Twentieth anniversary of September 11. The plot, the events and the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the USA

The series of terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the USA, the largest in the history of the world, was carried out by 19 people. Among them were 15 Saudis, two UAE nationals, a Lebanese and an Egyptian. Three of the four formed the Hamburg cell, which was the backbone of the entire plot. It was led by the Egyptian Muhammad Atta el-Sayed. He flew Boeing 767 aircraft American Airlines Flight 11, which first struck the North Tower of the WTC. Marwan al-Shehhi was the pilot of Boeing 767 aircraft United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the WTC. Hani Hanjour sat at the controls of the Boeing 757 aircraft American Airlines flight 77. It was the third machine to target the Pentagon. The pilot of the fourth plane - Boeing 757 aircraft United Airlines Flight 93 - Ziad Jarrah failed to reach his destination, possibly the Capitol, because the passengers decided to take over the control of the plane from the terrorists. The machine crashed in Pennsylvania. In the events of 9/11, a total of 2,996 people were killed, including 19 terrorists, and 6,291 were injured . Six Poles were among the fatalities. 343 firefighters died in the rescue operation.
The attacks caused enormous material losses. Particularly high costs were incurred by insurance and reinsurance companies, airlines and aircraft manufacturers, as well as the tourism industry. The huge losses related to the destruction of the New York City World Trade Center and the disruption of the financial system had to be covered by insurance companies involved in the operations on the American market.
The terrorist attack on the USA was the impetus for the largest reform of the American secret services since 1947. Washington made a decision regarding the need to create a system that would effectively counteract terrorist threats and effectively warn in the event of their occurrence. This was related to the strengthening of structures with operational and reconnaissance powers, increasing the scope of their tasks and improving their ability to coordinate. Most of the legal regulations were expressed in the document commonly known as the USA Patriot Act of 26 October 2001. The most critical, however, were the international repercussions. By the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, al-Qaeda influenced world politics by prompting Washington to declare a “war on terror”. Within its framework, American forces, supporting the so-called Northern Alliance led to the collapse of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and then entered Iraq, which in the long run turned out to be one of the most spectacular and deadly strategic mistakes in the history of the military.
At the same time the September 11 attacks sparked many conspiracy theories. Their propagation in the media, in documentaries, as well as in articles, contributed to undermining trust in the American government. An organization called Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth which boasts 3.3 thousand architects and engineers from all over the United States, is still very active in researching the case of 7 WTC. Its mission is to establish the truth that the twin towers did not collapse due to the impact of terrorist-piloted planes, as well as the destruction of WTC 7 was not a result of the detachment of a fragment of the second plane. In the opinion of members of this organisation, the damage caused by the planes was far from sufficient to lead to such a catastrophe. They believe someone must have planted explosives.

Keywords: Al-Qaeda, terrorist attack, Hamburg cell, Pentagon, WTC.

