- The geopolitical situation in the Middle East has become more radical with Western interference in the 20 th century. From the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the Gulf War, the climate of extreme tension favored the development of a radical Islamism for which the United States, taking part in all these conflicts, appears as an enemy.
- On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists from a still little known group:al-Qaeda, hijacked 4 airliners in the United States and caused more than 3,000 deaths. Two planes are launched on the twin towers of the World Trade Center which host the New York Stock Exchange, one reaches the Pentagon, the headquarters of the defense, and the fourth misses its objective, Washington DC, the federal capital.
- Television channels around the world stop their programs to broadcast live images of the attacks. The targets were chosen for symbolic reasons, representing everything that radical Islamism blames the West for. The United States is attacked on its territory for the second time in its history, and the extent of the damage deeply shocks the world opinion, but it is the consequences which will be the most determining for the world.
September 11, 2001
Characters
Osama Bin Laden
George W. Bush
Procedure
At 8:46 a.m. US time, the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. More than 1,700 people are already there.
9:03 a.m.:A second plane hits the south tower.
9:37 a.m.:A third airliner crashes into a Pentagon wing.
9:59 a.m.:The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses, and several other buildings around it are destroyed. The north tower falls 30 minutes later.
10:03 am:the passengers of the fourth hijacked plane have rebelled against the terrorists:it crashes in the wild and does not reach its objective, the capital.
At the end of the day, George W. Bush, the President, delivers an emotional speech to the United States and the world. For the first time, there is talk of the war on terrorism.
Consequences
- The consequences of 9/11 are numerous and decisive. The Manichean vision of the neoconservatives prevails, and the United States which thinks of itself as the "warriors of Good" will try to impose its vision of democracy on the "axis of Evil":the ethnocentric vision of the "Clash of Civilizations” (Huntington) wins.
- In order to strengthen public security, Congress agrees to pass laws in which citizens give up many freedoms in order to fight against terrorism, security measures are increasing.
- This is how the United States is launching the War on Terror. Public enemy No. 1 becomes Osama Bin Laden. Under various false pretexts, the United States went to war in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, increasingly lonely.
- September 11, 2001 had a profound impact on people's minds, in the United States and around the world:it was a real turning point in history.