Seven years ago, the United States suffered a major attack on its soil, a terror attack that brought to the surface fears that terrorists were becoming stronger and more cunning devising new ways of hurting nations where it matters most. This attack would witness the demise of hundreds of innocent Americans, thousands severely wounded and property worth millions destroyed. A flurry of scholarly and investigative articles hit the fore trying to explain all manner of issues in regard to the attack. This paper looks at the response of the leadership to the attack, gauging its timeliness and effectiveness.
Many have hailed the government initial response to the attacks, mainly centering on the rescue efforts. Immediately after the attack, hundreds of fire fighting units in New York were deployed. Notable, was the effort by the government to mobilize a large chunk of security officers on leave to New York to assist in the recovery efforts. The response to the attacks though riddled with lack of proper coordination between the various units due to malfunctioning of the communication equipments and network was greatly hailed. The “ heroism and compassion of firefighters, soldiers, police and citizens during the crisis” was highly lauded as it showed that Americans despite the odds had a great responsibility towards each other. (William J, 2004)
The tactical efforts and the governments efficient immediate response to the attacks was overshadowed by the ill advised Bush’s war on terror. Whereas there was massive support for the search for the attacks mastermind in Afghanistan, the elusive Osama Bin Laden, the same cannot be said for the search for the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the subsequent hanging of Saddam Hussein. This is a war that has left a bad taste in the mouth of Americans especially “ the failure to even find Osama bin Laden.” (Dwight L., 2008). The government failed to strike a chord with most of the Americans who were favoring the addressing of the issues that were in direct contact with terrorism and not the feeble link of Saddam to weapons of mass destruction.
Immediately after the attack “ the president’s job approval rating shot up to the high” an indication that the American public was satisfied with the way the government was handling the menace but it would later plummet to low records a few months later. (Wayne S., n. d.)The government had handled the catastrophe in a speedy manner and was efficient in the recovery and rescue program. However all this was watered down by the oppressive security policies.
References
William J. Crotty, 2004. The Politics of Terror: The U. S. Response to 9/11. UPNE.
Dwight Lewis, September 11, 2008. Government’s response to 9/11 attacks questionable.
Gannett Tennessee online network. Retrieved on September 22, 2008 fromhttp://www. tennessean. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article? AID=/20080911/COLUMNIST0107/809110337/1008/OPINION01
- Wayne Shannon. FORUM: The US Response to 11 September – An Extreme Case of Crisis Foreign Policy. Retrieved on September 22, 2008 from http://www. bisa. ac. uk/bisanews/0202/bisa0202_12. htm
