THE TWIN TOWERS

TWIN TOWERS
 INTRODUCTION

• In this work we will talk about an important fact that changed north
americans’ life forever, and not just them, it was a big deal this hard situation.
As we all know, a Tuesday of September 11, 2001 the famous Twin Towers
attack occurred. This attempt killed a lot of people, and destroyed a complex
infrastructure, the World Tarde Center (WTC). So let’s get into deep of this
topic!
 GENERAL OBJECTIVES

• Discover all the mysteries of the Twin Towers attack and learn
details about it.
 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• Learn how many people did Twin Towers attack affected?

• Analyze who was the real guilty of the attack?
• What was the reason of the attack?
 SEPTEMBER 9/11 ATTACKS

• The September 9/11 attacks were a series of

four coordinated terrorist attacks by the
Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the
United States on the morning of Tuesday,
September 11, 2001. The attacks killed 2,996
people, injured over 6,000 others, and
caused at least $10 billion in property and
infrastructure damage and $3 trillion in total
costs.
 PASSENGERS

• Four passenger airliners operated by two major U.S. passenger air

carriers (United Airlines and American Airlines)—all of which
departed from airports on the northeastern United States bound for
California—were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists.
Two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175,
were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World
Trade Center complex in New York City. Within an hour and 42 minutes, both
110-story towers collapsed, with debris and the resulting fires causing partial
or complete collapse of all other buildings in the World Trade Center complex,
including the 47-story 7 World Trade Center tower, as well as significant
damage to ten other large surrounding structures.
 FLIGHT 77

• . A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the
Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of
Defense) in Arlington County, Virginia, leading to a partial
collapse of the building's western side. The fourth plane, United
Airlines Flight 93, initially was steered toward Washington, D.C.,
but crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the
hijackers. It was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law
enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343
and 72 killed respectively.
Suspicion for the attack quickly fell on Al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the
attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the
Taliban, which had harbored al-Qaeda. Many countries strengthened their anti-
terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence
agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden,
initially denied any involvement, in 2004 he claimed responsibility for the attacks . Al-
Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in
Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for
almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U.S.
military in May 2011.
 CONSEQUENCES

• The destruction of the World Trade Center and nearby infrastructure caused serious
damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan and had a significant effect on global
markets, closing Wall Street until September 17 and the civilian airspace in the U.S.
and Canada until September 13. Many closings, evacuations, and cancellations
followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade
Center site was completed in May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired within a
year. On November 18, 2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the
World Trade Center site. The building was officially opened on November 3, 2014.
Numerous memorials have been constructed, including the National September 11
Memorial & Museum in New York City, the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County,
Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in a field in Stonycreek Township near
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
 OSAMA BIN LADEN

• Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later
admitted involvement. Al Jazeera broadcast a statement by bin
Laden on September 16, 2001, stating, "I stress that I have not
carried out this act, which appears to have been carried out by
individuals with their own motivation." In November 2001, U.S.
forces recovered a videotape. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking
to Khaled al-Harbi and admits foreknowledge of the attacks.
 BIN LADEN WORDS

• On December 27, 2001, a second Bin Laden video was released. In the video, he
said, "It has become clear that the West in general and America in particular have
an unspeakable hatred for Islam. ... It is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against
America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at
forcing America to stop its support for Israel, which kills our people. ... We say that
the end of the United States is imminent, whether Bin Laden or his followers are
alive or dead, for the awakening of the Muslim umma (nation) has occurred", but he
stopped short of admitting responsibility for the attacks. The transcript refers several
times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims.
• Shortly before the U.S. presidential election in 2004, in a taped statement,
Bin Laden publicly acknowledged al-Qaeda's involvement in the attacks on
the U.S. and admitted his direct link to the attacks. He said that the attacks
were carried out because, "we are free ... and want to regain freedom for our
nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours."
• Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon . Another video obtained by Al Jazeera in
September 2006 shows bin Laden with Ramzi bin al-Shibh, as well as two
hijackers, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri, as they make preparations
for the attacks. The U.S. never formally indicted Bin Laden for the 9/11
attacks but he was on the FBI's Most Wanted List for the bombings of the
U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya . After a 10-
year manhunt, Bin Laden was killed by American special forces in a
compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011.
 KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED

