With their (partial) charge in fuel estimated forty-six thousand liters each, the aircraft, two Boeing 757s and two Boeing 767 were used as incendiary bombs fly. Of the four hijacked planes, only the United Airlines Flight 93 did not reach its target, crashing into a disused open pit mine in Pennsylvania as he headed towards the capital.

Some passengers and crew were able to make phone calls, mostly from Flight 93, indicating the presence of hijackers armed with knives retractable blade (box cutter in English), they used to threaten or kill aircrew and passengers during the takeover of the aircraft . A witness also reported the use of a chemical type of tear gas used in the American 11 flight to take passengers away from the first class . The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks against the United States has determined that two of the hijackers had recently purchased knives multipurpose Leatherman . Bomb threats were made on three planes (not on American 77) .

Diversions

The thumbnails below show the routes of diversion as reconstituted by the ratio of the " 9 / 11 Commission "

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge

Path of Flight 11 taking off from Boston Logan

Path of Flight 175 takeoff from Boston Logan

Path of Flight 77 takeoff from Washington Dulles

Path of Flight 93 takeoff from Newark Liberty

The air traffic control in the United States is entrusted to the Federal Aviation Administration , this oversight is provided by twenty-two area control centers (Air Route Traffic Control Center), including Boston, New York, Washington, Cleveland and Indianapolis in North-east. The various control centers are under the direction of Air Traffic Control System Command Center to centralize the information . Military surveillance of the airspace of North America is, for its part, assigned to the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command). It consists of several areas of supervision NEADS (Northeast Air Defense Sector) for the Northeast United States.

In February 2002, the NTSB publishes journeys by flight AA11 , UA175 , AA77 and UA93 . The aircraft trajectories are based on data collected by the regional control centers, the airports John F. Kennedy and Washington-Dulles and by the 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron. In addition to the information recorded by the black boxes of Flights UA93 and AA77 found in the rubble of the crash.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four airliners, two Boeing 767s and two Boeing 757 , were hijacked by nineteen terrorists in order to crash it against highly symbolic places of the United States. The four airliners were to take off between 7 am and 8 pm 45 10, but they faced with delays ranging from ten to forty-one minutes. And the Flight 11 took off at 7 pm 59, Flight 175 to 8 h 14, the Flight 77 at 8 pm 20 and Flight 93 to 8 h 42 .

After the takeover by the bombers, Flight 11 was maintained during thirteen minutes in one direction (the Northwest) that estranged him from his goal. This choice is found for flight 175 with a detour over the New Jersey to return to Manhattan from the south. This trait is also shared by flights UA93 and AA77: the lateness of the takeover of the aircraft (after twenty-six to forty-five minutes) resulted in a significant distance from their targets.

Flight AA 11

Boeing 767 of American Airlines Flight 11 similar.

The American Airlines Flight 11 , a Boeing 767 carrying eighty-one passengers and eleven crew members, took off at 7 hrs 59 minutes late with fourteen of the Logan International Airport in Boston in Massachusetts. It was destined for Los Angeles in California .

The strument was hijacked about 8 am 14, after fifteen minutes of flight by the Egyptian Mohammed Atta and the Saudi al-Suqami Satam , Waleed al-Shehri , Wail al-Shehri and al-Omari Abdulaziz present among the passengers . During the hijacking, Betty Ong, flight attendant, the company alerted American Airlines hijacking of . The control center of Boston began to inform the chain of command to 8 h 28 starting with the FAA's New England Regional Operations Center and the FAA Command Center latter then informed the FAA headquarters at 8 am 32. The control center then alerted the Boston Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) at 8 am 38 or eighteen minutes after the first alarm. This was the first information received by the military about the hijacking of a plane the morning of September 11 . American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north face of the North Tower (1WTC) of the World Trade Center at 8 am 46, after thirty-two minutes of diversion.

Flight UA 175

Boeing 767 for United Airlines Flight 175 is similar to.

The United Airlines Flight 175 , a Boeing 767 carrying fifty to six passengers and nine crew members, left the Logan International Airport in Boston at 8 pm with sixteen 14-minute delay. It should also reach Los Angeles .

At 8: 45 pm, after a half hour flight, Marwan al-Shehhi , Mohand al-Shehri , Fayez Banihammad , Ahmed al-Ghamdi and Hamza al-Ghamdi , Saudi five passengers, diverted the aircraft. Ten minutes later, an air traffic controller alerted the control center in New York from diverting the flight , then 9 H02, it alerted the FAA Command Center . At 9 h 03, is eighteen minutes after taking control of the aircraft by terrorists on United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south side of the South Tower (2WTC). Over two hundred people were killed instantly. At the same time the control center in New York alerted air defense (NEADS) of diversion of the flight .

Flight AA 77

Boeing 757 of American Airlines Flight 77 similar.

At 8 h 20, American Airlines Flight 77 , a Boeing 757 with fifty-eight passengers and six crew members, took off with ten minutes late to the International Airport Washington-Dulles at Dulles in Virginia , near Washington, DC , to Los Angeles .

After a half hour flight, the plane was diverted to 8 h 53 by Hani Hanjour , Nawaf al-Hazmi , Salem al-Hazmi , Khalid al-Mihdhar and Majed Moqed, five Saudis who were among the passengers. At 8 am 56, recently cut the transponder device . The FAA headquarters was alerted to the hijacking of Flight 25 at 9 am, twenty-seven minutes after his disappearance. Then at 9 h 34, NEADS was notified at the same time the plane began a turn of 330 degrees before it crashed in western Pentagon at 9 h 37, after forty-four minutes of diversion. The crash killed seventy-four people aboard Flight 77 and a hundred and twenty-five people in the Pentagon.

Flight UA 93

Boeing 757 for United Airlines Flight 93 similar.

At 8 h 42, United Airlines Flight 93 took off with forty-one minutes late because of morning traffic dense enough for the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey near New York City. Its destination San Francisco . It carries six crew members and thirty-seven passengers.

Flight 93 was hijacked by the Saudis Ziad Jarrah , Saeed al-Ghamdi , Ahmed al-Haznawi and Lebanese Ahmed al-Namiet to 9 h 30. Two minutes later, one of the terrorists told the radio that there was a bomb on board. The message was intercepted by the control center in Cleveland, who immediately alerted the FAA Command Center, the latter informed the FAA headquarters at 9 h 34 . At 9 h 40, the transponder was turned off. At 9 h 57, the Flight 93 passengers revolted against terrorists . At 10 h 3, after thirty-three minutes of diversion, the United Airlines Flight 93 crashed southeast of Pittsburgh in Somerset County in Pennsylvania as he headed towards the capital Washington, DC. There were no survivors.

Reactions of air defense

The procedures governing the coordination between the Civil Aviation and Aerospace Defense Command North American Command (NORAD) in place since the 1960s. On the morning of September 11, fourteen fighters were available to protect the airspace of the contiguous United States .

The attacks have lasted less than two hours, the first hijacking began at 8 am 19 on the AA flight 11 and the last hijacked airliner crashed at 10 h 3, one hundred and four minutes later. The various diversions have lasted between eighteen and forty-three minutes. None of the fighters have been implemented has been able to interfere with the flights hijacked .

