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Geographies of September 11th : How has the world changed?

This article explores the geographical impact of the September 11th attacks on the United States and the world. It delves into the reconstruction plans, the targeting of Muslim immigrants, the rise of Al-Qaeda, and the complexities of Middle Eastern and Central Asian ethnicities. The article also discusses the role of natural resources, shifting international alliances, and the potential blowback effect of the War on Terror.

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Geographies of September 11th : How has the world changed?

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  1. Geographies of September 11th:How has the world changed?

  2. Before and after

  3. View from space

  4. Ground Zero

  5. Locale: Mapping Ground Zero

  6. Location: U.S. regions pulled together • Attacks took place on East Coast, we did not experience them directly in our backyard. • Yet empathy and fear spread throughout the U.S. • No more New York jokes. • More identification with government workers (firefighters, police, mail carriers, etc.)

  7. Sense of place: Hallowed ground

  8. “Sacred” sites Shanksville,Pennsylvania New York Washington, DC

  9. Reconstruction plans on 16 acres

  10. Reactions to reconstruction plans

  11. Reconstruction plans

  12. Freedom Tower Rising 1,776 feet (tallest on Earth) with wind turbines on top WTC Memorial “Reflected Absence” fountains in footprints of Twin Towers

  13. Reconstruction priorities Skyscrapers vulnerable, provocative target Pentagon functional, expected target

  14. Has September 11“changed the world”? • The attacks affected the entire world. • The attacks primarily changed the United States. • But changing the U.S. can in turn change the world.

  15. Distance and might no longer protect the United States British burn White House, 1812 Japanese fire balloons, 1944 Pancho Villa raids Columbus NM, 1916 Japanese bomb Hawaii, 1941

  16. U.S. civilians haveexperienced the pain of war Srebrenica, Bosnia, 1995: 7,000 dead United States, 2001: 3,000 dead Rwanda, Africa, 1994: 800,000 dead

  17. Victims of the attackswere from 60 countries(including many undocumented workers)

  18. Targeting of Muslim immigrants and other religious minorities Sikhs Muslims Jews

  19. “Clash of Civilizations”:Lumping of the Islamic world vs. the West

  20. Human Rights under fire

  21. Use of Islamist terrorism to justify crackdowns Russians flatten capital of Chechnya

  22. Conflicts intensify in Muslim regions (though not necessarily centered on religion) Indians in Kashmir Israelis in West Bank and Gaza Chinese in Xinjiang

  23. Al-Qaeda as a productof globalization(Bin Laden exploiting andmanipulating Muslims’ alienation) Poverty Foreign domination Corruption

  24. Al-Qaeda as an exampleof globalization(Bin Laden the multinational CEO) Translated U.S. military leaflet dropped on Afghanistan Internet cafe Saudi bank

  25. “The enemy of my enemyis my friend”? • U.S. aided Islamic fundamentalists to fight Soviet Union in Afghanistan: "What was more important in the worldview of history? The Taliban or the fall of the Soviet Empire? A few stirred-up Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War?” (President Carter’s national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1996). • Who are our new friends against Al-Qaeda? Are we now risking the same backfire effect (or “blowback”) again?

  26. War in Afghanistan • Bin Laden provoked U.S. to launch ground invasion? • Bin Laden thought he would “fight the last war” that the Afghans had won against the Russians. • Taliban were easy to defeat in war, but the “peace” can become more difficult.

  27. Complex Afghan ethnic geographyNo matter which ethnic“warlord” we support, someone else feels we are taking sides

  28. Caspian Basinoil and gaspipelines Plans for route across Afghanistan

  29. New U.S. military bases New U.S. “Sphere of Influence” in region. Bases built to wage the wars, or the wars waged to build the bases? Gulf War, 1991 2. Yugoslav Wars, 1995-99 3. Afghan War, 2001 4. Iraq War, 2003

  30. Current debates • Does the “War on Terror” justify a permanent role for U.S. military bases and oil companies? • Carries the risk of “overstaying our welcome” and causing a new “blowback”? • Iraq War justified by linking Bin Laden, Saddam (though they hate each other)? • Resentment/recruitment increasing since occupation of Iraq (Self-fulfilling prophecy?)

  31. Confronting hatred at the roots “There has been a remarkable reluctance in America to confront the more complex historical dimensions of this hatred. The inclination instead has been to rely on abstract assertions like terrorists ‘hate freedom’ or that their religious background makes them despise Western culture. To win the war on terrorism…. begin a political effort that focuses on the conditions that brought about their emergence.” (President Carter’s national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, 2001).

  32. Boundaries violated in attack on “homeland.” U.S. regions have a common grievance & experience of war. “Sense of place” of 9/11 attack sites. New phase of anti- immigrant sentiment Geographies of September 11 DOMESTIC FOREIGN • Islam vs. West geopolitical simplifications. • Al-Qaeda as a product & example of globalization. • Ethnic complexities of Middle East/Central Asia • Natural resources (oil). • New U.S. military bases • Shifting international alliances

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