On This Day: September 11th - World Trade Center Attacked

Early in the Morning on September 11th, 2001 Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations attacked the United States by hijacking two commercial Boeing 767 airplanes and flew them into the two World Trade Centers in New York City. On the morning of tragedy and confusion, many people were trying to figure out what was happening. When the first plane hit the North tower of the World Trade Center, many thought it was an accidental plane crash but then speculations of an attack on America was confirmed when another plane hit the other World Trade Center tower and the Pentagon. It was revealed that a Saudi Arabian Islamic extremist named Osama Bin Laden and a terrorist group named Al Qaeda had planned and carried through with the terrorist attack.

As millions of people watched on television and listened on the radio, two two towers collapsed from damage to their infrastructures. This attack was the first major attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor which happened on December 7th, 1941. This attacked also rivaled the death toll of Pearl Harbor. Over 3,000 men, women and children lost their lives on the morning of September 11th. Soon after the attack the Bush administration went to war with Afghanistan and the created the "War on Terror". In this War on Terror, Suddam Hussein was considered a threat to the world and in 2003 America went to war with Iraq. The war has been very controversial because Osama Bin Laden was never caught and he fled Afghanistan while many troops were moved to Iraq.

"Attack on America." 2008. The History Channel website. 13 Sep 2008, 07:50 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=7017.