NORAD has argued that this major bankruptcy protection system of airspace was due to the time taken to transmit the theft incidents (24 and 39 minutes for flights AA11 and AA77) or non-transmission . Taking data from NORAD, the Kean Commission explained that the military had been warned just minutes before the impact of Flights 11 and 77, and after the impact for others. However, choices made by NORAD raising questions. According to the testimony of 13 September by General Myers , confirmed the news conference by Vice President Dick Cheney , 16, no fighter would have been implemented before the impact of Flight 77 against the Pentagon (9 h 37 ). The NORAD timeline, published on 18, indicated that hunters took off at 8 am 9 am 44 and 30. According to the Kean Commission , the first fighters, F-15 from 101st Fighter Squadron of the Massachusetts ANG 52 took off at 8 am, thirty-eight minutes after the hijacking of Flight 11, of Otis , near Boston, far from two hundred and forty kilometers.

The first fighters were taking off on F-15 from the Air National Guard.

After they had climbed in altitude and flew at Mach 1.4 in the direction of John F. Kennedy International Airport, they took a holding pattern off Long Island while waiting to know the whereabouts or the airliners they were intercepted because they, transponders are disconnected, had disappeared from the screens used for air traffic control , they were 114 km from New York when Flight 175 crashed into the south tower. Aprs avoir atteint New York 9 h 11 , ils furent affects patrouiller l'espace arien new-yorkais. Meanwhile, NORAD fighters had launched three F-16 from the base of Langley , located 210 km south of Washington. That of Andrews , fifteen kilometers from the capital, including three fighters F-16 taking only ammunition training involved an exercise in North Carolina this morning ^, a href = "% C3% Aide:R A9f% C3% A9rence_incompl% C3% A8te" alt = "Help: Reference incomplete"> . During the two years preceding the attacks, NORAD conducted exercises in which hijacked airliners were used against various targets, including the WTC . Moreover, the intelligence services of several countries, including Europe, had several months ago warned their U.S. counterparts for a preparation of hijackings of civilian aircraft in the territory of the USA .

At 9 h 45, Transport Canada triggers the operation yellow ribbon after the FAA closed the airspace of the United States, blocking ground planes to fly away to Canada and international flights from Europe and Asia. All commercial flights to the United States were canceled (and all international flights flying in their direction diverted to Canada), and airports in Los Angeles and San Francisco closed. The four thousand five hundred civilian aircraft while in flight are forced to land in emergency and civil aviation remains pinned to the ground until September 14 .

The DEFCON 3 was triggered at 10 h 53

The U.S. Navy announced 51 to 14 hours to deploy two aircraft carriers and other ships from the Norfolk naval base off New York and Washington and a carrier battle group off the coast of Los Angeles.

About two hours after the last crash, hundreds of fighters patrolling U.S. airspace, and since September 14, an operation called Noble Eagle to provide air cover for United States 24 hours 24. This has cost forty billion euros for its first seven years and "use" serious personal and material

Among the military units deployed as reinforcements to the scene of disaster, a unit of warfare of the National Guard of the United States was responsible for analyzing the air to determine if pathogens were widespread. Alerting few minutes after the second impact, it confirmed at 20 h 30 that risks in this area .

Impact and Damage

Diagram showing what floors the planes hit the twin towers of World Trade Center.

About seventeen thousand four hundred people were in the towers when disaster struck and most of them had the opportunity to evacuate prior to destruction . It was the second attack involving the complex since its commissioning, the first attack dating from 1993.

WTC1

At 8 h 46 (local time) (13 h 46 UTC ), the Flight 11 crashed almost perpendicularly at its center the north-east face of North Twin Tower , its inclination (25 ) resulting in a grip on five floors (93 to 97). Driven by an estimated speed of 710 km / h, the aircraft left its mark in the front part (35 meters to 48 meters wide), wing tips incurring only superficial damage. The damage to the external structure were quantified at thirty-six poles cut, or 60% of the 60 exterior columns of the north side of the tower . Damage to the central structure remain unknown and established (alone, forty-seven poles central bore 60% of the static load). According to the report by FEMA, which takes up the expert opinion expressed on September 11 during interviews, the top of the towers would have moved six to eight feet at the time of impact. But according to the study which followed the engineers sponsored by NIST, the maximum displacement of the south tower (at impact), obtained by simulation, would have been only fifteen inches, the result is confirmed the calculations of Professor Bazant MIT (forty-five centimeters) .

Only a small portion of the landing gear out through the opposite face, after losing about 95% of its energy, and will be found at a street corner some 385 meters . FBI affirms having found near the intact passport of one of the bombers (Satam Al Suqami) . With all the broken elevators and escalators rendered impassable, those located above the affected floors were trapped and smoky.

The damage seen in the lobby of the ground floor, as reported by firefighters (windows and doors blown out elevators, marble wall panels detached) and rescuers (people burned) is usually attributed to kerosene sprayed around the 95 ^th floor, which would have traveled the approximately four hundred meters of an elevator shaft, giving the combustion atmosphere free capacity to produce a powerful shockwave. According to these witnesses, elevators concern were the center, said premises, which served the lower floors and basements.

WTC 2

The flight Flight 175 striking the South Tower.

At 9 h 03, the Flight 175 penetrated through (15 ) south-west face of the south tower, about seven meters from the center. The event has been widely recorded by broadcasters who covered the attack against the North Tower.

According to the report published by FEMA, the speed of the aircraft was estimated at 870 km / h, which gave him 50% more energy than the flight AA11. But, hitting the tower between floors 78 and 83, he left an imprint shorter (26 meter wingspan) despite a greater angle of heel (38 ) at this level because the external structure was (twice) more resistant than at stage 95. The angle of the direction of flight was only half the starboard of the aircraft could not meet the internal structure of the support columns, allowing the engine parts, landing gear and cabin out by the eastern corner of the building and found to be up to four hundred yards away. The plane section twenty-five columns of the outer structure, or 10% of the 240 steel columns external damage which must be added those made in the eastern corner by the output bits of engine and train rights. The impression left by the plane had a surface very similar to that of WTC1. The damage to the central structure are just as unknown as those of the north tower, at least one stairway remained passable.

The Pentagon

The Pentagon on fire shortly after the impact of Flight 77.

At 9 h 38 , the AA77 has penetrated the central part of the west wing of the Pentagon , the plane flying at the estimated speed of 850 km / h. The aircraft penetrated the center of a section in completion of renovation, the exterior has just been reinforced to withstand a terrorist attack (steel studs, cover kevlar ). The row of steel columns were destroyed over a width of about ten meters in height from the ground floor. A range of support columns of concrete floors was also destroyed immediately behind the impact, but also a substantial distance, severed at the base. Hence the collapse of the section of floor for half an hour later. A hundred yards from impact, just in the flight line, a circular hole 2.3 meters in diameter had been made by one of the reactors in the wall of the ring C of the building, marked- above the orifice of a large deposit of waste gas combustion and traces of a shock wave (broken windows). The impact and fire initiated by the fuel that spread rapidly throughout the structure have killed 64 people in the plane and 125 occupants of the Pentagon .

Shanksville

At 10 h 03, Flight 93 crashed into the territory of the town of Shanksville in Pennsylvania , killing all 44 persons on the plane. The aircraft was located about 200 km from the capital Washington, DC (about 20 minutes flight) when it struck the ground at a speed of 933 km / h .

Fire

The Twin Towers in flames after the impact of flight AA11 and UA175.

