14 DAY TRIAL // Today marks the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when as many as 3,000 people – give or take a handful – died in as many as four coordinated terrorist strikes launched by Islamic group al-Qaeda against the US.
Despite the fact that it's been well over a decade since these attacks and since efforts are constantly being made to boost national security, folks in the US rightfully feel anything but safe.
That's because there's a whole new gang of terrorists in town, and these guys don't mess around. They behead people on camera, and they have no trouble killing civilians, women and children included.
They are all grouped together under one really fancy name, ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. Now, al-Sham is a term used to refer to the region spanning from southern Turkey through Syria to Egypt.
This region includes Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan, and English-speaking folks call it the Levant. Hence, this terrorist group is sometimes also referred to as ISIL.
Whatever their name, what's important is that these guys are bad to the bone, and not in a glamorous, Hollywood-like kind of way. They're plain vicious. It's as simple as that.
Now, before we move on to discussing why people in the US feel threatened by ISIS and think that another terrorist strike is imminent, let's take some time to talk about the 9/11 attacks.
Today is, after all, the 13th anniversary of the September 11 catastrophe, and simply mentioning these attacks just won't do. We owe it to the 3,000 people who died on that day to properly remember and document the facts.
September 11, 2001: four hijacked planes this way come
On September 11, 2001, 19 members of terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger flights and purposely crashed the planes in suicide attacks. As mentioned, they killed about 3,000 people. Besides, they caused $10 billion (€7.7) billion worth of property and infrastructure damage.
Of the four planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 smashed into the North and the South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City, causing them to collapse.
A third aircraft, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth, United Airlines Flight 93, ended up in a field close to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers put up a fight and stopped it from hitting Washington, DC.
Apart from thousands of civilians, 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers died in the aftermath of these attacks, while trying to help victims. These figures make 9/11 the deadliest incident ever for firefighters and officers in the US.
It wasn't until 2004 that the founder of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, simply known as Osama bin Laden, claimed responsibility for this series of terrorist attacks. He managed to remain hidden for years after admitting to having ordered the strikes, but was found and killed by US troops on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan.
Following the terrorist attacks, the Pentagon was pieced back together in about a year, and, by May 2002, the cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed. Come November, 2006, the US broke ground on the construction of the One World Trade Center on the site of the Twin Towers.
So, what's the deal with terrorist group ISIS?
The thing about ISIS or ISIL or whatever you want to call this bunch of sacks of human waste (pardon the not-so-posh choice of words) is that, in its early days, it used to be an al-Qaeda group in Iraq. In fact, it was started by an al-Qaeda leader by the name of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Here's how it all played out: in 2004, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi sets the basis for an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq. In 2006, he dies in a US strike and, in the same year, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, his successor, introduces the world to the so-called Islamic State in Iraq.
Come April 2013, Islamic State in Iraq merges with Syrian group Jabhat al-Nusra, and the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham is born. The newly formed group starts to gain popularity and gradually grows to encompass more members.
Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri tries to dissolve it and go back to the good old times when there was just the Islamic State in Iraq, but fails. Apparently, it is true what they say that, once you go ultimate jackass, you can never go back. In February 2014, al-Qaeda and ISIS officially sign their divorce papers.
The problem is that, although they are no longer as two peas in a pod – better said, ISIS is no longer a pea in al-Qaeda's pod – the two groups want the same thing: gain religious authority over all Muslims across the world and bring most of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under their political control.
The US decides to meddle in, looks to keep itself safe
This past Wednesday, President Barack announced that, despite the fact that ISIS did not constitute an obvious threat to the US, the country was to launch a bombing campaign against ISIS militants, starting with those in Syria.
“We will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists,” President Obama said in a statement, as cited by The Guardian. “I will not hesitate to take action against Isil in Syria, as well as Iraq,” the US leader went on to add.
The President sees this operation as no more and no less than a means to make sure that, as it continues to grow and gain more supporters, ISIS will not become a threat to US security. Kind of like squashing a bug before it gets to take a bath in nuclear waste and turn into a three-headed, fire-spitting monster.
Then again, there are some who say that this bombing campaign is less like squashing a bug and more like poking an already pissed-off bear. Simply but, some US residents feel that the country would do well not to get involved and instead mind its own business.
Is another terrorist attack on the US really imminent?
As mentioned, there are some people who strongly believe that the US should not pick on ISIS. However, a recent survey has revealed that the majority of people, i.e. over 60%, feel that at attack against this terrorist group is in the country's best interest, and that troops should bomb ISIS sooner rather than later.
The same survey found that 47% of the folks currently living in the US now feel less safe that they did prior to the 9/11 attacks, and that the fact that ISIS is steadily gaining ground is the reason. But are these people right in feeling this way, or are they just being paranoid?
Well, it turns out that these guys and gals really are on to something, and Homeland Security officials are ready and willing to back up their fears. In a nutshell, ISIS is a threat to the US because this terrorist group has managed to recruit dozens of Americans and Europeans.
Having trained with ISIS and being the right nationality so as not to have legal trouble, should they decided to book a flight to a destination of their choice, these folks could organize strikes in the US, maybe even in other corners of the world as well.
“We only have estimates of how many Westerners are in ISIS ranks, and potentially thousands that we do not know who they are,” said Michael McCaul with Homeland Security in a recent statement. “Terrorists could be just one visa-free flight away from arriving in the United States,” added Candice Miller, also with Homeland Security.
“Though we currently have no credible information to indicate that ISIL is planning to attack the homeland, we remain concerned in the long term that their access to Westerners will allow them to plan and coordinate attacks in the US,” Deputy Undersecretary Jennifer Lasley also wished to stress, as cited by The New York Post.
So, yes, people in the US are right to worry about a potential terrorist attack. Granted, there is no reason to go as far as to say that a strike is imminent, but the fact remains that ISIS needs to be stopped, and that it's not just the people directly threatened by this terrorist group that should put up a fight.