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Billions around the world tuned in to incredulous images of the first hijacked plane crashing into the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York. As a second hijacked plane crashed into the remaining tower, simultaneous news reports of a similar chaos in Washington, D.C. unfolded. The ensuing crash of a third hijacked plane into the Pentagon and a fourth in Pennsylvania, and the subsequent collapse of the World Trade Center - ultimately collapsing an additional seven buildings in its general vicinity - completed the immediate reign of terror. The nation, and the entire world for that matter, then went into an utter state of shock. |
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Within the first 48 hours, rescue authorities came out in full force, the Federal Aviation Authority grounded all flights without further notice, the United States Congress voted to hand over 20 billion U.S. dollars to the relief effort (later expanded to include an additional 40 billion U.S. dollars), President Bush condemned the terror attacks as "acts of war" and claimed that states harboring terrorists should also be targeted in a campaign to stamp it out, NATO immediately pledged their support to the United States, and finally, Osama bin Laden - the infamous and most wanted terrorist on the face of this earth - was named prime suspect. |
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Condolences flooded in from capitals spanning the globe, condemning the acts of terror and expressing grief for the unthinkable. Even those countries traditionally critical of the United States and their foreign policy - Libya, Cuba and even Iran - immediately conveyed their condemnations of the acts of terror and their sorrow for America's loss. The unspeakable numbers of innocent civilians - Americans, Brits, Aussies, Japanese, Arabs, etc. - feared dead in the horrific carnage had represented a blow to civilized society that was undeniably evil. |
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Yet, what are we to do now? As the shock sets in, the grieving begins in earnest, the investigation unearths more information, and the ramifications - political, economic and otherwise - of what has happened and what may still happen are uncovered, countries and peoples the world over find themselves in an even more exasperated position. Simply put, what people know and feel should be done is "much easier said than done".
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