[交流] September 11 Attacks

                        September 11 Attacks
      The September 11 attacks (also called September 11th or 9/11) refers to a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda on the USA on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger plans. The hijackers crashed two of airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on purpose, killing everyone on board and many others who worked in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, and destroyed buildings nearby and damaged others. The hijackers crashed the third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, which is just outside of Washington, D.C.. It’s a pity that there were no survivors from any of the fights.
      Totally, 2993 people, died in the attacks, the hijackers included. The majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 countries. In addition, some people died of lung disease because of long exposure to dust when the World Trade Center’s collapsed.
      The incident is the second attacks which has caused significant casualties in America’s history after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. The incident is the most serious terrorist attacks in human history by far. The U.S. government’s condemnation of the incident received the sympathy and support from most countries; there are various memorial activities held all over the world to commemorate the victims in the incident.
      The United States responded to the attacks by launching a “War on Terrorism”, invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored Al-Qaeda terrorism legislation and enacting the USA PATRIOT Act. Many other countries also strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. Some American stock exchanges stayed closed for the rest of the week following the attack, and posted enormous losses upon reopening, especially in the airline and insurance industries worth of office space caused serious damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan.