that the leader of Al-

Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, had sent followers to a flight school and they were interested in
 3

hijacking airplanes. The FBI considered that they were training to fly the planes to other

countries and not crash them into buildings. Either way the United States should have questioned

them and sent them back to their own country. The United States had a failure to protect the

World Trade Center from terrorist attack, even though it was hit in 1993 and was known to be a

terrorist target. The people should have also listened to John O Neill and what he was trying to

tell them because he seen the attacks coming.

All in all the prevention of September 11th remains in question. There is innumerable

people that blame the FBI or even the United States in general because of their scare for

communism spreading. The victims families want answers to what really happened that day and

if their loved one should still be alive or not.

Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_al-Qaeda_attacks

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/08/twenty-years-war/496736/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/05/us/1993-world-trade-center-bombing-fast-facts/
 4

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/07/AR2006030700216.html