SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

September 11, 2001

Abstract

In this paper I am going to discuss some salient features of the great terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in United States. No doubt these are the most terrible attacks on the sovereignty of US in its history. Starting with introduction I will proceed with my discussion to some important aspects of this terrible attack and then the conclusive statements to end my paper.

September 11, 2001

Introduction

Community has never agreed on what exactly constitutes terrorism. As a result, international law has instead chosen to address specific forms of terrorism, such as hijackings and abduction of foreign dignitaries, and to introduce measures to ensure international cooperation to combat and investigate terrorist incidents. For example, four UN conventions address aircraft and airport seizure or sabotage (1963; 1970; 1971; 1988), and a recent resolution issued by the UN Security Council requests UN-member states to report on their counterterrorism measures within 90 days (Resolution 1373, issued September 28, 2001).

Many in the international community would like to see one definition and law supplant the dozen-odd conventions and protocols governing hijackings, use of nuclear materials, hostage seizure, and other manifestations of terrorism. Without a law defining terrorism, there can be no enforcement of the would-be law. Terrorism has gained mention with respect to international laws on war crime-hostage taking, civilian attacks, and so forth. In this vein, terrorism specialist Alex P. Schmid in 1992 proposed to the UN Crime Branch a simple definition of terrorism: a peacetime equivalent of war crime. To a country engaged in revolution or conflict, however, this definition might turn a respected "freedom fighter" into a wanted international criminal. Developing countries have similarly held that criminalizing terrorism protects the incumbent, the colonizer, the imperialist-the developed countries.

Discussion

A terrorist is a radical who employs terror as a political weapon. They usually organize with other terrorists in small cells, and often use religion as a cover for terrorist activities. A terrorist today is more than likely going to be a Muslim of Islamic religion. The term Muslim refers to one who believes in the Shahadah (the declaration of faith containing the basic creed of Islam) and embraces a lifestyle in accord with Islamic principles and values. The leader of the terrorist group usually tells his followers that they will be rewarded in heaven for their acts of courage, whether it is a suicide bombing or just a simple protest. The followers believe this because that is how their religion forces them to act.

Over the past couple of years, there has been an uprising in terrorist attacks. The main incident that triggered these attacks was the 9/11 attacks. The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of suicide attacks against the United States conducted on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. According to the official 9/11 Commission Report, nineteen men affiliated with Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, a loose network of Sunni Islamist terrorists, simultaneously hijacked four U.S. domestic commercial airliners[1]. Two were crashed into the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New ...