Instantly released by the bursting of the wings against the facades of the towers, kerosene (about thirty-five thousand gallons by air) with widely spread debris in the direction given by the impacts up highlighted in part by the facade of entry and those opposing flared after numerous short-circuits within buildings and reactors themselves, forming huge balls of fire (burning of fuel and 20%) ranging from yellow to orange (due to the combustion of particles of the element carbon resulting in fires that would move progressively to the depletion of fuels (by NIST, the maximum heat from the combustion of part of Kerosene - 40% - and furniture had reached twenty minutes after the impact ), and the kindling of new materials. This rapid combustion caused a shortage of oxygen, smoke, gray and light response to fireballs, turning black after a quarter of an hour. Nowhere was observed reddening of steel parts (from 700 C), or even break glass (above 600 C), even close loopholes output of aircraft parts which were to have accumulated debris of any kind (furniture, equipment, etc..), reflecting the relative weakness of the fires. Analysed by NIST , the Samples of external beams of floors impacted mostly indicate exposure to a maximum temperature of 250 C, with one exception being a higher temperature, but below 600 C. Calculations made by the agency indicated maximum temperatures of approximately 500 C . These results are consistent with data from experiments conducted by the metal industry where oil fires in parking lots have not been able to heat the steel beams unprotected to over 360 C.

The power of these lights is also much lower than that of fire towers listed as one of the One Meridian Plaza (on eight floors, for eighteen hours) or First Interstate Bank (on five floors for three hours).

As for the effects of these fires, it must be stressed that the role of passive protection fire-fighting is popular in the perspective of "fire" that does not indicate the time during which a building must remain standing, but during the that the fire should be contained in the space where it originated ^WTC1

The fire remained contained in the spaces opposite the impact, with the exception of a sudden appearance on ^the 105th floor who exhibited the emergence of single flames of the building. The collapse of the south tower induced reactivation of fires inside the building (smoke bigger and grayer). The gap left by the impact, putting "on sight" the heart of the building, remained a permanent black hole, indicating the absence of fire at the cage of services.

WTC 2

The angle of impact was that the kerosene from the right wing came out through the facades of three huge fireballs. It followed that the fire was far less consequential than the North Tower and remained very localized at the eastern corner with an unusual phenomenon, however, mentioned by NIST: shortly before the collapse was recorded intense flash of light followed, several minutes during , a flow of molten metal.

At the time of the collapse, the lights gave indications of suffocation, only black smoke is visible, rising from the building. The team of firefighters had reached the ^78th floor had reported the presence of two residual fires and requested the dispatch of nozzles for extinguishing them. A few minutes later, the tower collapsing could be passed before the evacuation order issued by the emergency command post located in WTC 7. At least eighteen people who were in the upper floors had been able to cross easily between the time a disaster area by the stairs of one of three core services (which are grouped columns in the internal structure of support).

WTC 7

Achieved by hot metal debris thrown on its south face (in the eastern third) during the collapse of the north tower, the skyscrapers of forty-seven floors housed a few fires, with flames visible sporadically and partially (levels 11 at 13 and 28 to 30) . In August 2008, NIST issued a report on the collapse of WTC 7 , concluding that the fire was the main cause.

The Pentagon

The fire resulting from the impact was fairly severe but limited to the northern part of the wing hit (in the direction of the axis of flight). Firefighters were unable to 13 h 00 approaching the impact area because of its intensity and was still active eighteen hours later . It was found that the windows were liquefied and a lorry fire in position opposite the heliport at the time of impact, the rear was partially melted ^{Collapse of Towers}

Collapse of the south tower (WTC 2).

At 9 h 58, fifty-six minutes after they reached the south tower collapsed. This is the perplexity expressed by the face of the battalion commander Joseph Pfeffer in his command post, on the ground floor of the north tower, filmed by the brothers Naudet . This is also expressed disbelief in the collection of testimony from the Town Hall . As already intervened during a fire and an attack with explosives, the New York firefighters had a perfect knowledge of the property and believed they were able to sustain such impacts. In fact, John Skilling, head of the team of design engineers of the World Trade Center , said in 1993 that the towers were designed to withstand the crash of a Boeing 707 or DC-8 in fully loaded and flying at 950 km / h (the maximum cruising speed). He added that the impact would result "in only local damage which could cause collapse or substantial damage to the building." Frank Demartini , supervisor of shipyard, which had its offices at 88 ^th floor of the tower North and perished after his decision to help the evacuation of occupants trapped, had said during an interview on 25 January 2001 , the towers could probably sustain multiple impacts of jetliners because of their design. According to these engineers, all the exterior columns on one side of the building, as well as those close to adjacent corners, could be cut even that would not prevent the structure "tube" to continue to fulfill its function perfectly.

At 10 h 28, thirty minutes after the south tower, was his sister who collapsed destroying the Marriott World Trade Center heavily damaged by the collapse of the south tower, and at 17 h 25, the tower WTC7.

A feature common to all three is that they did collapses, as indicated by the ^FAQ # 6 of NIST , the report of the FEMA or the calculations of Professor Bazant (11-12 s, 9-10 s and 6, 3 to 6.5 s, respectively for the towers WTC1, and WTC7 WTC 2), in a time slightly greater than that of a drop in vacuum (8-9 s, 7.5 to 9 s and 6 s), indicating a lack of resistance of plants bearing structures, such as engineering expert in concrete structures Bazant expresses when speaking of the fall of the upper floors in a vacuum tube ^{WTC 2}

A few minutes after the last communication with the team of firefighters who have reached ^the 78th floor, tended to the wounded and about to put two homes remaining, the Fire Chief Ganci received the messenger of the emergency office (OEM) Steve Moscillo. He was shocked to hear that "the buildings were collapsing and needed to evacuate" (interviewed by ABC News, Mayor Giuliani, a member of the OEM, acknowledged that he had only transmit this information and the origin of this projection remains unknown). A few minutes later, the section above the impact bowed to the south, a rotation which resulted in total loss of support of the internal structure, the resistance of the intact part of the external structure (the "tube" ), but lower the damaged area. Then, after an acceleration to an angle of about 25 , this rotation ceased abruptly, leaving room for the development of a huge cloud "eruptive" which progressed to the same throughout the tour until his foot , heavy elements (several tens of tons) is projected at one hundred twenty meters away, the lighter to more than four hundred yards, the contents of floors (cement floors, plaster walls, furniture, equipment, human beings) is reduced to dust or fragments. Most of the remains were found and distributed around the base of the tower and surrounding buildings.

WTC1

Collapse of the North Tower (WTC1).

The collapse of the North Tower was produced with the same characteristics as that of her twin, except that the top part collapsed immediately - without resistance - and so nearly vertical, after the Antenna - supported by the central structure - has hovered at its base and preceded the movement of falling overall. Continuous propulsion remains fragmented and pulverized to the outside (at least 300 000 tons), that is to say that they are not accumulating in piles within the footprint of the tower, is the phenomenon that has ensured the survival of rare survivors (20 people) surprised on the lower floors which are found either on the surface debris , is buried a few meters , allowing most of them (16 people) 's escape the premises immediately or after a few tens of minutes of effort.

