![]() Worse, as the Orlando massacre reminded us, the world has become more populated by those who want to exploit those gaps, including those living among us-and who, in the United States, can easily obtain military-grade weapons. But we have not plugged some of the most threatening security gaps. It’s harder for terrorists to get into the country, and harder for them to pull off something spectacular if they do. But not without a series of extravagant boondoggles along the way.Īre we safer? Yes, we’re safer from the kind of orchestrated attack that shocked us on that September morning. Have we succeeded in toughening up what overnight became known as “homeland security”? Absolutely. This is the story of the first 15 years of how we have dealt with that newfound fear-how we have confronted, sometimes heroically and sometimes irrationally, the mechanics, the politics, and the psychic challenges of the September 12 era.Ĭheck out more from this issue and find your next story to read. “I stood in the street and looked up at the Sears Tower, fearing it might be a target, too,” he told me in a recent email exchange, adding, “I remember rocking Sasha to sleep that night, wondering what kind of world our daughters were going to grow up in.” He continued, “With nearly 3,000 people killed in the places where we lived our daily lives, there was a feeling that our homeland was truly vulnerable for the first time.” Not just to disease, tornadoes, accidents, or criminals, but to the kinds of enemies that had always threatened others but never us.īarack Obama remembers that after the second plane hit, he left the Chicago building that housed his state-Senate office. It left a stench that New Yorkers could smell weeks later as remains continued to be recovered from the ashes. This massacre hit the center of our government and blasted away part of our most iconic skyline. ![]() It was the first sustained attack on American soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which was a far-off military base. Fifteen years ago this September 11, 19 terrorists, using four jetliners as guided missiles, killed 2,977 people-and enveloped the country in fear.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |