The day that changed the world: five years after 9/11, the U.S. and the world are very different places.

We all remember where we were and what we were doing on Sept. 11, 2001, when 9/11 went from being just another date to a phrase that needs no explanation. From across the street or across the globe, we watched it all happen in real time. "It's like the day stood still," said Ed Lamm, who was working on Wall Street and witnessed the destruction in New York.

The horror began early that morning when 19 Islamic terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners on a mission of death. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, striking the twin 110-story-tall towers like missiles. By 10:30 a:.m, both towers had collapsed.

An hour earlier, an American Airlines flight bound Los Angeles was flown into the Pentagon outside of D.C. And a fourth flight, United 93, had crashed in rural Pennsylvania, brought down as passengers tried to retake the plane. Authorities believe this plane was supposed to fly into the White House.

In all, 3,056 people perished that day--more than the number who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the highest one-day death toll on American soil since the Battle of Antielam during the Civil War.

But the damage went far beyond the death toll. The attacks seemed to change America's sense of security, our sense of invulnerability, even our attitude toward the world. And the attacks opened our eyes to the danger of Islamic terrorism. "September 11th was a foundational change; it woke us up to a new order in the world," says Michael Franc of the Heritage Foundation.

AMERICA RESPONDS

The decade before the attack seemed peaceful. Military spending was reduced after the Soviet Union's collapse and the end of the Cold War, leaving the U.S. as the world's only superpower. In reality, the threat of radical Islam--including Al Qaeda, a global network of Islamic terrorists, led by Osama bin Laden and motivated by an intense hatred of America and its policies--was already building. But the warning signs, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, were largely ignored.

The response to 9/11 was swift, with President Bush declaring a war on terror. Citing the need for new rules of warfare to tackle a faceless, stateless enemy, the administration adopted two key strategies. First, taking pre-emptive action against potential threats, before attacks on the U.S. could be carried out. And second, actively promoting the spread of democracy around the world, especially in the Middle East, as a long-term antidote to terrorism. "Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there," President Bush said a week after the attacks.

A month later, with the support of a broad international coalition, the U.S. sent troops to Afghanistan to topple the repressive Taliban regime, which had harbored Al Qaeda, and a new democratic government was set up. While Al Qaeda lost its primary base of operations, bin Laden has still escaped capture, and Taliban and Al Qaeda holdouts continue to fight to regain power.

In January 2002, the U.S. began holding prisoners, many captured in Afghanistan, at Guantanamo Bay, an American base in Cuba. The U.S. designated them "enemy combatants," rather than prisoners of war, which would have made them subject to the Geneva Convention's international standards of treatment.

In March 2003, an American-led coalition invaded Iraq. President Bush portrayed the war as part of the larger fight against terror since officials believed Saddam Hussein had hidden weapons of mass destruction. (None have been found.) And in liberating Iraq from a ruthless dictator, the U.S. hoped democracy would take hold and spread elsewhere in the Middle East.

There were also many dramatic changes at home. President Bush created a new Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security, folding together agencies from the C.I.A. to the Coast Guard. The Patriot Act, signed into law a month after 9/11, gave law enforcement officials more power to fight terrorism. Some complained that the law impinged on civil liberties, but it was renewed earlier this year with only minor changes.

In 2002, Bush OK'd a surveillance program that allowed the National Security Agency to listen in, without warrants, on calls to and from the U.S. of those suspected of ties to Al Qaeda. The N.S.A. is also analyzing phone-company records of millions of calls to look for suspicious patterns. Critics say both programs are unconstitutional.

'SENSE OF INSECURITY'

Five years after 9/11, Americans seem to have accepted that the war on terror will be an ongoing reality for the foreseeable future. We have largely adjusted to the idea of lurking threats. And the question of who can better protect the country from future attacks has become an often hotly debated feature of the political landscape.

"When you look at the 200-plus-year history of the U.S., you can't help draw the conclusion that this is a society driven by tremendous optimism," says Stephen Flynn of the Council on Foreign Relations. "What seems to be unique and worrisome is this growing sense of America as a vulnerable society. We are the dominant power, economically, culturally, certainly militarily, and yet there's a sense of insecurity."

Life in America today is different in ways large and small. Soldiers with automatic weapons in our airports, surveillance cameras on city streets, taking off your shoes before boarding a plane all now seem routine. And Muslim and Arab Americans say they have had to deal with an increase in racial profiling and hate crimes.

Historian Eric Foner notes that a heightened focus on security concerns, even at the expense of civil liberties, is a shift typical of wartime America. During World War I, the Sedition Act essentially stripped Americans of their First Amendment rights. During World War II, both citizens and the courts supported the internment of Japanese-Americans. "Now of course, it's seen as a great blight on American history," Foner says. "Similarly, I think future historians will see the erosion of civil liberties of the last few years as a reprehensible detour from the tradition of civil liberties in America."

Post-9/11 America seems more insular, more wary of the world. Last year's uproar over a Dubai-owned company taking over the operation of several American ports and the heated debate over illegal immigrants are two examples. "Our response has been to harden our borders and isolate ourselves from the bad world out there," says Flynn.

In the weeks after September 11, there was an outpouring of international support for the U.S. But since then, issues such as the Guantanamo detainees and events such as the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq have tarnished America's image abroad, especially in the Muslim world.

William Schulz, former head of Amnesty International, argues that this has profound consequences for our ability to win the war on terror. For terrorists to succeed, he says, they need the financial and social support of a broader community, and when U.S. actions alienate those people, "it hands terrorists a present on a silver platter. It gives bin Laden the perfect excuse for rallying people against America."

NO ATTACK SINCE

Still, there has not been another successful attack on American soil since 9/11, although Islamic terrorists have struck with deadly force elsewhere: Bali, Riyadh, Madrid, and London, for example. Many argue that the government and its new security measures deserve some credit.

