The September 11th Attack on the World Trade Center

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In the early 1960’s, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Austin J Tobin, brought forward the proposal for a giant skyscraper complex in order to accommodate for much needed office space in Lower Manhattan. The plan was met with considerable opposition at first, but Tobin’s proposal eventually succeeded, and Japanese-American Minoru Yamasaki was commissioned to design the building. Yamasaki projected a novel design for a development that included two 110 storey ‘twin towers’. Upon completion in 1971, they were the tallest towers in the world, a record the infrastructure held for two years. The magnificent World Trade Centre complex which in 2001 included five other buildings in addition to the iconic Twin Towers occupied six-and-a-half hectares and provides office space for an estimated 50,000 people. In addition, approximately 40,000 business visitors and tourists were expected there each day. Besides office space, the World Trade Centre housed a hotel, a police station, the highest restaurant in New York City, ‘Windows of the World’, snack bars, and an underground shopping centre. Approximately 400 metres high, tourists could enjoy spectacular 70,000 metre views, atop the highest air observation deck in the world located on South Tower. Underneath the complex, parking garages and subway tunnels would accommodate the daily flow of traffic. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre quickly became a symbol of trade and commerce in the United States. On Friday, February 26th, 1993, a yellow rental van drove into the underground garage of the World Trade Centre. An 880 kilogram homemade bomb was concealed inside the van. The driver parked and departed. Just after noon, the bomb exploded. The impact... ... middle of paper ... ...ATIONS UNIT 3 LEARNER GUIDE, Document, Tactical Training Australia, Adelaide. Marc Kalme Chief Executive Officer of Tactical Training, 14 December 2013, Counter-Terrorism Australia Marchington, J 2003, Counter-Terrorism: Weapons & Equipment, Brassey's, London. Raines, H n.d., The New York Times: A Nation Challenged, Jonathan Cape, London. Ryan, R 2012, ‘No opt-out rule for airport body scanners’, ABC News, 15 February, accessed 9 December 2013, . Teurlings, J 2013, Security vs Civil Liberties, survey, SurveyMonkey, 17 December, accessed 24 January 2014, . The 9/11 Commission Report 2004, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Pdf, accessed 9 December 2013, .

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