Ever since the coordinated attacks of the September 11, 2001, America has been put through an enormous number of changes. The man who is primarily believed to have caused the September 11, 2001 attack is believed to be Osama Bin Laden. He is considered by the American government to be the mastermind of the attacks that brought down the Twin Towers in the city of New York. Some of the changes that can be identified are related to the security. Furthermore, intelligence reports that have been carried out by the American security forces indicate that Osama Bin Laden is responsible for the bombing of U.S embassies in both Kenya and Tanzania. He has been on the most wanted list of the FBI for decades.
After the September 11, 2001 attack, the act of flying changed forever. Some of the changes that we can identify are those in regards to security. These changes included
Specific ID required whereby the ID and name should match with the name on the ticket. This was the only way of ensuring that the person traveling is the real owner of the ticket. Security officers have been alerted such that when a person whose particulars do not match tries to fly, he or she is interrogated and cannot be allowed to travel until he or she proves the identity. The security officers have to investigate the person to understand his or her intentions if the names on the ticket and ID do not match.
Another noticeable change in the airport is the screening of the luggage and carryon. Any person who carries the luggage should allow the security officers to screen thoroughly the luggage to ascertain the extent of the dangerous devices in the baggage. Metal detectors were introduced after the September 11, 2001 attack (Beck 41). This has allowed the early detection of any dangerous weapon that a person might be carrying. It is important because the security officers have been able to control the airport and any dangerous baggage can easily be detained.
There is also the introduction of the body scan machine screening. This is the scanning of the body of those who are flying. It is mandatory that the person passes through the body scan machine for screening. Body scan is important because it allows the detection of dangerous weapons. Body screening aims at detecting the dangerous bombs that the terrorists normally use. It has also been seen in the airports that the pat-downs have been enhanced. Furthermore, in the airport, the non-ticketed visitors cannot be allowed to enter the U.S. The security officers are given responsibility to ensure that the non-ticketed visitors do not step into the U.S soil. What is more, the airport requires that an individual arrives at the airport earlier to compensate for the time that will be used for security check. Therefore, any individual who wishes to travel to America is expected to plan his or her time properly to arrive early and allow for effective security check in the airport.
The September 2001 attack has been a historic and symbolic operation significance to the al=Qaeda group. The U.S government has been tracing for Osama in Abbottabad before he was killed in the same home. In reality, the operation would require the use of satellite telephones and the internet that would ensure effective tracing of Osama. His deputy, who is the Egyptian surgeon by the name Ayman al-Zawahiri, still lives and carries out the attacks. This means that the U.S is still vulnerable to attacks, and thus, more measures have to be put in place to counter the security threats. The events of the Arab Spring are assumed to have been carried out by this Osama’s deputy.
Historically, nobody has brought a greater impact in the U.S culture in the 21st century than the Osama Bin Laden. The September 11, 2001 attack was a frightening attack that nobody imagined. It is believed that Osama Bin Laden thought outside the box and showed precise kind of intellect that no American could have imagined. Even though the American security through the intelligence service is updated, the attack was beyond the American intelligence. It is believed that the plans that he drew were huge and allowed him and his team to execute it without the notice by the American government. His intelligence is seen in the video where he talks like an Engineer. He dares that they calculated the number of casualties in advance based on the position of the twin towers that were targeted. The videos that are shown out after the attack are horrifying, and their organization known as the Maktab al Khidamat (MAK) is believed to serve as the recruitment network and the network had branches in several places all over the Middle East countries (Beck 50). Furthermore, the videos showing the plans and how he executed the heinous act unleashed by Osama Bin Laden after the attack reached into the lives of the Americans and changed them completely. The architectural designs of the housing also changed. The current houses are designed in such a way that they have the front and back doors, and it makes it easy for the citizens to escape easily in case of an attack.
Osama Bin Laden became the hidden impression for the change of American culture. It is reported that between the year 1998 and 2009, the number of students studying Arabic language increased. According to the Modern Language Associations, the number of students who were studying Arabic increased by more than 500 percent. Rosemary Feal, the manager of the MLA, says that 9/11 incident was a wake-up call for the Americans to understand the Arabic language to effectively deal with the same incident if it occurs in future (Cameron 76). According to her report, it was important to undertake the Arabic language to understand better the "clash of civilization." He says Osama gave them the caricature that spurs fear of culture and civilization.
A years later, the American country was at a risk of being attack again. The fear of the risk push the law makers to call for legislations that could empower the government and enlightened them to get prepared for future eventualities. It was required that the intelligence security officers are empowered to deal with sensitive information. The intelligence personnel was to carry out their intelligence activities that could allow them to gather and come up with sensitive information that could assist the security officers to get prepared to deal adequately with the sensitivity of the information. Furthermore, it was emphasized that the intelligence officers and the security personnel work together to ensure that the security of the country is uplifted. They are required to work hand in hand such that the intelligence report from the intelligence personnel is acted upon within the required time limit (Mythen 380). What is more, the security laws were amended to make it easy for the intelligence personnel to access the government offices to gather sensitive and intelligence information. The changes were important and the Americans still having the pictures of the 9/11 attack welcomed the changes with the hope that they will stay secure from the terrorists. The homeland security has been encouraged to ensure that the country stays safe, and no future attacks are witnessed. The use of innovative technology has also boosted the homeland security. It is the government win when the security of the country is up to date. Regarding financial capability, the government has increased the money set for security and intelligence services. These finances are used for the purchase of tools for carrying out the investigations within and outside the country. There are several changes that have been put in place since the 9/11 attack and they include:
The USA PATRIOT Act-This is an Act of the Congress. The act was signed into law by President George W.Bush on 26th of October, 2001. The U.S.A PATRIOT ACT stands for the “Uniting and Strengthening Americans by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.” The Act is important since it gave the American troops the power to pursue and deal with the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack.
Another change is the introduction of the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security is attributed to the Osama Bin Laden. It is believed that without the 9/11 attack, the Department of Homeland Security could not have been established. The homeland security department has expanded up to an extent of having NSA. These agencies are believed to thrive because of the U.S.A Patriot Act. The U.S.A PATRIOT ACT has enabled these agencies to carry out their activities without the interference from the government or any other party (Dahl 97). The agencies are entitled to all what they need to carry out their activities independently and effectively. The mandate given to them enables them to carry out their activities even without necessarily getting the court order.
The onslaught war in the search for Osama Bin Laden has been a wake-up call in the American security. They were used to the guerilla warfare as they have been fighting in Vietnam but the search for Osama Bin Laden made them change their tactics of fighting. Osama Bin Laden is believed to have been fighting by use of the "asymmetrical warfare" method, and this method is referred to as a war between the belligerents whose military power differs significantly. The strategy and the tactics used in the asymmetrical warfare are also believed to be sophisticated. The military tactics that the U.S started to develop as they search for Osama Bin Laden is still relevant today. They are now pursuing the enemy effectively and efficiently. The Montgomery is a war between the professional, standing army and an insurgency of or the resistance movement (Cameron 89). The government also knows that the Montgomery, provided enough tactics to hunt down Osama Bin Laden. Through the financial ability of the security, it was believed that it could easily fight the terrorists. America came to understand that it requires a lot of money and resources to hunt down Osama Bin Laden and end the daring terrorism. Looking back before Osama bombed America, the government of American used to underestimate the money and resources, set for countering the terrorism. The cunning behavior and tactics of Osama Bin Laden helped to reshape the American war outlook. The American forces changed their tactics and fought with foreign tactics rather than the known American tactics.
As America continue to search for Osama Bin Laden, those who were affiliated with him found that the way America has been fighting simple war affected their continued search for Osama Bin Laden. Even though, Osama and his team might have been lacking modern technology, intelligence and tactics; they were effective in the simple tactics they used. These enemies focused on demoralization tactics that offered them minimal exposure to the American power and weapons. Osama Bin Laden is believed to have played a greater role in the fight against the Americans by the Taliban group. His connections with many Arab countries made them fight against America effectively. The Arab countries sympathized with him, and they provided a lot of finances to them. Furthermore, the insurgent groups also sympathized with him and provided a great support that boosted his fight against the American government. Currently, the insurgent group is still active, and its activities are seen in such groups as ISIS. It is believed that the ISIS group receives great support from the insurgent groups that had support from the Osama Bin Laden group. The American government through its military has been continuously fighting against the ISIS group for a length of time. This, therefore, shows that Osama Bin Laden is still felt today, and its impacts are still active. It is believed that the ISIS group is being inspired by the Osama Bin Laden group that is believed to be active in the contemporary society.
