9781422286005

War in Afghanistan: Overthrow of the Taliban and Aftermath

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As the airplanes approached New York, the hijackers looked for the city’s tallest buildings—the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. To many people, the towers were a symbol of America’s economic strength. At 8:46 A . M ., just as many people were arriving at work, one of the jets passenger jets crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower. It exploded, and burning jet fuel caused an enormous fire. Some people who were in lower floors were able to evacuate, but hundreds more were trapped inside the building. Initially, most of the shocked observers thought the plane crash was a tragic accident. They would soon learn that this was not the case. At 9:03 A . M . the second jet crashed into the South Tower. By then it was clear that the morning’s events were not accidents but acts of terrorism. As news spread, Americans were glued to their television sets. But the attack wasn’t over. At 9:37 A . M . a third plane, hijacked shortly after taking off from Washington, D.C., crashed into the Pentagon—the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense and a symbol of America’s military strength—in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane was also hijacked, but when passengers contacted their relatives and emergency personnel by cell phone and were informed of the earlier terrorist incidents, they realized that their plane, too, must be headed toward an important American institution, perhaps even the White House. Heroically, the passengers overwhelmed the hijackers and forced a crash landing in an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND IN THIS CHAPTER

Islamist— a person or group that supports the idea of government based on Muslim laws and doctrines, and is typically hostile toward the influence of Western societies and ideas. pariah— an outcast; a person or state that is hated by other people. traumatize— to cause someone to become upset in a way that leads to severe emotional problems.