WTC 7

More than two dozen witnesses - mostly firefighters - explain that to 16 hours, the evacuation of the building was ordered for the reason that it would collapse. The statements by the owner, Larry Silverstein , indicate that, in agreement with the fire chiefs, the fight against the fires had to be abandoned because of the risk of burning of hydrocarbon reserves located in the lower floors. To qualify the decision he had taken, he used the expression "pull it" (literally "pull" in a nutshell: "draw it" let's pull for it or "we draw" for weekends' ll pull it). The warning is given indicating that the building would collapse. About 17 hours, the BBC television reported that the tower has just collapsed and its reporter calls live on site to talk about it while you can see behind this tower still standing. Only at 17 h 25 that firefighters attended the vertical fall of the building, the central block which overlooked the first peak disappears. A dust cloud developed from the ground up, as is the building going down, as if sinking into the soil, creating a collapse pit aspiration made visible by the driving of fire smoke. Contrary to what was found for the twin towers, the remains were left in a heap in the footprint of the building, the walls of the lower lying inland. The media coverage of the collapse was very low and the Kean Commission report does not mention the tower WTC7.

Relief Operations

Fire Department rescuers at the site of World Trade Center.

In less than three hours, more than 200 units of firefighters from New York City Fire Department (FDNY) were mobilized on the location of attacks, half of the units of firefighters in New York .

The collapse of the Twin Towers caused the deaths of 343 firefighters from New York City Fire Department , 23 officers Police of New York City Police Department officers and 37 of the Port Authority Police Department. Among the people in the Twin Towers, only about twenty people survive their crashes, including 16 people who were in the stairwell B of the North Tower at the ^20th floor .

After the collapse of the towers, more than ten thousand rescuers, relief workers and volunteers were present on the site of the World Trade Center looking for survivors.

00 to 20 hours the officer of the Port Authority Police Department Will Jimeno is found alive from the rubble of the WTC, he was in the underground corridor linking the Twin Towers. It will extract 00 to 23 h .

The next morning a little after 7 h 00 John McLoughlin, the Port Authority officer John McLoughlin Police Department who was with Will Jimeno is extracted alive from the rubble. 30 to 12 h, Genelle Guzman-McMillan is found from the rubble of the north tower, at 26 hours after his collapse. Genelle will be the last people alive from the rubble removed from the WTC .

As part of Operation Noble Eagle , the U.S. Navy deployed during the month of September, the hospital ship USNS Comfort to help relief efforts at the site of the World Trade Center . Thus, the ship provides food and assistance necessary to ten thousand rescuers, volunteers and workers who were working to find survivors. Although the primary mission of the USNS Comfort was logistical, the ship has received nearly 600 wounded .

Testimony

Between October 2001 and January 2002 were collected stories of five hundred and three firefighters and rescuers by Thomas Von Essen, manager of the fire for mayor of New York. For three years, these recordings have remained inaccessible despite requests from families of victims. Sued by the New York Times , the mayor, Michael Bloomberg , was finally forced to make public in August 2005 ^, .

Human Review

List of victims displayed in New York.

At least 2,995 people were killed in the attacks including the 19 terrorists ^, . Of the 2,976 victims of the attacks, 310 were foreign nationals, including 67 Britons , 41 Indians, 28 South Koreans, 24 Canadians and 24 Japanese. Following the attacks, there are 6291 people injured .

Nearly 1360 people in the North Tower and 600 in the South Tower were blocked and above the impact level. Faced with a desperate situation due to smoke, about two hundred of them preferred to jump into the void, crashing through the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings. Still others have attempted to reach the roof in the hope of a rescue helicopter and were met with locked doors. Only eighteen could escape the south tower.

Marsh & McLennan Companies , which had offices between the 93 ^th and 101 ^th floor of the north tower lost 295 employees killed instantly on impact of Flight 11. Cantor Fitzgerald LP lost 658 employees who worked between 101 ^th and 105 ^th floor .

The collapse of the towers killed 343 firefighters from the NYFD , from 75 different barracks, which were rescue people trapped in the towers. Among them was the Head of Department Peter J. Ganci, Jr. and 19 battalion commanders . The Port Authority ( PANY / NJ ) lost 84 employees in the attacks including 37 police officers. 23 police officers of NYPD officer and an FBI agent and Secret Service were also killed in the collapse of the towers .

Of the 125 victims of the Pentagon, 70 were civilians and 55 were soldiers. Timothy Maude, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, was the highest ranking military killed in the attacks .

Memorials in honor of the victims in front of St Paul's Church in New York.

Of the 2780 people who lost their lives in the twin towers, only 293 bodies were found. Nearly a quarter of 20 000 fragments of bone and tissue recovered was attributed , leaving no trace about 1,151 missing , reported the Associated Press. This work of identification was completed in early 2005. In April 2006, three hundred bone fragments (of length less than 2 cm) were discovered in the debris accumulated on the roof of the Deutsche Bank building, located some hundred and thirty meters south of WTC 2 . The institution who made the identification using DNA markers, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service had reported "the incredible degree of fragmentation

More than 3,000 children have lost one or both parents ^, .

The gigantic cloud of dust generated by these destructions induced the greatest movements of panic as the City of New York has ever known. They have indeed invaded the entire southern peninsula of Manhattan and even crossed the East River to reach Brooklyn. There were numerous injuries and a number of missing, perhaps dead (never confirmed).

Under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act signed by George W. Bush Sept. 22, 2001 / Sup>, a compensation fund for victims of the attacks is established. Total background amounted to 7.049 billion dollars for families of 2880 victims and 2680 injured in the attacks ^{Balance sheet material}

On 6 WTC, one of the buildings partially collapsed.

The collapse of the Twin Towers caused the total or partial destruction of the 5 other buildings composing the World Trade Center. The Greek Orthodox Church St. Nicolas, who was near the south tower was completely destroyed. Debris generated by collapses have caused widespread damage to several adjacent buildings. The Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) counted a total of 48 damaged buildings near the site of the World Trade Center .

A total of 8 buildings were partially or totally collapsed: the 1 World Trade Center (North Tower), the 2 World Trade Center (South Tower), the Marriott World Trade Center , the 4 World Trade Center , the 5 World Trade Center , the 6 World Trade Center , the 7 World Trade Center and the Greek Orthodox Church St. Nicolas.

Among the 48 buildings damaged, 11 were severely damaged: the 2 World Financial Center , the 3 World Financial Center , the Winter Garden building , 120 Cedar Street, 114 Liberty Street, Deutsche Bank Building, 130 Cedar Street, The 90 West Street, Verizon Building, 45 Park Place and 30 West Broadway.

Medical problems and environmental

Aerial view of Ground Zero, published in 2004.

Among the thousands of people affected from lung problems, respiratory deficiency ) .

A study conducted in 2002 in part by the State Department of Health's office of managed care has shown that western Brooklyn complained asthma 2.4 times more asthma worse than the rest of the city after 11 September ). To date thousands of new cases of mesothelioma (a condition caused by asbestos), or asbestosis are detected. They are secondary to what is known locally as "The World Trade Center syndrome" .

The collapse of the towers was dispersed in the atmosphere of Manhattan many dangerous pollutants: from dioxin , the lead (50 000 computers in each round), of asbestos , of mercury (in the tens of thousands of tubes fluorescent ) of americium- 241 (radioactive found in the thousands of smoke detectors ) and glass fiber in large quantities. As well as polycarbonates in a concentration 75,000 times that has ever been measured before (in a workshop of the port) and ultra-fine dust at a rate never before seen.

The EPA has recorded unusually high peak concentrations of other volatile organic compounds such as ethylbenzene , the propylene , the styrene , and toluene , as well as 1,3-diphenyl . Product aerosol form of unusually fine particles, probably associated with high temperatures beneath the debris , were detected by the team of Thomas Cahill of the University of California Davis as the sulfur , the silicon , the aluminum , the copper , the nickel , the iron , the barium , and vanadium . The average concentration of benzene in air recorded by the EPA to October-November 2001 was 18,000 ppb with a peak at 180,000 ppb in early November .

The Agency for Environmental Protection was in charge of assessing the risks and hazards of air. Several months later, EPA still recorded high levels of dioxin. Christine Todd Whitman, administrator of the agency, had then, with five releases in the next ten days, guaranteed the soundness of the atmosphere of Manhattan, and the city water . 21 August 2003, however, the Agency released a report signed by Inspector General Nikki Tinsley exponent changes imposed by the Bush administration statements written caution to prevent the danger posed by dust, supplemented by a 2004 study documents by the Sierra Club where the Agency has been criticized for not automatically warned the public before any measure of pollution, because of her knowledge of the danger presented by some materials constituting the building. The EPA even considered classifying 'secret'les documents relating to air pollution . Complaints from patients have been accepted by judges Deborah Batts and Alvin Hellerstein in February and October 2006.

On March 8, 2007, at the request of Jerrold L. Nadler, the "9 / 11 Heroes Health Improvement Act of 2007" would provide 1.9 billion (1.4 billion euros ) to finance the evaluation and solutions to health problems induced by Sept. 11 .

Moreover, the association of mental health in New York in early 2006 indicates that 12 000 people have sought psychological help since 2002 following the tragedy , but the agreement is rejected by the judge. June 23, 2010 Finally, the court approves a new agreement that provides for a compensation fund worth 712.5 million dollars .

Explanatory Theses on the collapse of the towers

Collapse of WTC1 and WTC 2 towers

The case for the steel melting

From September 11, the media presented the explanations of experts, most structural engineers, university professors, such as Hyman Brown or Richerd Ebeltoft for that fire, with intense heat ( close to 1 500 C), had melted the steel structures. The next day, an article from New Scientist supported a similar thesis . This explanation by the "Hellfire", taken one month later in Scientific American , despite having benefited from these bonds, disappeared from the debate with the publication of further studies.

The case for the fatal weakening

On 12 September, in a technical journal reference, Journal of Engineering Mechanics ASCE published an article by Prof. Bazant, world leader in concrete structures, entitled "Why the WTC collapsed was it? A first analysis, "in which he explained that" the towers were doomed to collapse when the majority of the support columns at the same stage found themselves heated at 800 C, losing their ability to hold their office " .

The theory of the stall floors

The report commissioned by FEMA to conduct the evaluation team building (BPAT), entitled WTC Building Performance Study, was published in May 2002 . It presents an explanation of the collapse of the twin towers by the intensity of fires, which were eventually weaken and distort the structure of a metal floor so that he severed his ties to support structures, causing it to fall, which caused successively the lower floors ("pancake theory"). As for the supporting structures, they were unable to remain deprived of the support provided by floors.

The theory of the stripping column

However, these theories as the origin of the three fires collapses faced the fact that there is no example of collapsing skyscraper steel structure due to fire, so intense and it was sustainable, the best example being that of the One Meridian Plaza in Philadelphia in 1991. Moreover, the work of the BPAT was achieved without the relevant plans, leading to a misrepresentation of central support structures. The government, under pressure from the associations of families of victims, resolved to commission a second study, which he entrusted to NIST.

For three years, the agency's Department of Commerce had done (by the same firms with expertise in structures that FEMA was responsible for subcontracting) working with modeling stages, airplanes, their approach and external and internal structures towers used in a series of simulations of impacts and fires, and issued a final report on the twin towers in October 2005 . Two years later, work on the tower WTC7, which was entrusted by subcontracting to ARA with instructions to limit the study to floors 8 to 46, has still not succeeded.

His study was restricted to the sequence of events that triggered the falling blocks of floors located above impacts. The present theory attributes the collapse to a combination of core columns destroyed by aircraft, significant subsidence of the floors (1 m) and loss of strength of the columns intact, by heating (a temperature reaching 700 C) heating made possible by the failure of the insulation fire all the columns, consisting of a fibrous flock (replacing the asbestos ) which would not have withstood the impact . The process is as follows: with the required attachments to their supporting structures (a conclusion opposite to those of FEMA), subsidence floor pulls the external columns inward, causing them to bend and eventually break. The evaluation of this work is made impossible by the refusal to publish the NIST simulations of the collapses that require independent civil engineers . However, modeling the internal structures is affected by the same inadequacies as those who had been found for the work of the BPAT (thus, the model shows the 47 central columns as identical while 16 of them were duplicates of others) and simulations impacts using the two towers the same model of internal structure, leading to the award of more damage to WTC 2 (level 80) for WTC1 (level 95). Most importantly, the NIST did not attempt to link these simulations to the results of tests he had performed on keeping floors (which are shown as arrows 10 cm) on the fire resistance of the central maximum load by the Underwriters Laboratory (four trials for 2 hours without significant effect ), the holding of the insulation under the impact of bullets in firearms (no stall), or analysis and calculations of the temperatures reached at more than 500 C) . Finally, the intrinsic weakness of the method chosen by NIST is taking into account the only section affected by the impacts, thus avoiding the problem of non-resistance load-bearing structures, particularly internal, below the floors struck by planes. This issue is dismissed with the assertion that "once initiated, the falling upper floors could not be stopped" (p. 144-145).

Collapse of WTC7 tower

Regarding the tower WTC7, the report commissioned by FEMA to the evaluation of the behavior of buildings (BPAT) concluded after eight months of study, the need for a research effort Analysis and investigation on the basis of provisional results that "the best hypothesis

Investigations and controversies

The investigation

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , a leader of al-Qaida operational arrested in Pakistan in 2003, tried in 2007.

The attack has caused the death of Massoud on 9 September 2001 is seen by many observers as a prelude to these attacks suggesting that Jews or U.S. secret services are responsible for the attacks .

The police investigation into this federal crime was given by Executive to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He received the full mastery of various aspects of these events: places, ruins, testimony of persons and any communication of information to the public. The investigation by the FBI , called PENTTBOM was, as stated by the Agency, the largest and most complex history of the FBI, involving over 7,000 agents . Within 72 hours after the attacks, the FBI proposed the names of the 19 hijackers died. Abroad, the Intelligence Community and U.S. police and intelligence agencies of several nations participating in the investigation .

After Flight 77 crashed against the Pentagon, FBI agents confiscated records from surveillance cameras at the Sheraton , as well as the regulator of the traffic . While the fire raged, they spent combing the neighborhood to retrieve debris from the explosion, the remains inside (for some evacuated under cover), and the black boxes . Other FBI officials, as Dale L. Watson, made this same type of statement . On bin Laden, Rex Tomb, chief of the Publicity Investigation during an interview in 2006 , argued that the FBI had no concrete evidence - "hard evidence" - to link it to Sept. 11 .

National Commission

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks against the United States was established in November 2002 following an Act of Congress of the United States in order to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attacks of September 11, 2001. After two years of investigations, the Commission issued 22 July 2004, the final report of 585 pages about the terrorist attacks .

The Commission concluded that the 19 terrorists were members of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden.

