Outside Reading #1, A History of the World Since 9/11

For my outside reading I decided to read the book A History of the World Since 9/11 written by Dominic Streatfeild. This book explores the aftershock of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. It explains how the U.S. reacted to the attacks, and how the U.S.'s reaction and the reaction of the rest of the world shaped the war on terror. In the book description I found a quote that really impacted me, and was the deciding factor when I chose to read this book. "A History of the World Since 9/11 shows us we're no closer to succeeding in the War on Terror than we were on September 12, 2001" (A History of the World Since 9/11, Description).

After reading the Introduction of the book, the author writes about his experience in Baghdad when he traveled there in interview members of the military. He also explains what life in Baghdad is like, and how the City seems demolished, and it is constantly patrolled by U.S. military helicopters. He questions the impact of 9/11 on history. He wonders how children will react to 9/11 one hundred years from now. He asks "In a hundred years, when school children discover what happened at the start of the twenty-first century, what will they think? Will they see the photographs of the collapsing towers, turn the page and forget them? Or will they learn that history stopped, then restarted in some new, fundamentally different direction? Will 9/11 be a chapter or a footnote?" (Page 4). These questions were very provocative to me, and I believe that 9/11 will be a new chapter in history. 9/11 sparked a new way of thinking in America; Americans became much more paranoid, and cautious. America assumed the role of the world police, but not only was the United States trying to topple tyrants and destroy terrorism, but these goals were fueled by vengeance. But the attacks had a significant effect on American society, which would never be the same again. America felt safe and secure after the Cold War had ended, and democracy had prevailed, but the unexpected 9/11 attacks showed society how vulnerable the nation was, which sent Americans into a state of confusion and paranoia. Society had stopped directly after the attacks.

Streatfeild briefly compared the 9/11 attacks to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States reaction in both attacks was fueled by vengeance but I believe that the effects on American society were completely opposite. After the attacks on Pearl Harbor Americans United as a nation to defend its values, every American did their part whether it was conserving food, fuel, or other resources, collecting scrap metal, or fighting in the Armed forces. The nation united to destroy tyranny in foreign lands, and to spread the ideals of democracy, and there was a common belief that America would win the war.

After the 9/11 attacks on the United States Americans felt scared and vulnerable. The nation did not unite to promote and strengthen the war effort. Americans were confused and didn't know how to avenge the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks. The nation could not find a common goal to unite themselves under, and there was a lack of inspiration to fight the war due to confusion, and there was not a certain nation that the United States could target, it is a group of extremist people spread across the world that want to destroy western ideals.

The nation is still in a paranoid state and society is forever changed after the 9/11 attacks. 9/11 is a new chapter in American history because it changed society and America’s role in the world forever.