• The journalist reported that, in April 2002, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

admitted his involvement, along with Ramzi bin al-Shibh. The 9/11
Commission Report determined that the animosity towards the United States
felt by Mohammed, the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks, stemmed from
his "violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel".Mohammed
was also an adviser and financier of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
and the uncle of Ramzi Yousef, the lead bomber in that attack.
 MOHAMMED

• Mohammed was arrested on March 1, 2003, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by

Pakistani security officials working with the CIA, then transported to
Guantanamo Bay and interrogated using methods including waterboarding.
During U.S. hearings at Guantanamo Bay in March 2007, Mohammed again
confessed his responsibility for the attacks, stating he "was responsible for
the 9/11 operation.
 OTHER MEMBERS

• Other al-Qaeda members

• In "Substitution for Testimony of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed" from the trial of
Zacarias Moussaoui, five people are identified as having been completely
aware of the operation's details. They are bin Laden, Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Abu Turab al-Urduni, and Mohammed Atef.
To date, only peripheral figures have been tried or convicted for the attacks.
 MOTIVES FOR 9/11

• In Bin Laden's November 2002 "Letter to America", he explicitly stated that al-Qaeda's
motives for their attacks include:

• U.S. support of Israel

• Support for the "attacks against Muslims" in Somalia
• Support of Russian "atrocities against Muslims" in Chechnya
• Pro-American governments in the Middle East (who "act as your agents") being against
Muslim interests
• Support of Indian "oppression against Muslims" in Kashmir
• The presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia
• The sanctions against Iraq
 1) SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCES

In addition to the myriad other motivations for their actions,** al-Qaeda wanted
to send a message with their attacks. In short, they wanted to send the
message that the U.S. seat of military power (Pentagon), economic power
(World Trade Center), and political power (U.S. Capitol Building) were all
vulnerable to the ruthlessness and scope of al-Qaeda's ideology.
 2) ECONOMIC RAMIFICATIONS

• 2. Economic Ramifications

Al-Qaeda recognized that a successful attack had the potential to shock the
U.S. economy. As we saw, the collapse of the buildings in New York City
contributed to a stock market crash as well as lasting economic pain
centralized in the heart of American commerce.
 3) BODY COUNT

• 3. Body Count
Al-Qaeda was interested in producing mass casualties with their attacks. This
motivation drove them away from low-impact attacks on places like the White
House. Even a successful attack on the White House would have a limited body
count and, frankly, a marginal chance of killing the president. It was more attractive
for al-Qaeda to attack locations which had very high civilian populations ... namely
office buildings at mid-morning.

• After the attacks, Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri released additional video tapes and
audio tapes, some of which repeated those reasons for the attacks. Two particularly
important publications were bin Laden's 2002 "Letter to America” and a 2004 video
tape by Bin Laden.
• Bin Laden interpreted Muhammad as having banned the
"permanent presence of infidels in Arabia". In 1996, bin Laden
issued a fatwā calling for American troops to leave Saudi
Arabia. In 1998, al-Qaeda wrote, "for over seven years the
United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the
holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches,
dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its
neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a
spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim
peoples."

• In a December 1999 interview, bin Laden said he felt that

Americans were "too near to Mecca", and considered this a
provocation to the entire Muslim world. One analysis of suicide
terrorism suggested that without U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia,
al-Qaeda likely would not have been able to get people to
commit to suicide missions.
• In the 1998 fatwā, al-Qaeda identified the Iraq sanctions
as a reason to kill Americans, condemning the "protracted
blockade" among other actions that constitute a
declaration of war against "Allah, his messenger, and
Muslims ."The fatwā declared that "the ruling to kill the
Americans and their allies – civilians and military – is an
individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any
country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate
the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque of Mecca from
their grip, and in order for their [the Americans'armies to
move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to
threaten any Muslim."
• Bin Laden claimed, in 2004, that the idea of destroying the towers had first
occurred to him in 1982, when he witnessed Israel's bombardment of high-
rise apartment buildings during the 1982 Lebanon War. Some analysts,
including Mearsheimer and Walt, also claim that one motivation for the
attacks was U.S. support of Israel.In 2004 and 2010, bin Laden again
connected the September 11 attacks with U.S. support of Israel, although
most of the letter expressed bin Laden's disdain for President Bush and Bin
Laden's hope to "destroy and bankrupt" the U.S.
 OTHER MOTIVES

