Twenty Years Later: The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

Posted September 16, 2021

WABE Radio News Atlanta

LASHAWN HUDSON • SEP 10, 2021

Nearly 3,000 people were killed when 19 members of the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes in 2001.

The terrorist group intentionally crashed two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Alexandria, Va. The fourth plane, believed to be headed to the White House, crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa.

On Friday’s edition of “Closer Look,” show host Rose Scott talks with guests about the deadly 9/11 attacks, honoring and remembering the victims and U.S. policy on terrorism.

We first hear from Erica Dodge, the race director for the Travis Manion Foundation’s 9/11 Heroes Run in Atlanta, who discusses the history and mission of the foundation and the upcoming race.

Plus, Dr. Tony Lemieux, a  professor of communication at Georgia State University and founding co-director of the Atlanta Global Studies Center, explains how U.S. policy toward terrorism has changed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Lastly, we revisit Rose’s conversation with veteran news anchor and CBS correspondent Scott Pelley from 2019. He talks with Rose about the morning of Sept. 11 in New York and covering the deadly terrorist attacks.

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Image: A U.S. Flag hanging from a steal girder, damaged in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, blows in the breeze at a memorial in Jersey City, N.J., Sept. 11, 2019 as the sun rises behind the One World Trade Center building and the re-developed area where the Twin Towers of World Trade Center once stood in New York City on the 18th anniversary of the attacks.

CREDIT J. DAVID AKE / AP