In 2023, the FBI was found to have been spying on traditionalist Catholic churchgoers, under the same premise. The leaked memo was titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
While most Americans supported military action against Iraq at the time, this number decreased over the years. Without 9/11, Operation Iraqi Freedom would probably never have happened.
President George W. Bush proclaimed September 11 as Patriot Day. Then, in 2009, President Barack Obama renamed it Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Sources: (Grunge) (Drake Law Review) (Immigration and Human Rights Law Review) (Lawfare) (ABC News) (New York Magazine)
President Bush's case for the invasion of Iraq was that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and he had links to Al-Qaeda.
Following 9/11, the FBI conducted spying activities in mosques across the US. In the mid-2000s, Imam Yassir Fazaga sued the FBI for spying on his Southern California mosque. Pictured is former FBI informant Craig Monteilh, who infiltrated mosques around the Los Angeles area.
One of the regulations, introduced via the Patriot Act, required businesses to monitor suspicious activities and report them directly to the federal government. From banks to car dealers, businesses were running background checks on clients.
It transpired that terrorists used American bank accounts opened without social security numbers, and conducted a number of banking operations to fund the terror attacks. All of this went unnoticed.
It has been argued that Bush won the election because 9/11 happened and his war on terror convinced voters.
According to the Immigration and Human Rights Law Review, there were just 12 people on Washington’s no-fly list before 9/11.
The issue at heart during the 2004 election, which saw John Kerry up against George W. Bush, was essentially the nation's response to the 9/11 attacks.
Following the terror attacks, the National Terrorist Screening Center database allowed federal agencies to add anyone suspected of terror activities (not just convicted terrorists) to the list. The number quickly escalated to 420,000.
The 2002 Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act introduced an extra measure, allowing pilots to carry guns in case the cockpit was invaded.
While the measures were welcomed as a way to prevent terrorist attacks, it failed to address situations where pilots were incapacitated or indeed had malicious intent.
This was the case with Germanwings Flight 9525 in 2015, where the co-pilot intentionally crashed the aircraft, killing himself and all passengers on board. The pilot was unable to enter the cockpit or break down the door to stop him due to the security measures.
Because terrorists hijacked the planes on 9/11, access to cockpits was one of the things the Bush administration looked at. As a result, reinforced bulletproof doors were introduced. In addition, these could only be opened from the inside.
The 2001 Aviation Security and Transportation Act created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which introduced a number of anti-terror measures.
The new measures created longer wait times at airports, and their effectiveness in preventing terrorist attacks is still up for debate.
Was it a necessary evil? According to Drake Law Review, “suspicionless searches pose a threat to the personal privacy that Americans enjoy, but terrorism poses an equally compelling threat that the nation must confront.”
The extent of the impact of government mass surveillance was disclosed to the public by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.
The Patriot Act was passed after 9/11. This piece of legislation allowed for the expansion of federal surveillance.
Following 9/11, warrantless searches became normal among commuters in the US. The nation was divided about the measure, with critics claiming it violated the Fourth Amendment.
The mass surveillance approach was criticized by many Americans, who saw it as a violation of both the First and the Fourth Amendment.
Under the Patriot Act, any American suspected of being involved in terrorism could be subject to surveillance without their knowledge.
What was previously almost exclusively a financial district became more economically diversified, including the introduction of residential areas and shopping spaces.
Many firms relocated to other areas of the city. Even the Nasdaq stock exchange moved from NYC's financial district to Times Square.
Many financial companies had headquarters in the World Trade Center. Companies such as Cantor Fitzgerald, American Express, Bank of New York, and Morgan Stanley lost hundreds of employees in the attacks.
Public Law 107-40, or the Authorization for Use of Military Force, was a law passed in 2001 authorizing military action.
The law has been criticized as a sort of blank check, as it allows for military action to be initiated against those who might be involved in terrorist attacks in the US in the future. So far, this has allowed for military action to take place in several countries.
The law allowed President George W. Bush to use military force against any person, organization, or country that may have been involved in the 9/11 attacks.
In fact, during an internal investigation in 2015, undercover Homeland Security agents were able to smuggle mock explosives and weapons 67 out of 70 times.
September 11, 2001, is a date the world will never forget. This past July 31, it was announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed—the accused principal architect of the al Qaeda attacks—and two other terrorists held in Guantánamo Bay will be spared the death penalty due to a deal with prosecutors.
A spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), prosecutor of this case, confirmed it had entered into pre-trial agreements. “In exchange for removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” said a letter signed by Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, chief prosecutor for the OMC, and sent to the victims' families, who have been waiting for a conclusion to this case for almost 24 years.
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 changed America, and indeed the world, as we knew it. New laws were passed, military force was used, new regulations were introduced—all in an attempt to improve security and prevent future terror attacks. But what if the Word Trade Center was never attacked by terrorists? What would have happened if the Twin Towers were still part of Manhattan's skyline?
In this gallery, we speculate on what would (and would not) have happened if 9/11 was just another bygone date on the calendar. Click on for what's sure to be an interesting read.
What would the US be like today if 9/11 never happened?
Three terrorists, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, have reached plea deals while awaiting trial at Guantánamo Bay
LIFESTYLE Counterfactual history
September 11, 2001, is a date the world will never forget. This past July 31, it was announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed—the accused principal architect of the al Qaeda attacks—and two other terrorists held in Guantánamo Bay will be spared the death penalty due to a deal with prosecutors.
A spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), prosecutor of this case, confirmed it had entered into pre-trial agreements. “In exchange for removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” said a letter signed by Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, chief prosecutor for the OMC, and sent to the victims' families, who have been waiting for a conclusion to this case for almost 24 years.
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 changed America, and indeed the world, as we knew it. New laws were passed, military force was used, new regulations were introduced—all in an attempt to improve security and prevent future terror attacks. But what if the Word Trade Center was never attacked by terrorists? What would have happened if the Twin Towers were still part of Manhattan's skyline?
In this gallery, we speculate on what would (and would not) have happened if 9/11 was just another bygone date on the calendar. Click on for what's sure to be an interesting read.