Furthermore, the insurgents who were believed to be ill-equipped fought American forces head to head as they resorted to the remotely Improvised Explosives Devices and IEDs. The tactic was demoralizing as it could cause great damage with the little chance of direct combat. The remote devices that they used were dangerous since they could easily be used anywhere.
However, for America to combat the tactics used by the Taliban, it began to fund advances in the military technology such as robots and drones. Within ten years since the aftermath of 9/11, the military changed completely. In preparation for countering the Improvised Explosive Devices, vehicles were set aside to stand up against any IED’s (Lalley 56). Furthermore, the drones carried powerful cameras that could easily identify the insurgent activities and deploy the ordinance to neutralize the enemy combatants without having ground involvement.
After Osama Bin Laden had terrorized American in the year 2001, the foreign policy has changed. Throughout the war in Afghanistan and with the change in the commander in chief of the armed forces, different strategies were put in place to combat the terrorism. The military has changed their tactics from the gorilla war tactics to the asymmetrical war tactics. These tactics have changed the way the Americans fight the war, and it has effectively assisted them to overcome the enemy without necessarily involving other nations. Furthermore, the use of military technology was introduced after the Osama Bin Laden terrorized America (Mythen 383). These strategies have made the American military deal with enemies effectively.
After pulling out the American military from Afghanistan, people might think that the war is over and can move on with peace. This is not true; the war is on, and the Americans have to get prepared for any eventuality that might befall them regarding security. Even the death of Osama in the year 2011 is not enough to tell the Americans that the war is over. There are radical Islamists that have emerged and might ignite the terrorism war. The emergence of the ISIS group indicates that terrorism is not yet over, and their gain of influence in Iraq is still effective. The team is normally referred to as the "JV team" by the president hoping that the government will suppress them, but major efforts have to be sort to deal with them efficiently and effectively. Even though the administration did not want to admit the failure of its foreign policy in Iraq, it needs to strategize on how to deal effectively with emerging groups (Dahl 102). The activeness of Osama is seen in the ISIS activities as the group has gained influenced in the whole Middle East. Their attacks are felt by the American government. The way this ISIS group fights their war proves that it has some relationships with Osama group and might have germinated from it. Apart from the ISIS group, other groups such as the Mujahedeen have emerged, and this is a threat to the security. Therefore, the government should consider changing the foreign policy once more as the Islamist group may attack American once again in future. Even though Osama Bin Laden was killed in the year 2011, his name is relevant in the contemporary society as the emerging terrorists use similar tactics to fight against the U.S. Therefore, U.S military should have military strategies that will enable them to effectively fight the terrorists in future.
Works Cited
Beck, Ulrich. "The terrorist threat world risk society revisited." Theory, culture & society 19.4 (2002): 39-55.
Cameron, R. Subjects of security: Domestic effects of foreign policy in the war on terror. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.
"The Case of Osama bin Laden." Killing bin Laden (n.d.): n. pag. Web. <10.1057/9781137434937.0005>.
Dahl, E. J. Intelligence and surprise attack: Failure and success from Pearl Harbor to 9/11 and beyond. N.p., 2013. Print.
Farmer, J. J. The ground truth: The untold story of America under attack on 9/11. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009. Print.
Lalley, P. 9.11.01: Terrorists attack the U.S. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 2002. Print.
Beck, Ulrich. "The terrorist threat world risk society revisited." Theory, culture & society 19.4 (2002): 39-55.
Mythen, Gabe, and Sandra Walklate. "Criminology and terrorism which thesis? Risk society or governmentality?." British Journal of Criminology 46.3 (2006): 379-398.
