The Conflict

On September 11, 2001, a group of 19 terrorists hijacked four passenger planes en route across the United States. Two of the planes under the hijackers' control crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City; a third plane crashed into the Pentagon building near Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control of the plane. The immediate death toll included 266 passengers on the four planes, 190 victims at the Pentagon, an estimated three to four thousand people at the World Trade Center disaster area, and the 19 terrorists.

Political

• Although almost every government in the world expressed unconditional outrage over the terrorist attacks of September 11, assembling a military coalition to respond to the events was a supreme challenge for the United States...