Internal investigation of the CIA

The Office of Inspection General of the CIA was asked to prepare a report on the responsibility of CIA officers for not preventing the attacks of September 11. The report of several hundred pages was completed in June 2005 but remained classified as secret . On August 8, 2007, a resolution of Congress forced the CIA to produce a summary report, and August 21, 2007, the CIA published a part of Report: OIG Report on CIA Accountability With Respect To The 9 / 11 Attacks .

The report says that no CIA officer has broken the law but emphasizes the lack of cooperation between the CIA and the FBI. The report says that about 50 CIA officers were aware of the presence of Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar in the United States but none of them have informed the FBI of the threat that they could represent. On the other hand, the report accuses the former CIA director, George Tenet , for failing to make every effort to dismantle Al Qaeda during the years that preceded the 2001 attacks .

Development of conspiracy theories

If the responsibility of Al-Qaida in the attacks is confirmed by most Western media, governments and experts, the controversy over the nature of these events, its causes and the responsibilities involved has not failed develop quickly. From the beginning of 2002 , the book The Big Lie of the French Thierry Meyssan , calling into question the institutional explanation of the attacks had international distribution. Since then, other authors such as Jimmy Walter , G. Webster Tarpley and David Ray Griffin has also published books on the subject. Internet is the preferred place of exposure of these divergent theories through numerous sites that offer documents as archival images, videos and interviews . Documentaries, the best known is Loose Change , have also been devoted to these issues. All have in common to present rebuttals to some aspects of the package - described by them as "official" - the events of 11 September. Some assert or imply the involvement - active or passive and a greater or lesser degree - the U.S. government, claiming that certain facts observed or reported are not taken into account by that version or are not explained by it. For these authors, the attacks were the pretext for the Bush Administration to radically alter the internal and external policies of the United States , including the laws of the Homeland Security Act and Patriot Act 1 and 2, and justify invasions Military of Afghanistan and of Iraq which followed , which required projects, according to the principles of psychological warfare , an event trigger to be set up.

Some politicians openly support this hypothesis as the former head of Italian state Francesco Cossiga , who asserts that "attacks" on the World Trade Center were staged by the U.S. Secret Service and the Near East , or the former German minister Andreas von Blow , who dedicated a book to this question, and Italian MEP Giulietto Chiesa. In January 2008, the Japanese MP Yukihisa Fujita explained his doubts to the Committees of Defence and Foreign Affairs of his country.

Proponents of these theories say more and more present in American public opinion following repeated protests of families of victims and conferences organized by these authors marginal, sometimes with the help of local media or Regional.

These theories are criticized by their opponents as "conspiracy" neologism used to describe particularly the proponents of a conspiracy theory inside. Sites, in English , French and in other languages, denouncing what they perceive to be spurious arguments of conspiracy theorists.

Consequences

Emotion and international condemnation

Russian President Vladimir Putin laying a wreath at the World Trade Center Memorial Wall.

Few historical events have received such coverage media , far surpassing all other attacks before.

The venue, one of the most famous cities in the world and home to many news agencies and television, the presence of cameras and reporters on the scene when the first plane crash, led to considerable media coverage and direct observation of ^the 2nd plane crash (9:03), then the collapse of the towers.

Most television stations broadcast the event in the world simultaneously, at 9 pm local time on the East Coast.

These attacks and their consequences have remained in the headlines for several weeks. They created a huge shock to the mass of Americans accustomed to consider themselves beyond the reach of international terrorism since, with the exception of the attack against the north tower in February 1993 , the only attacks against the targets had to embassies in Kenya and Tanzania August 7, 1998 or military devices in Yemen.

The evening of the attacks of many heads of state spoke to condemn the terrorist attacks, such as Russia, Japan, Mexico and China . The UN Secretary General , Kofi Annan condemned the attacks :

"We are all traumatized by this terrible tragedy. We do not yet know how many people have been killed or injured, but inevitably, there will be high. Our thoughts and prayers should be for themselves and their families. I want to express my deepest condolences, and to the people and Government of the United States. There is no doubt that these attacks are deliberate acts of terrorism, carefully planned and coordinated - and as such I condemn them completely. Terrorism must be fought resolutely wherever it appears. "

- The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan , September 11, 2001

Jacques Chirac , President of the French Republic at the time of these events, held a televised speech on TF1 at 21 30 pm September 11, 2001 in which he stated :

"It is with great emotion that France has just learned of these monstrous attacks - there is no other word - which just hit the United States of America. And in these terrible circumstances, the whole French people - I want to say here - is beside the American people. He expressed his friendship and solidarity in this tragedy. I assure President George Bush of course my total support. France, you know, has always condemned and unreservedly condemns terrorism and believes that we must fight against terrorism by all means. "

- The president of the French Republic Jacques Chirac , September 11, 2001

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin condemned the terrorist attacks by declaring :

div> "The United States today faces an unprecedented assault on the part of international terrorism. Firstly, I want to express my sincere and deepest condolences to all victims and families of the disappeared. The event happened in the United States today goes beyond national borders. This is a brazen challenge to all humanity, at least to civilized humanity. And what happened today is further evidence of the relevance of the Russian proposal to pool the efforts of the international community in the fight against terrorism, the scourge of the 21st century. "

- The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin , September 12, 2001

The day after the attacks, the Security Council UN adopts resolution 1368 : "The American cowboys are reaping the fruits of their crimes against humanity ... "Then labeled the attack an" operation of the century " .

Reactions in the world

In the rest of the world, the turmoil caused by the attacks produced all sorts of reactions, although reactions to them numerous compassion from much of the intellectual world media coverage and political parties with the exception of located at the extremes of the political spectrum. So there was much less emphatic reactions of some of the world population of some intellectuals, supporters of the extreme left , in France, delegates and activists CGT present at the celebration of humanity -15 -16 September 2001 refused to join the three-minute silence for the victims . Others point out that some three thousand victims in the U.S. who they think deserve their respect, however, have a media impact disproportionate to that of other victims of terrorism.

There were also reactions of joy a part of the world population up to the proclamation of a "victory against U.S. imperialism" by certain groups or populations.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said after the attacks: "This is not a battle between civilizations, it is a battle for civilization . "

Many countries have strengthened their security measures, such as France which has increased the alert level of its plan Vigipirate.

Response of United States President

President George W. Bush addressing the nation on the evening of the attacks.

In the afternoon of 11 September, U.S. President George W. Bush leaves Offutt Air Force Base where the United States Strategic Command. Around 19 h 00, it arrives at the White House , then at 20 h 30, he addressed the American people from the Oval Office of the White House in these words :

"These murderous acts scale were intended to frighten our nation into plunging into chaos and retreat ... but they failed. Our country is strong. A great nation stands up to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our tallest buildings but they can not shake the foundations of America. These attacks shatter steel, but can not enter steel determination (...) America, its friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world and we are united to win war against terrorism. "

- George W. Bush, September 11, 2001

In the evening the President met the National Security Council to discuss the response to the attacks. The CIA director, George Tenet says that al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan are essentially the same. While Bush is in favor of a major military response, Tenet is more cautious, noting that "while the head of Al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan, the terrorist organization operates almost everywhere. The CIA is currently working on the problem of bin Laden for years " .

On September 20, 2001, President Bush addressed both Houses of Congress of the United States gathered at the Capitol , where he accused the terrorist group Al-Qaeda , headed by Osama bin Laden , for organizing the attacks. He said "Our war against terrorism begins with Al Qaeda, but it will not stop there. It will only end once all the terrorist groups of global reach have been found, stopped and defeated " ^{, ,} .

