Remembering the terror of 9/11
Bin Laden dead: What’s
next for the world?
By
FLORENCE
F. HIBIONADA
Senior Reporter, Philippine News Service (PNS)
May 3, 2011
ILOILO CITY,
Philippines – Exactly four months short of the 10th year when
America and the world witnessed unimaginable terror, the “master” of
said terror falls. Usama Bin Laden is dead. Americans rejoice and
immediately took their cries of victory in the streets. Leaders from
Allied nations follow suit with declaration of joint victory.
The Philippines is
even on “alert” as per statement released by Malacañang amidst concern
on the after effect of Bin Laden’s killing.
With thousands of
lives lost and thousands more changed because of the sheer magnitude
of the tragedy perpetuated by Bin Laden and his loyalists, is America
and the world ready for closure?
Here’s a look into the
terror of 9/11 and the man behind it.
The day was September
11, 2001 when the great superpower in America was forced to take a
closer, deeper and really serious concerted look on the face of
terrorism.
A new face of an old
enemy that brought unimaginable devastation four hijacked planes later
and within minutes thereafter. That day as seen today has changed the
course of governance of the world particularly the nations whose
governments rely and are dictated by American policies. Altogether, it
forced upon all governments to have an inside look on homeland
security.
For a country looked
upon as a "Super Power" and its President dubbed as the "world's most
powerful man," America symbolized the land of the free and home of the
brave.
For millions of
migrants, Filipinos particularly included, America is the land of milk
and honey.
September 11, 2001
changed it all and set forth anew, a different understanding to the
greatness of a now different America.
Americans and the
world remember year after year said 'invasion’. Yet it was to be the
release of "The 9/11 Commission Report" that gave a face to that
terror. “The 9/11 Commission Report” was the final report made public
by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United
States.
Philippine News
Service (PNS) obtained then a copy of said report that came out in a
form of a 567-paged book presented to the American public in
particular and the world in general.
"This independent,
bipartisan panel was directed to examine the facts and circumstances
surrounding the September 11 attacks, identify lessons learned, and
provide recommendations to safeguard against future acts of
terrorism," excerpts of the authorized edition went.
Composed then of five
Republicans and five Democrats chaired by Thomas Kean, the Commission
was aided by 81 senior staff members composed of noted Washington
lawyers and professionals.
Altogether, 2.5
million pages of documents were reviewed, more than 1,000 hours of
audiotape listened to, over 1,200 persons interviewed, ten countries
visited, 19 days of hearings conducted and 160 witnesses – top US
officials including former President William "Bill" Clinton and the
incumbent Commander in Chief, President George Bush were heard under
oath.
The report begins with
a clear statement – there is an enemy out there who is sophisticated,
patient, disciplined and lethal. His name now made a byword worldwide
– Usama Bin Ladin – the Commission wrote of how he rallied extensive
support in the Arab and Muslim world in its intense hatred and
hostility to America. And eventually, to America's allies whom Bin
Ladin would term in his declarations as "American agents."
Bin Ladin's fight as
he himself declared, makes no distinction between military and
civilian targets. "Collateral damage is not in his lexicon,"
Commission Chair Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton wrote.
The Commission Report
contained 13 chapters that dealt extensively on the attack itself, the
foundation of Bin Laden's new terrorism, America's counterterrorism,
responses to Bin Laden's Al Qaeda's initial assaults, heroism and
horror of the attack, unheeded warnings and signs, foresight and
hindsight on the incident and the corresponding recommendations for a
global strategy and a 'new' US government.
The details of how the
attack unfolded could not be any clearer and gruesome – heard were
cries for help from crew and passengers of the hijacked planes of
American Airlines Flight 11 (AA 11), United Airlines Flight 175 (UA
175), and American Airlines Flight 77 (AA 77) and United Airlines
Flight 93 (UA 93).
From the initial take
off of AA 11 at 7:59 am from Boston bound to Los Angeles and UA 93 at
8:42 am from Newark to San Francisco, lives of millions of Americans
were to change in that 43-minute span and millions more worldwide in
the next hours until the final official confirmation at 10:30 am that
same morning – four planes down, chaos of unimaginable proportion up
and all because of one man really.
