9-11 Terrorist Opereration: Success

Yesterday I caught up with my buddy, a secret service agent that was at the base of tower 1 on 9/11 and watched as the first plan hit. Needless to say he was there until tower 2 fell. The other day, 9 years later, he revisited ground zero only to find that they had build 12 floors of the new World Trade Center (which is no longer the FREEDOM TOWERS). It was at this point we realized that the 9-11 attack was a successful terrorist operation. It was also at this point we were reminded that our society is afraid of it's own shadow and has a short memory.

Financially
Financially speaking according to the 9-11 commission report as sited on the CNN site (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/16/911.commission/) 'The plot cost the terrorists an estimated $400,000 to $500,000, not including the hijackers' training in Afghanistan. The hijackers spent about $270,000 in the United States, mainly on flight training, travel, housing, and vehicles."

That is $770,000.00. For argument's sake, let's double it and round up to an even $2,000,000.

On the other hand, what did 9-11 cost the United States and the world economy?

According to the Institute for the analysis of Global Security http://www.iags.org/costof911.html

"Counting the value of lives lost as well as property damage and lost production of goods and services, losses already exceed $100 billion. Including the loss in stock market wealth -- the market's own estimate arising from expectations of lower corporate profits and higher discount rates for economic volatility -- the price tag approaches $2 trillion."

That's 2,000,000,000,000
Look at those numbers together
2,000,000
2,000,000,000,000

(That's 1,000,000 times more than what the terrorists spent!!!!)

You can break down the cost even further:

The loss of four civilian aircraft valued at $385 million.

The destruction of major buildings in the World Trade Center with a replacement cost of from $3 billion to $4.5 billion (and climbing!).

Damage to a portion of the Pentagon: up to $1 billion.

Cleanup costs: $1.3 billion.

Property and infrastructure damage: $10 billion to $13 billion.

Federal emergency funds (heightened airport security, sky marshals, government takeover of airport security, retrofitting aircraft with anti-terrorist devices, cost of operations in Afghanistan): $40 billion.

Direct job losses amounted to 83,000, with $17 billion in lost wages.

The amount of damaged or unrecoverable property hit $21.8 billion.

Losses to the city of New York (lost jobs, lost taxes, damage to infrastructure, cleaning): $95 billion.

Losses to the insurance industry: $40 billion.

Loss of air traffic revenue: $10 billion.

Fall of global markets: incalculable.

Shit bag terrorists: 1
Good guys: 0

Morally
After 9-11 the world was United against terror and "W" got re-elected promising to put Osama's head on a pike. But that didn't happen. While we have successfully quelled further terrorist attacks and have kicked major ass globally, we still have not found the symbolic leader of the attack. For a year after the attacks we were looking for Osama.

To this date we have not captured or killed the master mind Osama Bin Laden.

Shit bag terrorists: 2
Good guys: 0

We promised to rebuild the towers to symbolize our resolve. The structure was to be called "The Freedom Tower" and rise like a phoenix from the ashes of all that is evil.

In March 2009 a decision was made to lose the FREEDOM TOWER name and go back to World Trade Center.

The original architect designed a twisting form he wanted to imitate the Statue of Liberty, with a spire that rose to the deliberate height of 1,776 feet to recognize the year of American independence. Politicians called the tower proof of the country's triumph over terrorism.

Former Gov. George Pataki said visitors to the iconic skyscraper "will know our determination to overcome evil" in a 2003 speech that first gave the Freedom Tower its name.

The tower _ still under construction with a projected completion date of 2013 _ no longer has the same architect, design or footprint on the 16-acre site. And this week, the owners of ground zero publicly parted ways with the Freedom Tower name, saying it would be more practical to market the tallest building in New York as the former north tower's name, One World Trade Center.

Critics called the name drop an unpatriotic shedding of symbolism by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Some newspaper editorials blasted the agency for years of missed deadlines and changing plans for the site.

"When you've broken your promises on everything else to do with redeveloping ground zero, it's no big deal to discard the name by which the public has come to know the iconic skyscraper at the heart of the plan," the New York Daily News.

But others privately repeated fears that have plagued the building as negotiations with major corporations to take up space in the tower came and went: that the 102-story Freedom Tower's name could make it more susceptible to future attacks than a symbol of defiance against it.

"The fact is, more than 3 billion dollars of public money is invested in that building and, as a public agency, we have the responsibility to make sure it is completed and that we utilize the best strategy to make certain it is fully occupied," the agency said in a statement.

Pussies.

Shit bag terrorists: 3
Good guys: 0

Do we need another attack to remind ourselves that they are terrorists, they don't NEED PROVOKING!!! Did we provoke them before when the towers were called The World Trade Center!!! Is it me or are these pussy-wimps listening to what they are every saying?? (My apologies to the female anatomy, it's a personal favorite but I really can't think of any other colloquialisms since I am so F#$$%g outraged!!!!

Seriously, why not build a image of the statue of liberty bent of with a bulls-eye on her rectum that says "terrorists enter here!!!"

BTW, they are terrorists, not combatants, not insurgents..they are terrorists or the enemy. AAAHHHHHH!!!



See that lump of crappy metal only 12 stories tall? That's the symbol of our stand against evil. That's what 2 trillion dollars, 2,976 lives on 9-11, 1890 soldiers lives and 6,623 wounded get you.

Happy belated 4th of July, I'm embarrassed for us and I think I'm going to vomit.

Damian Ross
The Self Defense Company
4th of july rant