• Other motives have been suggested in addition to those stated by bin Laden and al-
Qaeda, including western support of Islamic and non-Islamic authoritarian regimes
in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan and northern Africa, and the presence of
western troops in some of these countries . Some authors suggest the "humiliation"
resulting from the Islamic world falling behind the Western world – this discrepancy
rendered especially visible by the globalization trend and a desire to provoke the
U.S. into a broader war against the Islamic world in the hope of motivating more
allies to support al-Qaeda. Similarly, others have argued that 9/11 was a strategic
move with the objective of provoking America into a war that would incite a pan-
Islamic revolution
PLANNING OF THE ATTACKS

• The idea for the attacks came from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who first
presented it to Osama bin Laden in 1996 Bin Laden provided leadership and
financial support for the plot, and was involved in selecting participants . Bin
Laden initially selected Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, both experienced
jihadists who had fought in Bosnia. Hazmi and Mihdhar arrived in the United
States in mid-January 2000. In spring 2000, Hazmi and Mihdhar took flying
lessons in San Diego, California, but both spoke little English, performed poorly
with flying lessons, and eventually served as secondary – or "muscle" –
hijackers.
• In late 1999, a group of men from Hamburg, Germany arrived in Afghanistan,
including Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Ziad Jarrah, and Ramzi bin al-
Shibh. Bin Laden selected these men because they were educated, could
speak English, and had experience living in the West. New recruits were
routinely screened for special skills and al-Qaeda leaders consequently
discovered that Hani Hanjour already had a commercial pilot's license.
Mohammed later said that he helped the hijackers blend in by teaching them
how to order food in restaurants and dress in Western clothing.
 HIJACKERS

• In spring 2001, the secondary hijackers began arriving in the United States.
In July 2001, At met with Bin Al-Shibh in Spain, where they coordinated
details of the plot, including final target selection. Bin Al-Shibh also passed
along bin Laden's wish for the attacks to be carried out as soon as possible.
Some of the hijackers received passports from corrupt Saudi officials who
were family members, or used fraudulent passports to gain entry
 FLIGHTS

• American Airlines Flight 11

• United Airlines Flight 175
• American Airlines Flight 77
• United Airlines Flight 93
 EVENTS
• At 8:46 a.m., five hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the
northern façade of the World Trade Center's North Tower (1 WTC), and at
9:03 a.m., another five hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the
southern façade of the South Tower (2 WTC). Five hijackers flew American
Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.A fourth flight, United Airlines
Flight 93, under the control of four hijackers, crashed near Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, at 10:03 a.m. after the passengers
fought the hijackers. Flight 93's target is believed to have been either the
Capital or the White House.
• Some passengers and crew members who called from the aircraft using the
cabin airphone service and mobile phones provided details: several hijackers
were aboard each plane; they used mace, tear gas, or pepper spray to
overcome attendants; and some people aboard had been stabbed. Reports
indicated hijackers stabbed and killed pilots, flight attendants, and one or
more passengers
 DESTROYING TIME
• Three buildings in the World Trade Center collapsed due to
fire-induced structural failure. The South Tower collapsed at
9:59 a.m. after burning for 56 minutes in a fire caused by the
impact of United Airlines Flight 175 and the explosion of its
fuel. The North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. after burning for
102 minutes. When the North Tower collapsed, debris fell on
the nearby 7 World Trade Center building (7 WTC), damaging
it and starting fires. These fires burned for hours,
compromising the building's structural integrity, and 7 WTC
collapsed at 5:21 p.m. The west side of the Pentagon
sustained significant damage
• The attacks created widespread confusion among news
organizations and air traffic controllers. Among the
unconfirmed and often contradictory news reports aired
throughout the day,
 CASUALITIES

• The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,996 people and the injuries of more
than 6,000 others. The death toll included 265 on the four planes (from which
there were no survivors), 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the
surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon. Nearly all of those who perished
were civilians with the exceptions of 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement
officers, 55 military personnel, and the 19 terrorists who died in the attacks.
After New York, New Jersey lost the most state citizens, with the city of
Hoboken having the most citizens that died in the attacks. More than 90
countries lost citizens in the September 11 attacks. The attacks of
September 11, 2001, marked it the worst terrorist attack in world history and
the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the attack on Pearl
Harbor on December 7, 1941.
 PENTAGO

