Remembering the September 11 attacks

The September 11 attacks were a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks committed in 2001 by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda against targets in the United States, the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in US history.

I was teaching Unix at the local technical college and remember the extensive hubbub and various reactions of the students, particularly the foreign ones with brown skin.

The attacks against New York City and Washington, DC caused extensive death and destruction and triggered an enormous US effort to combat terrorism.

There was an old Jewish broad yelling that "they're animals" regarding those perpetrators from al-Qaeda. The Pakistani national in my Unix class feared further discrimination at the airports which at that time were pretty much a protracted affair for most foreigners.

Some 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania when one of the hijacked planes crashed into the ground after the passengers attempted to retake it.

All 19 terrorists died. The Police and fire departments in New York were especially hard-hit: hundreds rushed to the scene of the attacks, and more than 400 police officers and firefighters were killed.

It's a sad notion that a group can mark you for extermination then execute their plan to take you out.

Rest in peace.