Global Issues is the study of events that impact communities, or even the environment, that can sometimes end catastrophically (United Nations). Often times global issues require the communication and cooperation of other countries. Global issues fall under a large spectrum known as international relations. International relations are defined as the relationships among the world’s states governments, the connection of states with other actors, and the connection of states with other social relationships (Merriam-Webster). There are several different levels of global issues that provide names for global events, one of them being terrorism. One of the most prominent acts of terrorism in the United States was 9/11, and its impact was felt around the world.
September 11, 2001 brought the first attack on U.S. territory since Pearl Harbor in 1941. Nineteen militants involved under the rule of the Islamic extremist group, known as Al-Qaeda, hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets across the United States (BBC). Two of the main planes were flown directly into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the third plane hit the pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the final plane crashed in a random field in Pennsylvania, its actual destination still unknown. A total of three thousand people, were killed in the attacks, including the extremists flying the planes (BBC). The event was quickly ruled as an act of terrorism. This event sparked conversations about terrorism and how to combat it, not just in the United States, but around the world too. At the time, Al-Qaeda was operating under the orders of a Saudi fugitive, Osama Bin Laden. The terrorist group was working against the United States because of their involvement in supporting Israel, their involvement in the Persian Gulf War, and America’s continued military involvement in the Middle East (Globalissues.org).
The salience of an event is how prominent and important the event was for society. 9/11 was an event that was felt around the world (Merriam-Webster). With such a large-scale event that affected so many different groups of people, there were hundreds of different opinions on why it happened, how the situation was the be handled after the fact, and what could be done to prevent more events like 9/11 in the future. Despite everyone having a different opinion to write about, there was one factor that every article had in common.; 9/11 was in fact an act of terrorism on the United States, and there was no way to deny it (The Guardian). Every piece of literature on the event paints a picture of a tragedy from an extremist hate group that took place in the United States, but no one intended to worry because America has always been strong, and the country would rally together to get past the awful time. Only few articles touched on how America’s actions played a part in the hatred from the Middle East or how if the situation was handled the wrong way, after the fact, America would be responsible for creating thousands of new Bin Ladens (Galloway, The Guardian). 9/11 was also referred to as a turning point in history by several articles (DW).
Terrorism is defined as the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, primarily used on civilians, in the pursuit of political aims (NATO). While the definition has changed over the years as acts of terrorism themselves have changed, the three main characteristics of terrorism have stayed the same (The Guardian). The use of violence, some political objective, and the intention of instilling fear in order to achieve their goal, are the three characteristics that define an act of terror. The international relations theory of terrorism fully describes the events that took place on 9/11. Describing the acts as terrorism helps make sense of the event on a formal level, but citizens of the United States will always struggle to make sense of the events on a personal level. No matter how the event was described, no explanation made it less of a tragedy. Associating 9/11 as an act of terrorism offers a complete analysis of the event because it meets all three characteristics of terrorism. Crashing four, hijacked suicide plans into various monuments across the country and killing thousands of innocent citizens meets the characteristic of the use of violence. There are several different ideas about the exact political objective of 9/11, but the attackers had a political objective in mind and that objective was directly related to the United States involvement in the Middle East. The final characteristic of terrorism is instilling fear. 9/11 instilled fear in not just United States citizens, but across the world too. Fear for the country and their sense of nationalism, fear of Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden’s power, fear for US troops still in the Middle East, fear of more terroristic acts occurring in the United States, and fear for the growth of terrorism across the globe.