The outcome of 9/11
When the attacks of 9/11 occurred eight years ago, the nation’s citizens stood together in solidarity. We worked in unity to show the terrorists that we were fighting back. Everybody held their heads high for this county and swore “never again.” Patriotism became the trend.
Most of the citizens did not object when the government decided to send soldiers to the Middle East. We would find Osama Bin Laden and his followers, show them what we were made of, and bring glory back to America.
There was only one problem. We weren’t looking in the right places.
This archived article was written by: Kelli Burke-Gabossi
When the attacks of 9/11 occurred eight years ago, the nation’s citizens stood together in solidarity. We worked in unity to show the terrorists that we were fighting back. Everybody held their heads high for this county and swore “never again.” Patriotism became the trend.
Most of the citizens did not object when the government decided to send soldiers to the Middle East. We would find Osama Bin Laden and his followers, show them what we were made of, and bring glory back to America.
There was only one problem. We weren’t looking in the right places.
After learning that Bin Laden had been located in Afghanistan, former President George W. Bush recruited troops into Iraq. What did we do there? We found Saddam Hussein. Instead of being straight forward with Americans, the former president accused Hussein of possessing weapons of mass destruction, which were never found, to enter Iraq, then everything worked for his favor from there.
According to Jim Lobe of the Inter Press Service, the former president “called on the U.N. Security Council to approve a tough resolution demanding that Saddam fully give up his (non-existent) WMD and programs, after stating, ‘After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad.'” It was then discovered that soldiers were not in Iraq on a mission to find the terrorist who attacked America, but to track down a mere Bush family enemy and get even.
Since former President Bush ordered troupes to station in Iraq to solve unrelated problems, the location of Bin Laden was lost. Had the troupes been immediately sent to Afghanistan, opposed to Iraq, they very likely could have advanced on Bin Laden and found him in no time.
However, Bin Laden is not only still alive and on the loose; he is making a mockery of America. Videos from him are occasionally sent to the United States Government, emphasizing the strength he still has and indicating his ability to strike vital interests throughout the world.
On a lighter note, a few things have been accomplished. Security is much greater than it was before the attacks. With the security at airports, it is nearly impossible for anybody to board onto a plane with a weapon. Some may say the security is too much, but at least everyone can feel safe now while travelling through flight.
Shipping docs are being highly monitored with security as well. This is important because of the massive amounts of imports that enter our country on a daily basis.
The government has established Home Land Security, where they monitor and determine the threat level of messages that the CIA and FBI receive. With the ability to supervise threats, the government can take evasive action to prevent any attacks remotely similar to the attacks of 9/11.
Bin Laden hasn’t been found but with the new changes the government has launched, they have prevented any other attacks from occurring. Bin Laden may be mocking Americans with his life and videos but he has taught us a few things, and he’ll never find a way to attack the nation again.
