First Bombing Of The World Trade Center example essay topic

Terrorist attacks occur all over the world nearly every day. Many attacks are so minuscule that nobody really hears about them. The majority of terrorist attacks occur over seas. Very rarely do terrorists venture onto United States's oil to commit acts of violence.

The first major attack on the United States occurred on December 7, 1941. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked a United States naval base called Pearl Harbor. The bombing was sudden and unsuspected. It caused mass destruction of the base and the loss of many American lives. Since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, no major acts of terrorism have occurred in the United States until the last ten years. Over the past ten years terrorist attacks in the United States seem to be increasing.

This increased violence seems to be aimed at influencing governmental policy and public opinion. The first major attack on United States soil in the last ten years occurred on February 23, 1993. This was the first bombing of the World Trade Center. This would be the first of three major acts of violence committed against the United States up until the present date. On April 19, 1995 the federal building in 2 Oklahoma City was bombed. The most recent tragedy took place on September 11, 2001.

Several United States' commercial airliners were hijacked and crashed into the two World Trade towers and into the Pentagon. Aside from the bombing of Pearl Harbor these three attacks have been the most tragic and memorable in the last ten years. The first bombing of the World Trade Center occurred on February 23, 1993. In the early afternoon an explosion occurred on the second floor on the World Trade Center. The blast is described in grate detail by Dave Williams: The resulting blast produced a crater, approximately 150 feet in diameter and five floors deep, in the parking basement. The structure consisted mainly steel-reinforced concrete, twelve to fourteen inches thick.

The epicenter of the blast was nearly eight feet from the south wall of Trade Tower Number One, near the support column K 31/8. The device [bomb] had placed in the rear cargo portion of one-ton Ford F 350 Econoline van... Approximately 6,800 tons of material displaced by the blast (1) This attack was the first major act of violence committed on United States's oil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor almost sixty-two years earlier. However, this bombing was not near as tragic as the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The blast left six people dead and over 1,000 injured (Fusco 1). Soon after the bombing the FBI made some arrests.

Mohammed Salam eh, Nide l Ay yad, Mahmud Abulhalima, and Ahmad M. Ajax were all arrested and convicted for their roles in the conspiracy (Williams). There was also a fifth 3 man involved, Abdul R haman Yasin, but there was not enough evidence against him to be convicted. To this day Yasin remains on the FBI's "most wanted terrorists" list (Hirschkorn 1). The next serious attack occurred on April 15, 1995. The blast is described in great detail by Stephen Jones and Peter Israil: 9 a.m. central daylight time.

A twenty-foot rental truck, yellow with black lettering, the largest of the two-axel models in the Ryder line, Had pulled up in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It parked near the front entrance, under the overhang, just below the America's Kids Day Care Center on the second floor. Moments later, the truck blew up in a blinding, Deafening explosion (4) The explosion destroyed the building. After the dust settled the rescue efforts began. The results of this bombing were far worse than the World Trade Center bombing of 1993. The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building left 168 people dead, over 500 injured, and cause to damage to more than 300 buildings in the area.

Over $651 million was spent on recovery (Jones and Israil 6). The same day that the bombings occurred Timothy McVeigh was arrested for a missing license plate and having a concealed weapon (Jones and Israil 8). The trial of Timothy James McVeigh began on April 24, 1977. The trial ended on June 19, 1997. The twelve members of the jury agreed that Timothy James McVeigh should be put to death for his crimes against the 4 people of the United States of America (Jones and Israil 275,299). Arguably one of the most horrific terrorist attacks ever committed against the United States took place on September 11, 2001.

A total of four planes were high jacked. Two American Airlines planes and two United Airlines planes were taken over by terrorists. At 8: 47 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the side of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, NY. Less than twenty minutes late at 9: 02 a.m. a second plane, United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the side of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The third high jacked plane, American Airlines flight 77 plummeted into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

United Airlines flight 93, which was the fourth plane to be high jacked, did not make it to its final destination. Flight 93 crashed in Shanks ville, PA. The two planes that hit the World Trade Center did more damage than the plane that hit the Pentagon. Flight 11 hit the North Tower with ninety-two people aboard it and immediately destroyed floor ninety through one hundred of the tower. Flight 175 hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center. This flight had only sixty-five passengers on board and instantly shattered floors seventy-eight through eighty-seven of the building.

At 9: 26 a.m. the FAA ordered the grounding of all nonmilitary flights in the United States. American Airlines flight 77, which was supposed to be on its way to Los Angeles, had sixty-four people aboard when it plunged into the Pentagon. Eventually both of the World Trade Towers would collapse killing far more people and causing more damage than the initial plane crashes did. To 5 this day the death toll is still unknown and rising (One Nation 22, 24, 28, 34, 46). The horrific events that occurred on September 11, 2001 are thought to be by many the worst acts of terrorism every committed against the United States. There have been several arrests made due to this incident, but no one has been convicted yet.

President Bush has named Osama bin Laden as prime suspect behind the attacks. The investigation is still ongoing (UK Supports bin Laden theory). In the last ten years some of the most horrific events in United States history have occurred. The first of the three tragic events was not nearly as devastating as the next two would be.

With the exception of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 all of the terrorist attacks have been committed by terrorist groups centered in the middle east. The events that occurred on September 11, 2001 will never be forgotten. This was quite possibly the most horrendous attack ever on the United States. Nearly three months later the country is still trying to recover. Slowly but surely the United States will recover. The U.S. will not be intimidated.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said it best when he said "The attack was intended to break our spirit. It has utterly failed. Our hearts are broken, but they continue to beat, and the spirit of our City has never been stronger" (One Nation 8). Every act of terrorism against the United States will be answered eventually. Terrorism cannot and will not be tolerated.

Bibliography

1. Fusco, Anthony L. "The World Trade Center Bombing: Report and Analysis". 26 Feb. 1993.
11 Dec. 2001.
2. Hirschkorn, Phil". 'Most wanted terrorists' list released". 10 Oct. 2001.
10 Dec. 2001.
3. Jones, Stephen and Peter Ir sail. Others Unknown: The Oklahoma City bombing Case and Conspiracy. New York: Public Affairs, 1998.
4. Williams, Dave. "The Bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City". 1998.
5. One Nation: America Remembers September 11, 2001.
Time Inc., 2001.
6. "UK supports bin Laden theory". 17 Sept. 2001.