Now the American
public knows of how the suicide hijackers slashed the throats of a
number of passengers and crew, learned of the heroic deeds of the
passengers on board UA 93 and the seeming breakdown of its
government's emergency response.
But then as the
Commission noted, despite the multi-layered defenses in place and the
protocols in place, "on the morning of 9/11, the existing protocol was
unsuited in every respect for what was about to happen."
"I don't know where
I'm scrambling these guys to. I need a direction, a destination," an
officer of the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) called out after
sending F-15 fighters on air at 8:46 am. That very second the North
Tower of the World Trade Center was hit by the very same plane the
fighter jets were trying to locate.
As records showed and
verified, military notification of the first hijacking came 8:37:52 am
or about nine minutes before it struck its first target.
There was to be
extreme confusion in the next hour as coded messages were passed from
one agency to the other and calls came in from distraught family
members of calls received from passengers of the four hijacked planes.
About an hour into the
four confirmed hijacking, the order was finally handed out on all
other aircrafts to land at the nearest airport. Altogether, about
4,500 commercial and general aviation aircraft landed in various US
airports in what remains as an unprecedented order carried out with no
incident.
In clarifying the
record, the Commission wrote: "The defense of U.S. airspace on 9/11
was not conducted in accord with pre-existing training and protocols.
It was improvised by civilians who had never handled a hijacked
aircraft that attempted to disappear and by a military unprepared for
the transformation of commercial aircraft into weapons of mass
destruction. As it turned out, the NEADS air defenders had nine
minutes' notice on the first hijacked plane, no advance notice on the
second, no advance notice on the third and no advance notice on the
fourth."
This, as the panel
maintained the scenario did not discredit the operational personnel at
NEADS or any of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facilities.
Media's role
The Commission in its
report showed as well the important role of the media. For instance,
most federal agencies learned about the crash in
New York
from CNN. At the White House, the world knows now how Vice President
Dick Cheney was told by an assistant to turn on the television. This
as Vice President Cheney remarked, "how the hell could a plane hit the
World
Trade Center?".
Meantime, President
Bush was finally told by a top aide, "A second plane hit the second
tower. America is under attack." Thereafter, the President was briefed
and watched the television coverage until Air Force One was readied
for his departure from Florida.
The media was to have
played a bigger role as well to Bin Laden's campaign for support from
his Muslim brothers and the ultimate creation of a Bin Laden unit by
one CIA man named "Mike." It was his media declaration of war back in
mid 90's till the series of pronouncements that would eventually get
the White House and Congress to take notice of his potential as one
very dangerous man to contend with.
Yet it worked against
intense efforts of the American government as well when Al Qaeda
senior leadership stopped using a particular communication channel
after a leak to the Washington Times.
Caught flat-footed
"The September 11
attacks fell into the void between the foreign and domestic threats,"
the Commission would later say. "In sum, the domestic agencies never
mobilized in response to the threat. They did not have direction and
did not have a plan to institute. The borders were not hardened.
Transportation systems were not fortified. Electronic surveillance was
not targeted against a domestic threat. State and local law
enforcement were not marshaled to augment the FBI's efforts. The
public was not warned."
As such, even in the
execution stage where the 'enemy' made mistakes, America failed to
capitalize in those mistakes and under-estimated the terror and horror
of Al Qaeda.
"Now threats can
emerge quickly. An organization like Al Qaeda, headquartered in a
country on the other side of the earth, in a region so poor that
electricity or telephones were scarce, could nonetheless scheme to
wield weapons of unprecedented destructive power in the largest cities
of the United States," this much was recognized by the panel. "The
present transnational danger is Islamist terrorism."
With the Commission's
work way over, it can now be said, America and terror did change the
world. This, as nations move to adopt global strategies to cope and
avert similar tragedy.
The year now is
2011, on the 10th year beyond the terror. Will the battle really end
with the death of Bin Laden?