Yes

by Brock M. Hunter

Created on: September 14, 2010   Last Updated: September 17, 2010

The United Nations defines terrorism as, "An anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby—in contrast to assassination—the direct targets of violence are not the main targets."  Religiously oriented terrorist groups usually attempt to inflict the maximum number of casualties possible due to their apocalyptic views and that they are not concerned about retaliation because they are usually trying to provoke their enemies into overreacting and expanding the conflict.

Terrorists also seek to employ symbolism in their methods, by attacking targets that represent the established order that they oppose, such as financial institutions, government offices and airlines, as well as carrying out their attacks on commemorative or memorable dates.  Some of the primary motivations behind conducting such attacks include producing widespread fear, attracting media attention, affecting their target economy and influencing government and political decisions.  What makes a terrorist act effective is not the initial act of violence itself, but rather the public and government reaction that that act of violence.

With this in mind, if we look back and analyze the events of that day as well as the reactions and events that have occurred over the nine years since, it would be very hard to answer that question any way other than yes. 

The events that took place on the day of 11 September 2001 clearly model the United Nations definition of terrorism.  There were repeated acts of violence—attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York, a strike on the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the failed suspected strike on the U.S. Capital Building in Washington DC; all of which clearly created anxiety in both our government and our populace. These attacks were carried out by clandestine members of the group Al-Qaeda, which was largely unknown outside of specific circles at the time, but has since become widely recognized in every household of the US and likely the world.  The attacks themselves were largely motivated by idiosyncratic and political reasons—Al-Qaeda’s dislike of the American way of life and an attempt to reduce the freedoms we Americans enjoy.  The final part of the definition also applies.  The nearly 3000 unfortunate victims of these attacks were not the main targets, but simply a means to an end.  The real intended targets were the American government and population that remained to react to these criminal acts.

The Al-Qaeda attackers also employed the aforementioned symbolism.  First, by choosing targets that represent the heads of various aspects of our country that they dislike.  The strike on the World Trade Center was a strike on our financial markets, economy and fiscal stability.  The attack on the Pentagon was a direct attack at the military leadership of our nation, and the suspected strike on the US Capital Building would have been a direct attack on our nation’s lawmakers.  The second use of symbolism was the weapon they choose to employ in these attacks.  Their use of commercial airliners as missiles instilled a fear in the general populace against that form of transportation, evidenced by the extreme reduction in airline passengers immediately following the attacks and the continued struggles of the industry to recover.  The final, and arguably the most important, piece of symbolism they employed was the date of their attack; September 11, which in abbreviated form—911—was already associated with emergency in our collective consciousness, and therefore designed to make that day more memorable as time passed.

The stated goal of producing overreactions in their enemies, have without a doubt come to pass in many forms.  The US dubbed "War on Terror" which began a month later with the invasion of Afghanistan, then later Iraq, still continues to this day.  Throughout the wars, our government regularly employed methods and tactics reminiscent of Nazi Germany—secret prison camps, questionable interrogation techniques akin to torture, and holding newly dubbed "Enemy Combatants" indefinitely absent due process.  Then there were also the increased safety checkpoints in our airports and other entry points to our country with persons being subject to "random searches" which reportedly appeared widely non-random as unfairly targeting persons suspected of being of Middle Eastern descent.  Another reaction by our government was the passage and implementation of the US PATRIOT Act, which greatly decreased public freedoms by increasing the powers of law enforcement with regards to surveillance and intelligence gathering within our own borders, as well as giving the Treasury department increased powers to monitor financial transactions, and providing greater power for immigration authorities with regards to deportations.  Though the legislation was initially passed with an expiration date of 31 December 2005, many of the provisions have since become permanent.

The American public’s reactions to the attacks have been far worse.  In the days immediately following the attacks countless hate crimes—including vandalism, arson, assault, shootings, harassment, and threats—were reported against American citizens and immigrants of Middle Eastern descent, including at least one murder; Balbir Singh Sodhi was fatally shot on September 15, 2001.  Several attacks on Islamic religious buildings were reported and at least one attack on a Hindu temple.  The nine years since has not seen any decrease in public discrimination either.  Recently there was an incident of a New York taxi driver who was savagely attacked by his passenger after being asked if he was Muslim.  There was the threat by a Florida clergyman to burn copies of the Muslim Quran on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which though he later decided not to, the mere announcement of it sparked several deadly riots worldwide.  Then there is also the continuing heated debate over the planned building of an Islamic community center and Mosque mere blocks away from the site of the attacks in New York, which has even brought to light the prejudices in high profile people.  Donald Trump offered to purchase the land from its current owners to put an end to the debate by not allowing the center to be built on that property.  And all of these things occur in a country that was built upon the beliefs of religious tolerance and freedom for all.

There can be no question that the terrorist attackers accomplished their mission by drastically altering the American way of life, the only question is: is our society better or worse as a result?

References:

http://www.terrorism-research.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act

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