Post 9/11 Disaster

Victoria Streeter

M. Brannigan

PHI 382

Final Research Paper: 9/11

May 3, 2012

The United States has been subject to several terrorists groups throughout history. The most prominent of these groups is Al Qaeda; a Muslim terrorist group who seeks to attack the U.S. Due to their religious beliefs against foreign countries intervening in their society. The largest disastrous attack that they executed on the United States was on September 11th 2001. On this day, thousands of lives were lost due to the hijacking of four American planes. This day will be forever known as one of the greatest tragedies in American history. As a result, this disaster paved the way for many changes in American beliefs in the government, and their views on patriotism. The event also altered the economic stability of our country and has caused political conflict as well.

The Soviet – Afghan war occurred in December of 1979 and lasted until February of 1989. During this war the United States supported Islam against the over take of their country. At the end of the war the Soviet Union backed out of Saudi Arabia. In the Muslim world Saudi Arabia is considered to be the holy land. A land that Islamist extremists, such as Osama Bin Laden, consider sacred. Bin Laden was also the leader of Al Qaeda; a Muslim terrorist group. According to the belief of the terrorist group, their goal was to fight “jihad”, or holy war across the world and to keep out foreign influence from their country. After the Soviet-Afghan war, Saudi Arabia was looking for protection from Iraqi influence, here Bin Laden offered Al Qaeda as protection but instead Saudi Arabia took the help of the United States. On August 7th, 1990 American troops were sent to Saudi Arabia. This is where Bin Laden’s enmity for the United States begun.

According to Bin Laden’s religion the allowance of unreligious American soldiers to come to the sacred land (Saudi Arabia) was like soiling the holy land. The group plans and carries out...