Edited by: Fern Sidman

It began like any other day. The skies in New York City and its adjoining suburbs were bright and sunny as summer lingered into the early days of September. Children were on their way back to school and New York City voters were heading to the polls to vote for a new mayor in the primary. That was the backdrop of September 11th, 2001; yet another day that will live in infamy.

Twenty years later, the nation and the world are still reeling at the utter shock and devastation of the al-Qaeda terror attacks that transformed the world in which we live.

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the most lethal attack in history on American soil, a commemoration of the 2,977 people killed when 19 terrorists from half a world away hijacked and turned four commercial aircraft into missiles that rained death on New York City, the Pentagon and a field in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as was indicated in a recent ABC News report.

The report went on to say that this day of terror brought about changes large and small such that it is difficult to find some part of American life that hasn’t been touched by the effects of Sept. 11, 2001. From ramped-up security at airports to the militarization of policing, to years-long wars and the very fabric of our country’s personality and freedoms, the nation and world have been redefined by the events of 9/11.

The first plane to hit its target was American Airlines Flight 11. It was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan at 8:46 am. Seventeen minutes later at 9:03 am, the World Trade Center’s South Tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175. Both 110-story towers collapsed within an hour and forty-two minutes, leading to the collapse of the other World Trade Center structures including 7 World Trade Center, and significantly damaging surrounding buildings.

A third flight, American Airlines Flight 77, flown from Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC was hijacked over Ohio. At 9:37 am, it crashed into the west side of the Pentagon (the headquarters of the American military) in Arlington County, Virginia, causing a partial collapse of the building’s side. The fourth, and final flight, United Airlines Flight 93, took off from Newark International Airport in New Jersey that morning headed for San Francisco. It was flown in the direction of Washington, D.C. This flight was the only plane not to hit its intended target, instead crashing in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 am. The plane’s passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft away from the hijackers and ultimately diverted the flight from its intended target. Investigators determined that Flight 93’s target was either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

According to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board, a team of four al-Qaeda terrorists stormed the cockpit and at 9:32 a.m. the cockpit voice recorder indicated a struggle was occurring and captured the words of someone yelling, “Get out of here.”

ABC News reported that at an altitude of 41,000 feet, the plane suddenly changed course over northeast Ohio and began descending as it headed southeast. At least 13 passengers and crew members began calling loved ones on their cellphones and onboard GTE Airfones, reporting that the flight had been hijacked by four men wearing red bandanas and wielding knives, that a flight attendant was killed and a passenger stabbed.

The attacks were conceived by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who first presented it to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 1996, according to a profile on Wikipedia. At that time, bin Laden and al-Qaeda were in a period of transition, having just relocated back to Afghanistan from Sudan. The 1998 African embassy bombings and bin Laden’s February 1998 fatwā marked a turning point of al-Qaeda’s terrorist operation, as bin Laden became intent on attacking the United States.

In late 1998 or early 1999, bin Laden gave approval for Mohammed to go forward with organizing the plot. Mohammed, bin Laden, and bin Laden’s deputy Mohammed Atef held a series of meetings in early 1999. Atef provided operational support, including target selections and helping arrange travel for the hijackers. Bin Laden overruled Mohammed, rejecting potential targets such as the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles for lack of time

Bin Laden provided leadership and financial support and was involved in selecting participants, according to information on Wikipedia. He initially selected Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, both experienced jihadists who had fought in Bosnia. Hazmi and Mihdhar arrived in the United States in mid-January 2000. In early 2000, Hazmi and Mihdhar took flying lessons in San Diego, California, but both spoke little English, performed poorly in flying lessons, and eventually served as secondary (“muscle”) hijackers.

In late 1999, a group of men from Hamburg, Germany, arrived in Afghanistan; the group included Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Ziad Jarrah, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh. Bin Laden selected these men because they were educated, could speak English, and had experience living in the West.

New recruits were routinely screened for special skills and al-Qaeda leaders consequently discovered that Hani Hanjour already had a commercial pilot’s license. Mohammed later said that he helped the hijackers blend in by teaching them how to order food in restaurants and dress in Western clothing.

A Wikipedia report indicated that Hanjour arrived in San Diego on December 8, 2000, joining Hazmi. They soon left for Arizona, where Hanjour took refresher training. Marwan al-Shehhi arrived at the end of May 2000, while Atta arrived on June 3, 2000, and Jarrah arrived on June 27, 2000. Bin al-Shibh applied several times for a visa to the United States, but as a Yemeni, he was rejected out of concerns he would overstay his visa.Bin al-Shibh stayed in Hamburg, providing coordination between Atta and Mohammed. The three Hamburg cell members all took pilot training in South Florida at Huffman Aviation.

In the spring of 2001, the secondary hijackers began arriving in the United States, according to the Wikipedia report. In July 2001, Atta met with bin al-Shibh in Spain, where they coordinated details of the plot, including final target selection. Bin al-Shibh also passed along bin Laden’s wish for the attacks to be carried out as soon as possible. Some of the hijackers received passports from corrupt Saudi officials who were family members, or used fraudulent passports to gain entry.