Military Operations

The evening of the attacks, the U.S. president George W. Bush addressed the American people from the White House. He promised a response from the United States and its allies to attack by declaring war against terrorism (war on terror) .

For the historian Jean-Michel Lacroix, "the strategy of George Bush is

For Jos Mara Aznar , Spanish Prime Minister during the years 1996-2004, the international President George Bush deserves praise . For Alexandre Adler , historian and expert on geopolitics, "the great courage of President George Bush at the hour of trial" must be recognized .

The armed conflict in northwestern Pakistan was also presented by the Bush administration as part of the "war against terrorism."

Operation Enduring Freedom

KC-130 U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan in February 2002.

The impact is more direct military invasion of Afghanistan , designated as the operational headquarters of Al Qaeda, from the month of October 2001 and the overthrow of the Taliban a few months later by U.S. forces , British, Canadian, French, and others.

This reversal and the establishment of a transitional government is accompanied by the arrest of several alleged Muslim terrorists in camps scattered around the planet, causing the strong reactions of many NGOs , including Amnesty International. The creation of the Guantanamo prison is partly explained by the large influx of prisoners.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

A second major military impact is the invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 by the American and British armed forces. Although Iraq's Saddam Hussein did not participate in the September 11 attacks, the regime Baathist has been designated by the U.S. administration as a supporter of international terrorism and a holder of weapons of mass destruction, despite the lack of evidence on the ground. Saddam Hussein has been replaced by a more democratic regime, including the holding of elections and representation of the majority Shiites against Sunnis. The invasion of Iraq will cause heated debates in the UN and demonstrations across the world, protesting against the real reasons are economic and strategic (energy independence vis--vis the Saudi Arabia in particular ).

Criticizing the Clinton-Gore administration that was too interventionist, the candidate George W. Bush said during his campaign, "If we do not stop sending our troops around the world for missions of nation-building

Security Measures

Two F-16 of the California National Guard patrolling over San Francisco in March 2004.

To prevent further air strike on American soil, the Operation Noble Eagle is triggered since September 14, 2001 . It is the permanent overview of the airspace by U.S. fighter jets of the National Guard . Thus the great cities of the United States are flown continuously . 9 October 2001 to May 6, 2002, Operation Eagle Assist mobilized AWACS and NATO troops to support the operation.

On 19 November 2001, the Transportation Security Administration was created under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. The TSA is a national agency for transport safety, it is responsible for the supervision and inspection of baggage at 450 airports in the country.

On July 3, 2002 is created the first Maritime Safety and Security Team under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 . The MSST units are maritime anti-terrorism under the direction of the United States Coast Guard , they are responsible for the security of ports and inland waters.

On 1 October 2002 created a new joint command, the United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), its mission is to protect the territory of the United States and provide support to local or federal authorities. It is composed of the 5th Army of the United States , the First Air Force and the United States Fleet Forces Command.

On 25 November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security United States is created under the Homeland Security Act. His goal is to organize and ensure domestic security, now includes many agencies with United States Coast Guard , the Federal Protective Service, the United States Secret Service , the Federal Emergency Management Agency , the Transportation Security Administration and the United States Border Patrol.

A secure area (Air Defense Identification Zone) was established on 10 February 2003 that restricts access to airspace for general aviation within 18 000 feet around the city of Washington. Since 30 August 2007 , it covers a radius of about 24 kilometers from the capital of the United States is three to five minutes of flight depending on the equipment .

Litigation

Several complaints were filed by victims of bombings against several individuals, states, companies and organizations in the United States and abroad.

On November 5, 2001, a complaint with a civil action has been filed with the Paris prosecutor's office by the family of Thierry Saada, one of five French victims of the attacks .

On 15 August 2002, about 600 relatives of victims filed a complaint in federal court in Washington against seven foreign banks, eight Islamic foundations, eight individuals including three members of the Saudi royal family (Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz, Minister of defense, Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud, former intelligence chief, Prince Mohammad al-Faisal al-Saud, head of Faisal Islamic Bank), two companies and against the government of Sudan , accused of having financed Al Qaeda .

Another 3 September 2002 at the court for the Southern District of New York .

Legal actions were authorized in September 2002 by Judge Alvin Hellerstein against the airlines whose planes were hijacked Boeing and owners of the World Trade Center for failing to prevent attacks and against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was unable to provide adequate evacuation plans .

Federal Judge Harold Baer said the Iraq co-responsible with Al-Qaeda attacks of September 11 in its order dated 7 May 2003 and awarded 104 million (92 million euros ) in damages to families of victims of the attacks of September 11 and 22 September 2005, a federal judge in New York, Richard Casey, received the complaint against the International Islamic Relief Organization , a charity involved in the financing of Islamist networks.

United States, the only person to have been found so far for his direct involvement with the attacks of 11 September is the French Zacarias Moussaoui. Arrested less than a month before the attacks, he was accused by U.S. federal authorities have learned of the attacks to come but have not submitted their information. On 3 May 2006 , after two months of trial, he was found guilty by the jury in Alexandria federal court in Virginia to six counts of conspiracy in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11 and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

In Germany , the Moroccan Mounir al-Motassadeq arrested on 28 November 2001 , was first sentenced to fifteen years in prison in 2003 for complicity in the attacks. Released in February 2006 after his conviction was overturned, he sees his first sentence upheld by the court in Hamburg on 8 January 2007 .

In Spain , the Syrian Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, head of the local cell of al-Qaeda was arrested Nov. 13, 2001, charged with conspiracy attacks of September 2001. He was convicted on 26 September 2005 to twenty-seven years in prison .

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi bin al-Shaiba , suspected to be the organizers of the attacks, are detained at Guantanamo since September 2006. They had claimed the logistics of the attacks in an interview in May 2002 and broadcast on Qatar television station Al-Jazeera on Thursday 5 and Sunday, September 8, 2002 . In March 2007, they go before a military commission to determine their status . Their trial before a U.S. military tribunal set up in the U.S. naval base at Guantnamo with the other three co-defendants opened on 5 June 2008 . Le Monde said that "hearings are held in a military court of exception " . Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali and bin Attash Wallid pleaded guilty on December 8 2008 . In November 2009, following the decision to close Guantnamo, their trial before a civilian court, the federal court in New York, began .

Economic Impact

The New York Stock Exchange.

Most economic analysts believe that the attacks of Sept. 11 were at the origin of a significant economic slowdown (or amplification of heavy braking, which was initiated by the bursting of the dotcom bubble in 2000 ).

The attacks had a significant economic impact on U.S. and global markets. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and NASDAQ did not open the morning of September 11, 2001 and remained closed until 17 September. At the reopening of stock markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 7.1% and the Nasdaq 6.5% . The markets closed the week of September 17 to 21 with heavy falls. Indeed, the Dow Jones fell 369.70 points from 1 (14.26%) to finish at 8 235.81 points, the S & P 500 by 27.54 points (11.6%) to finish at 965.03 points and NASDAQ of 272.11 points (16.1%) to finish at 1 423.19. It was the worst week the Dow Jone recorded since the Great Depression .

According to "WorldEconomic Report" of the International Monetary Fund in December 2001 , the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts evaluates destruction and expenses that are directly linked, after September 11, to 24.1 billion U.S. dollars.

