In November 1995, a car bomb exploded outside the office of the U.S.

airliners while they were flying over the Pacific. In early 1995, police in Manila uncovered a plot by Ramzi Yousef to blow up a dozen U.S. helicopters, killing 18 and wounding 73 in an incident that came to be known as 'Black Hawk down.' Years later it would be learned that those Somali tribesmen had received help from al Qaeda. In October 1993, Somali tribesmen shot down U.S. Plans by Omar Abdel Rahman and others to blow up the Holland and Lincoln tunnels and other New York City landmarks were frustrated when the plotters were arrested. In February 1993, a group led by Ramzi Yousef tried to bring down the World Trade Center with a truck bomb. Although Usama Bin Ladin himself would not emerge as a signal threat until the late 1990s, the threat of Islamist terrorism grew over the decade. Islamist extremists had given plenty of warning that they meant to kill Americans indiscriminately and in large numbers. The 9/11 attacks were a shock, but they should not have come as a surprise. government fail to anticipate and prevent it? What can we do in the future to prevent similar acts of terrorism? Why did they do this? How was the attack planned and conceived? How did the U.S. In groups of four or five, carrying with them only small knives, box cutters, and cans of Mace or pepper spray, they had hijacked the four planes and turned them into deadly guided missiles. Most spoke English poorly, some hardly at all. Though four had training as pilots, most were not well-educated. Some had been in the United States for more than a year, mixing with the rest of the population. This immeasurable pain was inflicted by 19 young Arabs acting at the behest of Islamist extremists headquartered in distant Afghanistan. The death toll surpassed that at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. More than 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center 125 died at the Pentagon 256 died on the four planes. It had been aimed at the United States Capitol or the White House, and was forced down by heroic passengers armed with the knowledge that America was under attack. At 10:03, a fourth airliner crashed in a field in southern Pennsylvania. The Twin Towers, where up to 50,000 people worked each day, both collapsed less than 90 minutes later.Īt 9:37 that same morning, a third airliner slammed into the western face of the Pentagon. Steel, glass, ash, and bodies fell below. At 9:03, a second airliner hit the South Tower.

The nation was unprepared.Īt 8:46 on the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States became a nation transformed.Īn airliner traveling at hundreds of miles per hour and carrying some 10,000 gallons of jet fuel plowed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. September 11, 2001, was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United States. We have come together with a unity of purpose because our nation demands it. Ten Commissioners-five Republicans and five Democrats chosen by elected leaders from our nation's capital at a time of great partisan division-have come together to present this report without dissent. We present the narrative of this report and the recommendations that flow from it to the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the American people for their consideration. Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

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