American Afghanistan War/War On Terrorism

September 11, 2001 started out to be a normal day like the day before and the day before that. In New York and Washington D.C. the sky was clear and to most people it was just another ordinary Tuesday. Everyone went about their business as usual. None of these could have ever known that date would be forever etched in the world's conscious and change the way we think and the way we go about our daily lives. Most people in America had just arrived at work, or school, were going to, or coming from work, or were at home just waking up. It was just their regular routine until they turned on television, heard an announcement on the car radio, heard from a speaker system at work, or school, or from another person that something was happening in New York and Washington D.C.. What events that are discussed here were unthinkable and are still unbelievable. Note: To avoid confusion all times noted below are in Eastern Time.

At 8:45 a.m. a hijacked passenger jet, American Airlines Flight 11, from Boston, Massachusetts crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. Most people that had heard about, or saw the plane striking the building thought it was a horrible accident. Most never thought about terrorism. All of that would soon change. At 9:03 a.m. a second hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 175, also from Boston, crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center. Everyone knew then that this was no accident. New York City was under attack by terrorists. At this time rescue workers were being dispatched to the scene. Firemen, policemen, and other rescue workers bravely raced up the burning tower to evacuated everyone to safety, and to help those in need. They thought nothing of their own safety, or lives, just that of the people in the burning towers. At 9:17 a.m. the Federal Aviation Administration closes down all New York City area airports. At 9:21 a.m. the Port Authority for New York and New Jersey orders all bridges and tunnels in the New York area to be closed. At 9:40 a.m. the FAA halts all flight operations at U.S. airports. It was the first time in U.S. history that air traffic nationwide has been halted. at 9:43 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon. Only an isolated section of the massive building was damaged, but none the less, hundreds were killed. The evacuation of the rest of the building began immediately. At 9:45 the White House, fearing of an attack, evacuates. At 10:05 the south tower of the World Trade Center collapses in on itself and on everything and everyone in its wake. Thousands of people are killed, many are wounded, and only a handful are trapped alive. A huge cloud of smoke, dust, debris, and ashes rises up and coverers part of New York City. At 10:10 a.m. a portion the Pentagon collapses. At the same time a United Airlines Flight 93, also hijacked, crashes into an uninhabited part of Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Before crashing into a field, some of the passengers aboard were able to reach loved ones via cell phone to tell them they had been hijacked. It was then that they firs found out from their spouses and loved ones that other hijacked planes were being crashed into buildings. Knowing they had to do something they fought against the terrorists and became the first soldiers against terrorism. They failed to save their own lives, but their heroism and sacrifice saved countless others. Flight 93 was the last of the planes to crash. Even though the terrorists aboard succeeded in killing the passengers aboard, they failed to carry out their evil plan of running the plane into a building. During this time buildings like the United Nations Building, the World Bank, and other large structures were evacuated. At 10:24 a.m. the FAA reports that all inbound transatlantic aircraft flying into the United States are being diverted to Canada. At 10:28 the World Trade Center's north tower collapses doing the same thing the first tower did when it collapsed. The huge cloud of smoke and debris combines with the one from the south tower collapse and the huge combined cloud covers most of the New York City area. The area looks like a war zone. Thousands are killed. Most of the brave firemen, police officers, and rescue workers that went into the two buildings to rescue people lost their own lives. As I type this it has been nearly two months and the debris is still smoking. Bodies are still being pulled out and the death toll is still unsure of. It is estimated to be anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 people. The official death toll for the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 was 2,403. Even then it was an attack against armed military personnel. During the September 11th attack, not one bullet was known to have been fired at the planes, nor the hijackers. The casualties on civilians and rescue workers far outweigh that of the military personnel killed.

Being as the American Afghanistan War (name uncertain) and the War On Terrorism is still going on I will leave it at that for now. It's not like you need this site to tell you what is going on when you could just turn on your TV, or check out any news sites on the internet like CNN.COM. After the war is officially over, which looks to be no time soon I will update this some more.