In Arlington County, Virginia, 125 Pentagon workers lost their

lives when Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the
building. Of these, 70 were civilians and 55 were military
personnel, many of them who worked for the United States
Army or the United States Navy. The Army lost 47 civilian
employees, six civilian contractors, and 22 soldiers, while the
Navy lost six civilian employees, three civilian contractors, and
33 sailors. Seven Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) civilian
employees were also among the dead in the attack, as well as
an Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) contractor.
Lieutenant General Timothy Maude, an Army Deputy Chief of
Staff, was the highest-ranking military official killed at the
Pentagon
 In New York City, more than 90% of the workers and visitors who died
in the towers had been at or above the points of impact. In the North
Tower, 1,355 people at or above the point of impact were trapped and
died of smoke inhalation, fell or jumped from the tower to escape the
smoke and flames, or were killed in the building's eventual collapse.
The destruction of all three staircases in the tower when Flight 11 hit
made it impossible for anyone above the impact zone to escape. 107
people below the point of impact died as well.
• In the South Tower, one stairwell, Stairwell A, was left intact
after Flight 175 hit, allowing 14 people located on the floors of
impact (including one man who saw the plane coming at him)
and four more from the floors above to escape. New York City
911 operators who received calls from individuals inside the
tower were not well informed of the situation as it rapidly
unfolded and as a result, told callers not to descend the tower
on their own. In total 630 people died in that tower, fewer than
half the number killed in the North Tower. Casualties in the
South Tower were significantly reduced by some occupants
deciding to start evacuating as soon as the North Tower was
struck.
 RESCUE
• Urban Search and Rescue Task Force German Shepherd dog
works to uncover survivors at the site of the collapsed World
Trade Center after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
• At least 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the
burning towers (as exemplified in the photograph The Falling
Man), landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings
hundreds of feet below. Some occupants of each tower above
the point of impact made their way toward the roof in hope of
helicopter rescue, but the roof access doors were
locked.[citation needed] No plan existed for helicopter rescues,
and the combination of roof equipment and thick smoke and
intense heat prevented helicopters from approaching. A total of
411 emergency workers died as they tried to rescue people
and fight fires. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lost
343 firefighters, including a chaplain and two paramedics. The
New York City Police Department (NYPD) lost 23 officers. The
Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) lost 37 officers.[141]
Eight emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics
from private emergency medical services units were killed.
• Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank on the 101st–105th
floors of the North Tower, lost 658 employees, considerably
more than any other employer.[143] Marsh Inc., located
immediately below Cantor Fitzgerald on floors 93–100, lost 358
employees,[144][145] and 175 employees of Aon Corporation
were also killed.[146] The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) estimated that about 17,400 civilians were
in the World Trade Center complex at the time of the attacks.
Turnstile counts from the Port Authority suggest 14,154 people
were typically in the Twin Towers by 8:45 a.m. Most people
below the impact zone safely evacuated the buildings.
 TIME AGO
• Weeks after the attack, the death toll was estimated to be over
6,000, more than twice the number of deaths eventually confirmed.
The city was only able to identify remains for about 1,600 of the
World Trade Center victims. The medical examiner's office collected
"about 10,000 unidentified bone and tissue fragments that cannot be
matched to the list of the dead".[157] Bone fragments were still being
found in 2006 by workers who were preparing to demolish the
damaged Deutsche Bank Building. In 2010, a team of
anthropologists and archaeologists searched for human remains and
personal items at the Fresh Kills Landfill, where seventy-two more
human remains were recovered, bringing the total found to 1,845.
DNA profiling continues in an attempt to identify additional victims.
The remains are being held in storage in Memorial Park, outside the
New York City Medical Examiner's facilities. It was expected that the
remains would be moved in 2013 to a repository behind a wall at the
9/11 museum. In July 2011, a team of scientists at the Office of Chief
Medical Examiner was still trying to identify remains, in the hope that
improved technology will allow them to identify other victims. On
March 20, 2015, the 1,640th victim was identified. There are still
1,113 victims who have not been identified.
 REBUILDING

• On the day of the attacks, New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani stated: "We will
rebuild. We're going to come out of this stronger than before, politically stronger,
economically stronger. The skyline will be made whole again."[340]
• The damaged section of the Pentagon was rebuilt and occupied within a year of
the attacks.[341] The temporary World Trade Center PATH station opened in late
2003 and construction of the new 7 World Trade Center was completed in 2006.
Work on rebuilding the main World Trade Center site was delayed until late 2006
when leaseholder Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey agreed on financing.
 RECONSTRUCTION