But if there is a second attack, everything would change again, says Michael Franc of Heritage. "The tension you have now between civil liberties and security would alter fundamentally," he says. "More people will be willing to say we have to get security done correctly above all else before we worry about civil liberties.

"One attack may be an aberration, but two is a pattern," he adds. "And once you have a pattern, the psyche of the average American changes."

Since the Attacks...

Sept. 11, 2001

9/11 Attacks

19 Al Qaeda terrorists hijack four planes and use them as missiles, striking the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. More than 3,000 people are killed.

Sept 18, 2001

Anthrax Attacks

Over a period of weeks, letters containing the deadly bacteria are sent to several news-media offices and two U.S. senators, killing five people. The crimes remain unsolved.

Oct. 8, 2001

War in Afghanistan

Airstrikes begin battle to capture Osama bin Laden and oust the repressive Taliban regime, which harbored Al Qaeda.

October 2001

Patriot Act

The legislation gives law enforcement officials new powers to fight terrorism and makes it easier for spy and law enforcement agencies to communicate with each other.

Dec. 22, 2001

Shoe Bomber

Richard Reid, a British citizen who converted to Islam, tries to blow up an airplane by setting off explosives hidden in his shoes. He is stopped by flight attendants.

December 2001

Battle of Tora Bora 

In tough fighting in the Afghan mountains, the U.S. gets closer to catching Osama bin Laden than at any time before or since. He escapes.

January 2002

Detainees at Guantanamo

Prison for terrorism suspects opens at U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As of June 2006, 460 were being held there.

November 2002

Department of Homeland Security

The biggest reorganization of the federal government in 50 years brings all agencies involved with security together.

March 20, 2003

War in Iraq U.S.-led invasion goes ahead despite U.N. Security Council's refusal to endorse the action.

May 1, 2003

'Mission Accomplished'

Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln, Bush declares "mission accomplished" and says U.S. has ended major combat operations in Iraq.

May 2003

Abu Ghraib

Accounts and explicit photos emerge of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American troops at the Baghdad facility.

March 11, 2004

Madrid Bombings

Ten bombs explode on trains during the morning rush hour, killing 191 people. A group affiliated with At Qaeda takes responsibility.

July 7, 2004

London Bombings

Four British-born Muslim suicide bombers attack trains and a bus, killing 52 and injuring more than 700.

Oct. 25, 2005

2,000 Dead

The number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq passes the 2,000 mark. In June 2006 it topped 2,500.

May 4, 2006

Moussaoui Sentenced

Confessed Al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the 9/11 attacks, is sentenced to life in prison.

June 2006

Zarqawi Killed

Abu Musab at Zarqawi, head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, is killed; Canada charges 17 Islamic militants with plotting a series of attacks in Ontario.

BACKGROUND

The event of 9/11 were a shock to Americans, despite the warning signs, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Radical Islamists hate America for many reasons, including the influence of American culture, which they regard as blasphemous, and U.S. support of Middle East regimes they regard as unjust.

BEFORE READING

* Write "9/11" on the board. Many students would have been quite young at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But they should be aware of what the term means. What do they think when they hear news about the war on terror? Are they concerned about the implications of the war?

CRITICAL THINKING/DEBATE

* Ask students to take sides on the security vs. civil-liberties issue. Specifically, should the government have the right to tap Americans' phones or e-mails without court approval as part of the effort to fight terrorism?

You might expand this assignment by having students query their parents about their views.

Some critics fear that the government might expand its surveillance beyond the level necessary to guard against terrorism. Is this a reasonable concern?

DISCUSSION QUESTION

* Why do you think Americans ignored the early warning signs about radical Islam, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center?

WRITING PROMPT

* Write a brief essay about how your life or that of your family has changed since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

FAST FACT

* In the two years before 9/11, the North American Aerospace Defense Command [NORAD] conducted exercises simulating the use of hijacked airliners to crash into buildings. One of the targets used in the exercises was the World Trade Center.

WEB WATCH

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/chronology.attack chronology of events on 9/11.

The Day That Changed the World > Pages 14-17

1. For most Americans, the decade before the Sept. 11 attacks seemed peaceful, in large part as a result of

a the collapse of the Soviet Union, which left the United States as the world's only superpower.

b rising incomes and falling prices on most consumer products.

c the passage of civil rights legislation and the social advancement of minorities.

d the election of two presidents who presided over a strengthening of the U.S. military and more federal aid for health care.

2. Critics say a law that gives law enforcement officials more tools to fight terrorism curtails civil liberties. What is the name of this law?

a The Anti-Terrorism Act

b The Security Enforcement Act

c The Patriot Act

d The America First Act

3. Since September 2001, terrorists have struck in cities outside the United States, including Madrid and

a London.

b Calcutta.

c Paris.

d Mexico City.

4. Describe the "unique and worrisome" change that homeland-security expert Stephen Flynn sees in American society since 9/11.

5. Following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and captured suspected terrorists, many of whom are now being held

a at a U.S. military base in Cuba.

b in an Atlanta penitentiary.

c in a Washington, D.C., prison.

d in Iran.

IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS

1. Explain why you believe, or do not believe, that routine searches of people by the police would be an acceptable trade-off of civil liberties in exchange for protection against terrorists.

2. Historian Eric Foner speaks of "the tradition of civil liberties in America." What do you think are some of America's traditional civil liberties?

ANSWER KEY

1. (a) the collapse of the Soviet Union, which left the U.S. as the world's only superpower.

2. (c) the Patriot Act.

3. (a) London

4. Flynn sees the U.S. as an insecure and vulnerable society. [Similar wording is acceptable.]

5. (a) at a U.S. military base in Cuba.