8 Years since September 11, 2001

[DarthJacen]

The day the earth stood still and watched as war fell upon a peaceful world a war that is still going on in Afghanistan. I would like us all to take a moment to reflect on the lives lost that day, and remember why we are still fighting the al-Queda, today.

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This video was put together three years ago.

 

 

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[Darth Avlectus]

Amen. We shall never forget.

 

I hoper everyone takes a bow of silent reverence and closes their eyes to honor the memory of those lost that day.

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Refelcting: I was actually awake when it happened (over here in CA it was 5:46AM). The newscast about the first plane. Being told by my family "Quick look! A plane crashed into one of the twin towers!" I watch for several minutes. I turned around to go into my room and get ready for the day and I hear: "The other tower has been hit too! THIS WAS NO ACCIDENT!"

 

I reply "Invasion..."

 

The entire neighborhood wakes up to the news. I was going to head off to school and to my TV broadcast zero period (impressive feat lookin' like a HS senior when you're 106 as I am ) and I believe I still have original footage on tape from that fateful morning. The school was broadcasting live the whole day and the tape wasn't needed. It was actually a cloudy day. Everyone seemed silent and solemn that day. An air of shock was everywhere. Disbelief.

 

God bless those lost and god bless the USA.

[adamqd]

I was 20 yrs old, in a music store in Nottingham England, with my Friend and his older brother, the weather was nice and and there were plenty of shoppers out that day, I was wearing a black Jacket and Jeans... I'll never forget where I was when I heard the news, a tragic, tragic day.

My heart goes out to all the families touched by this horrific attack, and all the service men and women who gave they're lives that day, the Allied forces still striving to keep this threat from emerging again.

[JediAthos]

There aren't many times where I'll quote him but this is one of them:

 

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “

 

-President George W. Bush

 

I was on active duty with the Navy on September 11th and I will certainly never forget that day as long as I live.

[Astor]

I was in my school library in an English lesson. I saw some of the teachers were watching the television, and at first I thought they were watching a disaster movie. The soon turned it off when pupils started watching it, telling us to go back to work.

 

I didn't know what awas happening until two hours later - I was only 13, so I didn't quite understand the whole thing, but I knew it was bad, and that something big was happening.

 

I was on active duty with the Navy on September 11th and I will certainly never forget that day as long as I live.

 

It's one of those unforgetable days, like the assassination of JFK - everybody can remember exactly what they were doing that day, where they were, and what they felt. I still find that even eight years on, it's still chilling to watch those videos, and everything I felt 8 years ago today comes flooding back.

[Drunkside]

I come here to put my neck on the line with this and say that i have no idea what i was doing back when it happened and it didnt even feel like a big deal. And nowadays it bores me to death to have only 9/11 documentaries on tv for the whole week.

 

Come on, do your worst!

[jonathan7]

I was 16, and at school, and remember first hearing on the bus on the way home... At first I was like whats the World Trade Centre, however seeing the footage I knew what the twin towers were. I got back after the first plane had hit, but before the second plane had hit, and obviously before the towers collapsed. I remember the sheer horror of watching the towers collapse. One of my internet buddies was I'm pretty sure one of the victims - he worked in the WTC high up, and I haven't heard from him since 9/11

 

I come here to put my neck on the line with this and say that i have no idea what i was doing back when it happened and it didnt even feel like a big deal. And nowadays it bores me to death to have only 9/11 documentaries on tv for the whole week.

 

Come on, do your worst!

 

There are two reasons for the above, a) You are probably too young to remember (I'm guessing your 14-15, which means you would have been 6-7 at the time) and b) Being a teenager your going through the I'm the centre of the world phase (I certainly did at 13-15) hence you not caring...

[SW01]

I was 12, and in a History lesson. Our room was just next door to the Sixth-Form Common room, where they had been watching the news when the report was put on theat the first aircraft had struck the tower. One of the Prefects came in to tell our teacher about it (one of those teachers who is on friendly terms with most of Upper 6th - especially Prefects). Again, I had just arrived back at home when the news of the second one came through. When they collapsed - we just sat dumbfounded, really. I had seen reports of terrorist attacks in this country a few times, but the scale of destruction on the 11th of September - it seemed unbelievable.

 

I echo adamqd's sentiment - my thoughts are with those grieving today, and those still fighting against those responsible.

[Totenkopf]

Was at work the morning it happened, on the 20th +/- flooor of a building. We got out early that day. Being as it wasn't the first time one of the Towers was attacked by terrorists (back in '93 in one of the garages), it struck me that it was kind of surprising no one had attempted something like this before. Afterall, there was a stretch of time in the 70s-80s where it seemed people were hijacking airliners left and right. Between that and Clinton's weak response to terrorist attacks against American assets abroad during his 8 years in office, I'm not surprised something like that finally happened. An ugly lesson about not underestimating your enemy's resolve and keeping up your own.

[jonathan7]

Between that and Clinton's weak response to terrorist attacks against American assets abroad during his 8 years in office, I'm not surprised something like that finally happened.

 

I don't think Clinton can be blamed for 9/11 - indeed neither Clintons or Bush's different approaches to the problems, seemed to have secured the world with regards terrorism.

[FaZzZa99]

The day the earth stood still and watched as war fell upon a peaceful world a war that is still going on in Afghanistan. I would like us all to take a moment to reflect on the lives lost that day, and remember why we are still fighting the Taliban, today.