• The construction of One World Trade Center began on April

27, 2006, and reached its full height on May 20, 2013. The
spire was installed atop the building at that date, putting 1
WTC's height at 1,776 feet (541 m) and thus claiming the title
of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. One WTC
finished construction and opened on November 3, 2014.
• On the World Trade Center site, three more office towers are
expected to be built one block east of where the original towers
stood. Construction has begun on all three of these towers.
 HIJACKERS ON 9/11 ATTACK

• The hijackers in the September 11 attacks were 19 men affiliated with al-
Qaeda. 15 of the 19 were citizens of Saudi Arabia, and the others were from
the United Arab Emirates (2), Egypt and Lebanon. The hijackers were
organized into four teams, each led by a pilot-trained hijacker with three or
four "muscle hijackers" who were trained to help subdue the pilots,
passengers, and crew.
 DAMAGE

• Along with the 110-floor Twin Towers, numerous other buildings at the World Trade
Center site were destroyed or badly damaged, including WTC buildings 3 through 7
and St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. The North Tower, South Tower, the
Marriott Hotel (3 WTC), and 7 WTC were completely destroyed. The U.S. Customs
House (6 World Trade Center), 4 World Trade Center, 5 World Trade Center, and
both pedestrian bridges connecting buildings were severely damaged. The
Deutsche Bank Building on 130 Liberty Street was partially damaged and
demolished some years later, starting in 2007. The two buildings of the World
Financial Center also suffered damage.
• The Deutsche Bank Building across Liberty Street from the World
Trade Center complex was later condemned as uninhabitable
because of toxic conditions inside the office tower, and was
deconstructed. The Borough of Manhattan Community College's
Fiterman Hall at 30 West Broadway was condemned due to
extensive damage in the attacks, and is being rebuilt. Other
neighboring buildings (including 90 West Street and the Verizon
Building) suffered major damage but have been restored. World
Financial Center buildings, One Liberty Plaza, the Millennium Hilton,
and 90 Church Street had moderate damage and have since been
restored. Communications equipment on top of the North Tower was
also destroyed, but media stations were quickly able to reroute the
signals and resume their broadcasts.
• The Pentagon was severely damaged by the impact of American Airlines
Flight 77 and ensuing fires, causing one section of the building to
collapse. As the airplane approached the Pentagon, its wings knocked
down light poles and its right engine hit a power generator before
crashing into the western side of the building. The plane hit the Pentagon
at the first-floor level. The front part of the fuselage disintegrated on
impact, while the mid and tail sections kept moving for another fraction of
a second. Debris from the tail section penetrated furthest into the
building, breaking through 310 feet (94 m) of the three outermost of the
building's five rings.
 HEALTH ISSUES

• Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris containing more than 2,500

contaminants, including known carcinogens, were spread across Lower
Manhattan due to the collapse of the Twin Towers.[263][264] Exposure to the
toxins in the debris is alleged to have contributed to fatal or debilitating
illnesses among people who were at ground zero.[265][266] The Bush
administration ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue
reassuring statements regarding air quality in the aftermath of the attacks,
citing national security, but the EPA did not determine that air quality had
returned to pre-September 11 levels until June 2002.
 ECONOMY

• The attacks had a significant economic impact on United States and world
markets. The stock exchanges did not open on September 11 and remained
closed until September 17. Reopening, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJIA) fell 684 points, or 7.1%, to 8921, a record-setting one-day point
decline.[279] By the end of the week, the DJIA had fallen 1,369.7 points
(14.3%), at the time its largest one-week point drop in history. In 2001
dollars, U.S. stocks lost $1.4 trillion in valuation for the week.
 CULTURAL

• The impact of 9/11 extends beyond geopolitics into society and culture in
general. Immediate responses to 9/11 included greater focus on home life
and time spent with family, higher church attendance, and increased
expressions of patriotism such as the flying of flags.[290] The radio industry
responded by removing certain songs from playlists, and the attacks have
subsequently been used as background, narrative or thematic elements in
film, television, music and literature. Already-running television shows as well
as programs developed after 9/11 have reflected post-9/11 cultural
concerns.[291] 9/11 conspiracy theories have become social phenomena,
despite lack of support from expert scientists, engineers, and historians.[292]
9/11 has also had a major impact on the religious faith of many individuals;
for some it strengthened, to find consolation to cope with the loss of loved
ones and overcome their grief; others started to question their faith or lost it
entirely, because they could not reconcile it with their view of religion.
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