Essay Example on the 1993 World Trade Center Terror Campaign

1. The Targets

The 1993 World Trade Center terror campaign was a bomb attack on the Twin Towers in New York (Shin, 2017). The terrorists drove a rental van into the given buildings and activated the fuses of a homemade bomb. The aim of this bombing was to send the northern tower crashing on the southern one, demolishing both towers, and thereby killing thousands of people. This plan, however, did not work and ended up killing six people and injuring thousands.

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2. Why was it Selected?

This was a business area and thus accommodated many people. The attackers initiated their plans over the lunch hour since most of the people were still in the building due to the winter condition. One of the attackers stated that their target was about 250,000 people. In addition, this was the tallest building, before the building of the Chicago's Sears Tower. As such, it attracted many visitors over time, who came to enjoy the view from the restaurant on the 107th floor. The government agency that owned this building had not put up enough measures to counter terrorist threats (del Campo, Lazzara, Tinsman, & Vergara, 2016). In fact, the security team recommendations in this building were ignored and thus the building became more vulnerable. Subsequently, targeting the two towers would have the greatest collateral damage, as well as the highest visibility of effect, and overall touch on the US economy and military. This in turn aimed at instilling fear among citizens and grasping the government's attention to halt its support of Israel in the fight against Palestine.

3. Tactics used

The terrorists rented a van, which was then packed into a garage under the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. The terrorists triggered the homemade bomb and fled. Twelve minutes later, the bomb exploded in the underground, which at first, people suspected that a transformer had blown. Consequently, this resulted in cutting short of electricity supply in the building, which affected the emergency lighting system. The smoke rose up the two building through the stairways and the damaged elevators. This resulted in many people inhaling the smoke and made the evacuation difficult, which resulted in the many stated injuries.

4. Tools used

The main item used was the bomb composed of urea nitrate. In addition, the terrorist included three tanks of bottled hydrogen, which would, later on, facilitate the complete burning up of solid metal particles. The main reason for using the basement was that the smoke would rise up slowly into the tower, limiting the ability of people to evacuate and kill them; More so, the explosion would have weakened the building, thereby causing one tower to collapse on top of the other.

5. The Expectations

The attackers aimed at sending a message to the military and political power regarding their vulnerability to the ruthlessness and attacks of the terrorists. In addition, they expected to shake the economy of the US through a successful attack. They indeed achieved this motive since the stock market of the country was heavily affected resulting in lasting economic instability. Besides, the attackers wanted a high number of casualties, which made them consider the buildings with the most occupants.

6. Outcome of the event

The bomb led to the death of six people and thousands of casualties, after which a granite memorial fountain was designed in remembrance of these victims. Most of the people received news from the media, which was very active in documenting and investigating the failures of the government. The people were devastated and this attack instilled fear in them regarding their security and most at work or in crowded places. Zvolensky et al. (2015) noted that many victims suffered depression and had a negative mental health problem. It has taken time for people to forget this attack and it is applicable in teaching concerning terrorism in the US and the effect on the political, social and economic perspective. Concerning the attacks, the security of the building was improved with the firms inside investing on better emergency procedures, especially regarding evacuation measures to prevent the same case from happening again. The responsibility of security in the towers was vested on the New York Port Authority. In addition, all the packages entering the building are thoroughly checked and scanned before being sent to their respective places.

7. Vulnerabilities recognized and mitigated

The main vulnerability in these buildings was the issue of security measures. In fact, the governing body of the World Trade Center had earlier on been warned concerning the security threat at the parking lot. They were made aware that the parking garage was very vulnerable and should not be opened up to the public. After the attack, the government agency stated that it would restrict access to the parking garage from the public. The management set up battery supported lighting, which would be effective if the electricity is disconnected. Apart from that, as stated earlier, the building now scans every package before being delivered to set destination and has increased or improved their security forces.

References

del Campo, A., Lazzara, M. J., Tinsman, H., & Vergara, A. (2016). Editors' Introduction: The Other 9/11: Chile, 1973-Memory, Resistance, and Democratization. https://read.dukeupress.edu/radical-history-review/article-abstract/2016/124/1/22274

Shin, A. (2017, February 23). Recalling the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/recalling-the-1993-world-trade-center-bombing/2017/02/21/fed4af50-e18f-11e6-ba11-63c4b4fb5a63_story.html?utm_term=.1414a97346f0

Zvolensky, M. J., Farris, S. G., Kotov, R., Schechter, C. B., Bromet, E., Gonzalez, A., ... & Moline, J. (2015). World Trade Center disaster and sensitization to subsequent life stress: a longitudinal study of disaster responders. Preventive medicine, 75, 70-74. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743515000894