 

thought it was Al-Qaeda who were responsible

[Totenkopf]

Not so much the point as he was largely ignoring them and I think that that played a part in them becoming much bolder as a means to get our attention. Frankly, I don't believe that terrorism is going away anytime soon no matter who is president. Part of the reason for the success of that type of operation is that in order for a "free society" to function fluidly, there are underbellies that can be exploited by a determined foe. All the more true if the intended target isn't expecting anything and its guard is down to non-existent. I'm not directly blaming Clinton for the Towers being chosen as targets or even for divining that those were targets months in advance and then doing nothing. I do believe it's difficult to contend that his policies toward terrorism in his administrations didn't contribute to a sense that America had become weak. As for Bush, there were no more attacks on US soil. You can either attribute that to his agressive response or go the route of the Truthers as to who actually carried out the 9-11 attacks.

[Pho3nix]

...Clinton's weak response to terrorist attacks against American assets abroad during his 8 years in office, I'm not surprised something like that finally happened. An ugly lesson about not underestimating your enemy's resolve and keeping up your own.

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[Shem]

I won't forget that day as well.

[Totenkopf]

.......

 

And that proves? Clinton was tepid in the face of many attacks and preferred a law enforcement approach to handling the terrorists over a more muscular response. But this is now going somewhat far afield of the tributary intent of this thread.

[mimartin]

I don’t really consider the usual Israeli response to terrorist attacks to be weak, yet they are still attacked.

 

There is enough blame to go around in American Foreign policy over the past 64 years for creating the animosity for this type of hatred towards us. Just look at oil and our use of them as disposable weapons in our Cold War battles with the Soviet Union. Either are enough to understand the hatred. However, that does nothing to me to justify their actions. It only muddies the waters of who is truly to blame for such a hideous attack, the terrorist themselves.

 

Those blaming Bush, Clinton or Reagan are just political pundits trying to make political gains by blaming the opposition. In reality all they are doing is disrespecting those innocent lives that perished that day.

[jonathan7]

You can either attribute that to his agressive response or go the route of the Truthers as to who actually carried out the 9-11 attacks.

 

I'd argue that foreign policy had little to do with their not being an attack since, and more to do with the tightening of Airline security which had gotten pretty lax for US domestic flights. IIRC, Clinton also authorised air strikes against Bin Laden to try and and assassinate him in 98.

 

Anyways, this isn't really the topic of this thread, so in honour of those who died we can always create a new thread to debate Foreign Policy of various Administrations.

[mur'phon]

Was 11 years old, just lazing around when, at the end of a news report, the reporter used his a-cat-was-rescued-by-firemen-voice when he presented it. When I finaly reacted, my first thought was: "now I'll be the only one at school who have visited them", not a good reaction, but heck, I was 11.

[Sabretooth]

I was 10. Came back home from a trip to the local supermarket when my sister turned on the TV. I was a big tallest-structures nut and I didn't feel anything, I just thought that whatever was happening was ****ing amazing. It took me months, years to understand the complete ramifications of it, but there, just being honest.

 

I consider it occult that the channel I first caught it on was Pakistan TV, which we actually got on cable back then (roughly 2000-2003 iirc).

[DarthJacen]

thought it was Al-Qaeda who were responsible

 

True, but the Taliban is equally responsible for aiding and abetting them.

[CommanderQ]

I remember watching this as it happened on the TV...I was young, but it's effect was no less traumatizing. I had been studying the Attack at Pearl Harbor at the time, and at that moment, I thought I could relate to how American citizens back then had felt when the peace they had been enjoying was shattered by an unexpected act of war.

 

Still, I probably didn't grasp the full effect for a year or so...

[Trench]

We will remember. I was only 6 at the time, but even then it had me scared. Especially when me and my family lived in the Presidential Towers in Chicago.

[DarthJacen]

Oh, we were already launching Operation Enduring Freedom only a few weeks later on October 11, 2001. And, yes, the Attack on Pearl Harbor came to my mind as well that day.

 

As for where I was, 17 and a senior in high school, I was up really early like I was for all of my marching band practices. I was at band practice on the field when my director came over the radio that his brother had just radioed in that his plane had been grounded. (the Pennsylvania attack was underway) At that moment, I looked up and there was not a plane in the sky, which if you ever live in Phoenix get used to air traffic. (Shem you were there) We finished practice by going out back to the band room and turning on the Television. The entire school day was nothing but television reports. That Friday, (the attack happened on a Tuesday) being the principal trumpet player in the marching band, Channel Three came down and captured me playing taps for a flag ceremony. (Shem, if you were watching TV 3 around 8:15, that was me!) After that, I watched the news every night all the way through Operation Enduring Freedom.

 

And we, NATO, are still fighting the war today! Keep it up Allies!

[Hawkstrong16]

I was 8, and even though I didn't really understand, it had me scared... I was sitting at my kitchen table doing school work, as I'm homeschooled I was at home and my dad had the news on.... I remember that my sister got home from school early that day.. She came in and asked if we had heard what happened... My mom and three other siblings and I were still watching the news. We live in PA. My dad is an air traffic controler. He wasn't supossed to work that day but I remember that he went anyway. When he got home he said things were pretty much hell.

 

I will always remember..

[DarthJacen]

You were in Pennsylvania at the time? Did you see United Airlines Flight 93?