Pro. vs. Con: America is safer five years after 9/11

By Joe Baker
Collegian Reporter
September 20, 2006

Safety is a word that means much more to us following the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 than it has ever before. We were attacked and thousands of innocent lives were lost; yet, the most unbelievable aspect of that dreadful day was that it happened right at home. The attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the crash of the fourth plane in western Pennsylvania proved that our nation was in a serious need of a security overhaul. Five years have passed since that clear morning, and the annual question that rolls around in everyone’s mind on the somber anniversary of that day is back once again: are we safe?

For me, the answer to that question is relatively clear. I believe America is safer since 9/11. We are not completely safe, nor will we ever be, as long as the threat of Islamic extremism remains ingrained within global society. However, this does not mean we are not safer as a result of some important steps taken by the government to secure and defend our homeland.

The most important response by our nation in the fight against terrorism was on the international front — namely the war in Afghanistan. Through intense bombing and raids by the Special Forces, Al-Qaeda was thoroughly dismantled, causing an evaporation of leadership and stability that has proved vital in preventing future attacks. This has worked in forcing Al-Qaeda to focus its efforts on smaller attacks, usually led by inadequate fighters who tend to make many more mistakes than those who struck on 9/11.

This claim can be supported by looking at three of the other terror attacks Al-Qaeda has deployed since 9/11. The Bali nightclub bombing, the suicide explosions on commuter trains and buses in London and the Madrid transit bombings were all relatively small in scale when compared to the attacks on America. These minor attacks, though just as serious as ours from five years ago, serve to illustrate the effect that a lack of stable, central leadership has on the scope of an operation causing limits in funding, training and overall guidance that Al-Qaeda has.

The second phase of America’s overhaul of security following 9/11 was purely domestic. After all, regardless of our foreign efforts to stop Al-Qaeda in its initial stages, it came down to ill-prepared and uncooperative security agencies that allowed the 9/11 attack to be so successful. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2002 to, as its Web site puts it, “secure the homeland from terrorist attacks.”

One of the primary objectives of the DHS was to secure the American transportation systems. An example of this improvement can be seen in the screening of airline baggage. On Sept. 11, 2001, only five percent of this baggage was screened by airport security. However, today’s airports now screen 100 percent of all checked baggage, significantly reducing the chance of explosives or other weapons making it onto the plane.

Other transportation security measures include background screenings on all drivers hauling HAZMAT materials, increased reinforcement of jetliner cockpit doors and a 70 percent increase of explosive-sniffing dogs within U.S. airports. When properly employed, these measures have had a tremendous effect on further securing America’s transit systems.

Although there continues to be areas in which security is still lacking (the uncontrolled borders to the north and south, mediocre port security), the United States, through close cooperation with its allies abroad, has made significant progress in making our country safer since 9/11. After all, there has not been a single death within the fifty states in the last five years as a result of terrorist activity. This is because of better communication between domestic security agencies, increased spending on anti-terror measures and, maybe most importantly, an administration in Washington that is not afraid to do what is necessary to fulfill its duty of protecting its citizens.

Those terrorists – those cowards – who took thousands of lives on Sept. 11 did so because they hate everything we stand for. They hate us for the fact that we embrace freedom, that women may walk the streets with every right and privilege as the man next to them, and that you may live in this nation with the righ to believe in any religion or no religion at all. That is why they hate and that is why they kill. However, it is also why we will never be entirely safe – because we will never change that culture of tolerance that defines us.

bakerj2@lasalle.edu