Many cases worldwide see citizens embark on state violence such as picketing to demand changes in policies or how economic management, among others. Non-state violence opposes the concept above, given the perpetrator must have independence from the state government. September 11 attacks that had far-reaching effects are an example of a non-state violence event.
The September 11 attacks, which involved coordinated terrorist attacks, was a non-state violent event meted against the United States of America by Al-Qaeda. As a non-state violence occurrence, the political mayhem involved a group independent from the state government. Often referred to as 9/11, the September 11 attacks occurred during the mentioned date in 2001 (Aspray & Cortada, 2019). Al-Qaeda, an extremist Islamist terrorist group founded by Osama bin Laden and other volunteers, instigated the adverse event. The September 11 attacks involved the hijacking of four passenger planes from northeastern American airports headed for California. The unfortunate event “involved approximately 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists with two planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, crashing North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex located in Lower Manhattan” (Aspray & Cortada, 2019). The third plane, “American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon located in Arlington County, Virginia” (Aspray & Cortada, 2019). The final plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was to land in Washington, D.C., but passengers on board overcame the hijackers leading to its crash into a field located in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania.
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The extreme positions held by the Al-Qaeda terrorist group led to the enrolling of the event with allegations of wrongdoing by the American government. Osama bin Laden who leads the group, initially denied involvement despite suspicion and intelligence linking the tragedy to Al-Qaeda. He would later claim responsibility for the attacks citing many issues as the reasoning behind the retaliation, with the main one being the U.S. supporting Israel (Hamwey et al., 2020). Al-Qaeda contended that America backed Israel in the wake of Israel's Lebanon invasion, which infuriated the terrorist group. The leader equally cited U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia as another reason behind launching the attack. According to the terrorists, America infringed on their freedoms and rights, especially the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia as a sovereign state. They wanted to regain their liberty as a people and nation, which, allegedly, America prevented by meddling in the decisions and operations of Saudi Arabia. The final reason communicated by Osama regarded sanctions against Iraq. Therefore, hard stances by the Al-Qaeda group led to the 9/11 attacks.
The event targeted influential persons accompanied by highly significant institutions to hurt Americans and subject the leadership to meeting their demands. As mentioned earlier, the hijackers altered the plane destinations targeting “the World Trade Center complex, the Pentagon, and Washington D.C. (presumably the White House or only the U.S. Capitol)” (Aspray & Cortada, 2019). The World Trade Center complex is a highly significant place overseeing global exchanges and ensuring the international trading operations respect international laws and standards. Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, is highly revered. Lastly, for the most probable crash destinations in Washington D.C., the White House as the official premise of America's head of state explains its reverence. The region equally has a large population, which a hit would lead to many casualties. The crashed destinations illuminate who the target from the terrorist attack was and the reasoning behind the adversity. Al-Qaeda targeted innocent Americans, the economy, and influential individuals to cripple the nation to do their bidding.
The 9/11 attacks had short-term and far-reaching direct and indirect consequences on the American people, policies, and global operations. According to Jordan et al. (2019), "the attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and substantial long-term health consequences, in addition to at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage." The fatalities included passengers on board the plane upon hijacking. Emergency service providers equally suffered from the attack, with 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers losing their lives. The extensive World Trade Center complex collapsed on the property damage, causing significant damage for surrounding structures that were equally large. Pentagon partially collapsed while the four planes suffered an injury. The terrorist attack equally hurt many who watched in dismay as the tragedy unfolded, sending shockwaves across the nation. The devastating aftermath led to many traumatic experiences by many. Other effects include hurting the economy of the affected states and industries with fear of grappling consumers. Lastly, the attack led to tightening security laws and standards to prevent the reoccurrence of such an event primarily by strengthening anti-terrorism legislation.
The articles read for the class somewhat explain the chosen event by highlighting such adversities' reasoning; however, the 9/11 case is unique, thereby demanding further study. The readings generally explain what non-state violence entails and the most likely explanation for them. Despite that, the 9/11 case is unique, which demands further study. The impact of the attack led to its attribution as “the deadliest terrorist attack in human history” (Jordan et al., 2019). The September 11 attacks frightened, startled., and humbled the nation, which explains its uniqueness. Furthermore, the mentioned event led to far-reaching effects in America, transcending to the international community. 9/11 is thereby highly significant considering the scale of impact with such an isolated case requiring an assessment to comprehend the resolutions' thinking. Therefore, the read articles in class do not fully satisfy understanding of the 9/11 attack.
The Al-Qaeda terrorist group instigated the 9/11 attacks, which resulted in many casualties and other far-reaching effects, is an example of a non-state violent event. The case is unique, thereby requires further assessment to demystify any forgettable issue. Such occurrences need the global community to learn from and prevent their reoccurrence.
References
Aspray, W., & Cortada, J. W. (2019). Urban Legends and Rumors Concerning the September 11 Attacks. In From Urban Legends to Political Fact-Checking (pp. 41-76). Springer, Cham.
Hamwey, M. K., Gargano, L. M., Friedman, L. G., Leon, L. F., Petrsoric, L. J., & Brackbill, R. M. (2020). Post-traumatic stress disorder among survivors of the September 11, 2001 world trade center attacks: a review of the literature. International journal of environmental research and public health , 17 (12), 4344.
Jordan, H. T., Osahan, S., Li, J., Stein, C. R., Friedman, S. M., Brackbill, R. M., ... & Farfel, M. R. (2019). Persistent mental and physical health impact of exposure to the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Environ Health , 18 (1), 12.