There is some idea that 9/11 was selected by the hijackers as the date of the attack because of its resemblance to 9-1-1, the phone number to report emergencies in the U.S. However, Lawrence Wright wrote that the hijackers chose the date when John III Sobieski, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, began the battle which turned back the Ottoman Empire’s Muslim armies that were attempting to capture Vienna on September 11, 1683. During 1683, Vienna was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg Monarchy, both major powers in Europe at the time. For Osama bin Laden, this was a date when the West gained some dominance over Islam, and by attacking on this date, he hoped to make a step in Islam “winning” the war for worldwide power and influence.

Twenty years later, Relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks called for the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate the FBI’s handling of evidence from its investigation into the hijackers and their associates, saying certain records are apparently missing or lost, as was reported by the AP.

The victims’ relatives regard that missing or withheld evidence as potentially crucial in proving their premise that the Saudi kingdom was effectively complicit in the attacks. That thesis forms the basis of a pending federal lawsuit in New York, though U.S. investigations have not conclusively established such a link.

The AP reported that among the pieces of evidence the families say the FBI has failed to produce are phone records of calls among co-conspirators in the attacks, records of witness interviews and a photograph of a Saudi diplomat with two of the hijackers outside a southern California mosque soon after they arrived in the U.S.

The families had also asked the FBI to turn over a video they say shows a Saudi national hosting a party in San Diego for two hijackers, but a senior FBI official said last year that the bureau had looked for the recording but had been unable to find it.

“The FBI has a duty to retain its 9/11 evidence and has sophisticated computer systems to maintain its files and run searches on them,” says the complaint, which was filed on behalf of more than 3,500 victims’ relatives, first responders and survivors. “A routine search must be able to locate critical documents from the most serious criminal investigation ever conducted by the FBI.”

AP reported that the complaint says the FBI has told the families that it cannot locate various pieces of evidence the families believe should be in the bureau’s possession. In the case of a photograph that victims’ families say depicts a meeting outside the mosque with two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, the FBI said two cases agents were not aware of it and “its search did not reveal the photograph,” the complaint said.

The Justice Department revealed last month that the FBI had recently concluded an investigation that examined certain 9/11 hijackers and potential co-conspirators, and that it would now work to see if it could share information that it had previously determined could not be disclosed.

But, the families said last Thursday that “thus far, no additional substantive material has been produced, and the FBI has not agreed to make a further effort to find its missing documents.”

AP reported that the complaint urges Inspector General Michael Horowitz to “examine whether one or more FBI officials committed willful misconduct with intent to destroy or secrete evidence to avoid its disclosure.”

Many victims’ families have long alleged a closer connection between the Saudi kingdom and the hijackers than the U.S. government has acknowledged, and contend in a lawsuit in New York that Saudi officials gave vital support to the first two hijackers who arrived in America before the attacks, as was reported by the AP.

Though the families filed a complaint with the inspector general’s office, there is no obligation on Horowitz to open an investigation.

This past Friday, AP reported that President Biden directed the declassification of certain documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a supportive gesture to victims’ families who have long sought the records in hopes of implicating the Saudi government.

The order, coming little more than a week before the 20th anniversary of the attacks, is a significant moment in a yearslong tussle between the government and the families over what classified information about the run-up to the attacks could be made public, as was reported by the AP. That conflict was on display last month when many relatives, survivors and first responders came out against Biden’s participation in 9/11 memorial events if the documents remained classified.

AP reported that Biden said Friday that he was making good on a campaign commitment by ordering the declassification review and pledged that his administration “will continue to engage respectfully with members of this community.”

“The significant events in question occurred two decades ago or longer, and they concern a tragic moment that continues to resonate in American history and in the lives of so many Americans,” the executive order states. “It is therefore critical to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency, relying on classification only when narrowly tailored and necessary.”

The order directs the Justice Department and other executive branch agencies to begin a declassification review, and requires that declassified documents be released over the next six months.

Brett Eagleson, whose father, Bruce, was among the World Trade Center victims and who is an advocate for other victims’ relatives, commended the action as a “critical first step.” He said the families would be closely watching the process to make sure that the Justice Department follows through and acts “in good faith.”

“The first test will be on 9/11, and the world will be watching. We look forward to thanking President Biden in person next week as he joins us at Ground Zero to honor those who died or were injured 20 years ago,” Eagleson said.

Though many documents examining potential Saudi ties have been released, U.S. officials have long regarded other records as too sensitive for disclosure, as was reported by AP.

The Justice Department revealed last month that the FBI had recently completed an investigation examining certain 9/11 hijackers and potential co-conspirators, and that it was working toward providing more information.

On Monday, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Islamism remains a “first order” security threat and the West should prepare for potential use of biological weapons by extremist groups.

(Sources: AP, ABC News, Wikipedia.)