On 23 May 2007 , seven insurers of the World Trade Center have reached an agreement out of court with the developer of the World Trade Center, Larry Silverstein. Companies Swiss Re , Travelers Companies , Zurich American Insurance Company , Allianz Global Risks Insurance Company , Employers Insurance Company of Wausau , and Royal Indemnity Company will pay a total of 2.1 billion instead of 7 billion unclaimed after the attacks ^{, ,}.

The airlines worldwide, especially those of the United States, already struggling in recent years have greatly suffered from the collapse of traffic on their lines and safety work undertaken after the quadruple hijacking, despite government aid. Insurance premiums of those buildings and airliners have increased sharply.

The post-September 11 legislation

President George W. Bush signing the USA PATRIOT Act.

The legislation passed in the aftermath of September 11 have brought more power to the executive American secret services (the CIA ) and Federal Police ( Federal Bureau of Investigation ), and the military (budget the Pentagon in particular). ^, .

In late 2007, a special law was being considered by Congress (Law on Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention) Act designed to fight against ideologies and "extremist beliefs that are intended to facilitate the violence aimed at promote political, religious or social. " Is specifically targeted Internet "helped facilitate a violent radicalization (...) by providing U.S. citizens with access to broad and constant streams of propaganda in connection with terrorism." This legislation seems largely inspired by the work of Brian Michael Jenkins (of the RAND Corporation ) on terrorism "in their international campaign, the jihadists will seek common ground with leftist forces, anti-American and anti-globalization, which, in turn, will in the Islamist radical comrades faced the same opponent. " A note from the study by the RAND Corporation titled "Trends in Terrorism" (ch.4) drew attention to environmentalists, anarchists and anti-globalists, designating them as breeding grounds for potential terrorists .

Memorials

Memorial Light

The Tribute in Light is an installation of 88 lights in place 11 March 2002 on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage near the WTC site. The projectors are directed towards the sky and are arranged in two squares, and they create two vertical beams of light in the sky reminding the Twin Towers .

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center is a coporation to non-profit whose mission is to create a memorial and a museum on the site of the World Trade Center. Named National September 11 Memorial & Museum , the memorial will be erected to the memory of victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the attacks of February 26, 1993 .

The area of the crash of Flight 93 AU near Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania is home to the Flight 93 National Memorial in honor of the 40 passengers and crew who died trying to stop terrorists .

Memorial erected on the island of Staten Island in New York

Plaque Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania

Memorial to victims at Copenhagen

Debris from the World Trade Center, Gardens Memorial of Caen

On November 14, 2001, Congress passed a resolution designating every September 11 as Patriot Day , day of silence in memory of victims of terrorist attacks. So each year the President of the United States called the American people to observe a moment of silence .

In September 2003, twenty-four tons of steel recovered from the WTC site are used for the construction of a href = "USS_New_York_ (LPD-21)" alt = "USS New York (LPD-21)"> USS New York (LPD-21), a warship the San Antonio class , renamed in memory of the victims ^{Renewal Site}

The One World Trade Center under construction in June 2010.

Over 1, 8 million tons of debris and rubble were removed from the site of the World Trade Center . In 2004 , the former site of the World Trade Center, renamed ground zero , is cleared and ready for a new building, the Freedom Tower , for which an architectural competition was open for a memorial, a place of life and activity.

A new 7 World Trade Center was inaugurated in 2006 but in 2008 , "despite the noise of cranes and excavators, not one of the ambitious reconstruction projects has emerged four years from the official date of completion" .

The reconstruction project includes the construction site by 2013 six new building: the One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower), the 200 Greenwich Street (Tower 2), 175 Greenwich Street (Tower 3), 150 Greenwich Street (Tower 4), 130 Liberty Street (Tower 5) and 7 World Trade Center whose reconstruction was completed in 2006. The site will also host the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Bibliography

• Roman and Caroline Clergeat Eat, September 11, 2001, war. Investigating an attack against humanity Filipacchi al. The weight of words Paris Match, 2001 ( ISBN 2-8501-8699-6 )
• Noam Chomsky , 11-9: Autopsy of terrorism, Plumed Serpent, et al. Trial and documents, 2001 ( ISBN 2-8426-1323-6 )
• Michel Vinaver , September 11, 2001, ditions L'Arche, 2002 ( ISBN 2-8518-1503-2 )
• Richard Picciotto (written by Daniel Paisner), Firefighter Manhattan: the heroic story of a firefighter at the World Trade Center, Jean-Claude Lattes, 2002, ( ISBN 2-7028-7675-7 )
• Jean-Jacques Grief, Nine Eleven, School of Leisure al. Medium, 2003 ( ISBN 2-2110-7292-5 )
• September 11 - Report of the Committee of Inquiry (Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks against the United States), collective work, ed. of Ecuador, 2004 ( ISBN 2-8499-0014-1 ) - Alban Editions, coll. Themes today, 2005 ( ISBN 2-9117-5124-8 )
• Marc Lits , From September 11 The early response to a new media war, Larcier & Boeck, 2004 ( ISBN 2-8041-4686-3 )
• Jacqueline Maurette, Heroes killed at the World Trade Center, Jean-Claude Gawsewitch, et al. Alert, 2007 ( ISBN 978-2-3501-3080-4 )
• Art Spiegelman , In the Shadow of No Towers ( comics ), Casterman, 2004 ( ISBN 2-2033-7006-8 )
• Judith Butler , Precarious Life - The powers of mourning and violence after September 11, 2001, trans. Rosanvallon Jerome and Jerome Vidal, Editions Amsterdam , 2005 ( ISBN 2-9155-4704-1 )
• Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, 102 minutes: the story of the struggle for survival in the Twin Towers September 11, 2001, Private Editions, 2005, ( ISBN 2-3507-6001-4 ) - I read et al. I read Document, 2006 ( ISBN 2-2903-5274-8 )
• Frdric Beigbeder , Windows on the World , tells of how fictionalized the final minutes of persons inside the towers, European Schoolbooks, et al. Folio, 2005 ( ISBN 2-0703-1461-8 )
• (En) Jeffrey Melnick, 9 / 11 Culture, John Wiley and Sons, 2009 ( ISBN 978-1-4051-7371-1 )

Compositions:

• John Coolidge Adams , On the Transmigration of Souls composition for orchestra and chorus given its world premiere on 19 September 2002 at Lincoln Center. Pulitzer Prize for music 2003.
• Steve Reich , WTC 9 / 11 composition for string quartet given its world premiere on 19 March 2011 at the Duke University of North Carolina.

Filmography

• 11'09 "01 , sequence of 11 short films of 11 minutes each independently and freely made by 11 directors from 11 different nationalities, 2002
• 9 / 11 , documentary filmed by the brothers Naudet September 11, 2002
• Flight 93 , directed by Paul Greengrass , with Lewis Alsamari, Khalid Abdalla, Omar Berdouni, 2006
• Fahrenheit 9 / 11 , directed by Michael Moore , 2004
• World Trade Center , directed by Oliver Stone , with Nicolas Cage , Michael Pena , Maria Bello , 2006
• Eleven , directed by Stephen Perrin , a short film filmed clip dealing with the attacks of September 11, 2001 under the gaze of France, 2006
• Remember Me , directed by Allen Coulter, Robert Pattinson, 2010
• My Name Is Khan (film, 2010)

References

• (In) This article is partially or entirely from the article in English entitled " September 11, 2001 attacks "(see the list of authors )