Abstrakt: Serię ataków terrorystycznych z 11 września 2001 r. w USA, największych w historii świata, przeprowadziło 19 osób. Wśród nich było 15 Saudyjczyków, dwóch obywateli Zjednoczonych Emiratów Arabskich, Libańczyk i Egipcjanin. Trzech spośród tej czwórki tworzyło komórkę hamburską, która stanowiła trzon całej operacji. Kierował nią Egipcjanin Muhammad Ata as-Sajjid. Pilotował on samolot Boeing 767 American Airlines, lot nr 11, który pierwszy uderzył w północną wieżę WTC. Marwan asz-Szihhi był pilotem Boeinga 767 United Airlines, lot nr 175, który rozbił się o południową wieżę WTC. Hani Handżur zasiadł za sterami samolotu Boeing 757 American Airlines odbywającego lot nr 77. Celem ataku był Pentagon. Pilotowi czwartego samolotu – Boeinga 757 United Airlines, lot nr 93 – Zijadowi Dżarrahowi nie udało się osiągnąć celu, prawdopodobnie Kapitolu, ponieważ pasażerowie przystąpili do odbicia samolotu z rąk terrorystów. Maszyna spadła na ziemię w Pensylwanii. W wydarzeniach z 11 września ogółem zginęło 2996 osób, w tym 19 terrorystów, a 6291 zostało rannych66. Wśród ofiar śmiertelnych było sześcioro Polaków. W akcji ratunkowej zginęło 343 strażaków.
Zamachy wyrządziły olbrzymie straty materialne. Duże koszty poniosły zwłaszcza towarzystwa ubezpieczeniowe i reasekuracyjne, linie lotnicze oraz producenci samolotów, a także branża turystyczna. Ogromne straty związane ze zniszczeniem nowojorskiego World Trade Center oraz dezorganizacją systemu finansowego musiały zostać pokryte przez towarzystwa asekuracyjne, zaangażowane w działalność na rynku amerykańskim.
Atak terrorystyczny na USA stał się impulsem do największej od 1947 r. reformy amerykańskich służb specjalnych. Waszyngton podjął decyzję dotyczącą konieczności stworzenia systemu efektywnie przeciwdziałającego zagrożeniom o charakterze terrorystycznym oraz skutecznie ostrzegającego w przypadku ich wystąpienia. Wiązało się to ze wzmocnieniem struktur mających uprawnienia operacyjno-rozpoznawcze, zwiększeniem zakresu ich zadań oraz usprawnieniem ich zdolności do koordynacji działań. Większość regulacji prawnych została zawarta w dokumencie znanym powszechnie pod nazwą USA Patriot Act z 26 października 2001 r. Najważniejsze były jednak skutki o charakterze międzynarodowym. Atakami na WTC i Pentagon Al-Kaida wpłynęła na światową politykę przez skłonienie Waszyngtonu do wypowiedzenia „wojny z terroryzmem”. W jej ramach siły amerykańskie, wspierając Sojusz Północny, doprowadziły do upadku Islamskiego Emiratu Afganistanu, a następnie wkroczyły do Iraku, co jednak w dłuższej perspektywie okazało się jedną z najbardziej spektakularnych pomyłek strategicznych w dziejach wojskowości.
Atak z 11 września 2001 r. spowodował również, że pojawiło się wiele teorii spiskowych. Ich propagowanie w mediach, filmach dokumentalnych przyczyniło się do spadku zaufania do amerykańskiego rządu. W sprawie WTC 7 do dzisiaj prężnie działa organizacja o nazwie Architekci i Inżynierowie na rzecz Prawdy o 9/11, która szczyci się, że skupia 3,3 tys. architektów i inżynierów z całych Stanów Zjednoczonych. Celem tych osób jest ujawnienie „prawdy”, czyli tego, że bliźniacze wieże nie zawaliły się z powodu uderzenia samolotów pilotowanych przez terrorystów, tak samo jak WTC 7, która nie uległa zniszczeniu na skutek oderwania się fragmentu drugiego samolotu. W ich ocenie szkody spowodowane przez samoloty były dalece niewystarczające, aby doprowadzić do takiej katastrofy. Wierzą, że ktoś musiał podłożyć ładunki wybuchowe.

The series of terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the USA, the largest in the history of the world, was carried out by 19 people. Among them were 15 Saudis, two UAE nationals, a Lebanese and an Egyptian. Three of the four formed the Hamburg cell, which was the backbone of the entire plot. It was led by the Egyptian Muhammad Atta el-Sayed. He flew Boeing 767 aircraft American Airlines Flight 11, which first struck the North Tower of the WTC. Marwan al-Shehhi was the pilot of Boeing 767 aircraft United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the WTC. Hani Hanjour sat at the controls of the Boeing 757 aircraft American Airlines flight 77. It was the third machine to target the Pentagon. The pilot of the fourth plane - Boeing 757 aircraft United Airlines Flight 93 - Ziad Jarrah failed to reach his destination, possibly the Capitol, because the passengers decided to take over the control of the plane from the terrorists. The machine crashed in Pennsylvania. In the events of 9/11, a total of 2,996 people were killed, including 19 terrorists, and 6,291 were injured . Six Poles were among the fatalities. 343 firefighters died in the rescue operation.
The attacks caused enormous material losses. Particularly high costs were incurred by insurance and reinsurance companies, airlines and aircraft manufacturers, as well as the tourism industry. The huge losses related to the destruction of the New York City World Trade Center and the disruption of the financial system had to be covered by insurance companies involved in the operations on the American market.
The terrorist attack on the USA was the impetus for the largest reform of the American secret services since 1947. Washington made a decision regarding the need to create a system that would effectively counteract terrorist threats and effectively warn in the event of their occurrence. This was related to the strengthening of structures with operational and reconnaissance powers, increasing the scope of their tasks and improving their ability to coordinate. Most of the legal regulations were expressed in the document commonly known as the USA Patriot Act of 26 October 2001. The most critical, however, were the international repercussions. By the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, al-Qaeda influenced world politics by prompting Washington to declare a “war on terror”. Within its framework, American forces, supporting the so-called Northern Alliance led to the collapse of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and then entered Iraq, which in the long run turned out to be one of the most spectacular and deadly strategic mistakes in the history of the military.
At the same time the September 11 attacks sparked many conspiracy theories. Their propagation in the media, in documentaries, as well as in articles, contributed to undermining trust in the American government. An organization called Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth which boasts 3.3 thousand architects and engineers from all over the United States, is still very active in researching the case of 7 WTC. Its mission is to establish the truth that the twin towers did not collapse due to the impact of terrorist-piloted planes, as well as the destruction of WTC 7 was not a result of the detachment of a fragment of the second plane. In the opinion of members of this organisation, the damage caused by the planes was far from sufficient to lead to such a catastrophe. They believe someone must have planted explosives.

Keywords: Al-Qaeda, terrorist attack, Hamburg cell, Pentagon, WTC.