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'Remembering 9/11' History - Special - 90 mins 2011 marks the 10th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States of America. The September 11 attacks on America were of surprising disproportion. Certainly, America had suffered surprise attacks in the past, nonetheless the 9/11 attacks were devastating and heralded in a new kind of war ¨C the war on terror; and a new enemy ¨C Osama bin Laden The relationship between the United States and bin Laden began in the 1980's during the Cold War, when the US supplied billions of dollars worth of secret assistance to rebel groups in Afghanistan fighting the Soviet occupation. It was during this time that Saudi-born Osama Bin Laden joined the Afghan resistance. Bin Laden and his comrades had their own sources of support and training, receiving little assistance from the US. After the Cold War ended, they established a potential general headquarters for future jihad - and Al-Qaeda was born. In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the US led the coalition against Saddam Hussein, which included Saudi Arabia. The presence of American soldiers in Saudi Arabia, enraged bin Laden upon his return to the country, as well as other Arabs. From that point, Osama bin Laden turned radically anti-American. By 1998, Al-Qaeda felt comfortable enough in their Afghan sanctuary to issue a declaration of war against Americans and later a fatwa to kill Americans and their allies. Between 1998 and 2000 they attacked US embassies and military forces on foreign soil. As 2001 began, counterterrorism officials were receiving frequent but fragmentary reports about threats, including more than 40 intelligence articles in the President Daily Briefs from January to September 2001 that related to bin Laden himself. As the sun rose on September 11, 2001 millions of New-Yorkers woke to a beautiful day. Some commuters were making the trip to south Manhattan where the World Trade Center and its Twin Towers stood - home to some of the biggest financial firms. It seemed like just another ordinary day. In Washington, it was business as usual - some going to the Pentagon, others across the Potomac River were getting ready for a Congress session. For those heading to an airport to catch a flight, weather conditions could not have been better for a safe and pleasant journey. By 8 am, amongst the everyday travellers were 19 hijackers who had boarded transcontinental flights - all defeating the security procedures that America's airports had in place to prevent these occurrences. At 8:46 am, the clear blue sky in south Manhattan was suddenly overshadowed as American Airlines flight 11 suddenly and unexpectedly crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Thick white smoke explodes out from the top of the north face, stunning New Yorkers who have witnessed it below. A gaping hole, through floors 93 to 99, left many to believe that a terrible accident had happened. Burning fire in the upper floors traps people. For some, the heat and suffocating smoke is so intense that to jump from the building is the only option. But the world is unaware that the worst was still to come. Then, shortly after 9 am, at 950 km/h, a clear message is delivered: the first plane to crash is not an accident - America is under attack. The next plane, United Airlines flight 175, strikes levels 78 to 85 of the South Tower, forming a barrier between hope on the lower levels and despair above the impact zone. The wingtip grazes the 78th floor sky lobby, instantly killing dozens of people waiting for elevators. Meanwhile, many in the Pentagon in Washington receive phone calls telling them to turn on their televisions. Like so many they watch in horror the smoke coming from the World Trade Center as the live pictures are broadcast. Suddenly, without any warning, American Airlines Flight 77 containing 5 hijackers crashes into the western side of the Pentagon and starts a violent fire. The passengers and crewmembers are all killed instantly. The blast from the plane and the heat from the resulting fire kill 125 Pentagon personnel. At 9.45 am all United States airspace is shut down and civilian aircraft are grounded. All flights are ordered to land at the nearest airports as soon as possible. United Airlines Flight 93 also receives the order to land but no reply comes back from the cockpit. Back in New York, the South Tower collapses, 56 minutes after being struck. As the roar of the collapse goes silent, a gray white cloud of powder concrete and gypsum rushes through the streets. People are covered in dust, rubbing their eyes and looking dazed. The streets of New York look like a war zone. The landscape is unrecognizable. It is estimated that the collapse of the South Tower killed 630 people, almost everyone above the impact zone. At 10:03 am the last hijacked plane will miss its target, thanks to the courage of the passengers who revolt against the hijackers onboard. Amidst the chaos, the aircraft ploughs into an empty field in Shanksville Pennsylvania, fragmenting upon impact. Flight 93's intended target still remains a mystery. From the moment Flight 11 hit the North Tower evacuations proceeded efficiently. The elevators were all unusable, however three stairways survived. The 102 minutes between the impact and collapse allowed the vast majority of the workers below the impact zone to escape the building safely. No one on the 91st floor or above is believed to have survived. It is estimated that approx. thirteen hundred people on these floors perished. Soon after the North Tower had crumbled, hundred of dazed fire fighters were on the scene. Many were crying, others were in shock, trying to come to term with what had just happened, and the loss of their colleagues who died inside the towers. The collapse of the towers took an incredible toll on them. The New York fire department suffered 343 fatalities, the largest loss of life of any emergency response agency in history. The Port Authority Police department suffered 37 losses, and The New York Police department lost 23 officers, including the FDNY chief of Department and the Port Authority Police Superintendent. Early that afternoon, the first bulldozers arrive to begin moving debris and search for bodies. Officials feared the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, another high-rise burning in the complex, and by early evening, 7 World Trade Center finally fell. As night felt on New York and Washington, what everyone knew, was confirmed. That America's citizens, their way of life, and their freedom had come under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. As the sun rose on the 12th against a curtain of gray soot and smoke, New York was an urban wasteland of deserted streets and crushed vehicles, the World Trade Center complex smouldering. In the afternoon, the city's citizens were shaken even more by the rumbling collapse of the remainder of the South Tower. Fears of gas leaks and the possibility of asbestos and other toxic substances in the air further complicated the rescue effort. Amidst the rubble, protruded the remains of a cell phone tower. Someone climbed the tower and attached an American flag ¨C the nation's symbol of shining light. Everyone stopped and saluted for a second. For Americans, understanding what happened in the days that followed proved difficult. No one would ever forget this day, and the pain is still there a decade later, for many families of loved ones lost on that fateful day. Terrorist attacks may shake the foundations of the biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundations of a country and it's people such as The United States of America.
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