Do you think an attack like the twin towers will ever happen again in our life time?

[Soubriquet]

Watching remember me and world trade centre and it made me wonder would an attack like that ever happen again in our life time?

Im not naive enough to say will it ever happen again because it probably will. 100 years from now, 200 years from now, someone will orchestra another attack.

But do you think an attack like that could happen again in the next 50-70 years?

Sadly, as long as there are humans on this planet bad things will happen.

Good things will too though.

Yes it will unfortunately

I’d assume absolutely yes it will, but perhaps it will be a cyber attack instead.

but would also mention that the 7th Oct attack on Israel killed approx 1300 people - which is getting on for nearly half the number of people killed in 9/11. So I do think that 9/11 was already replicated in that attack. It was coordinated and multi location, just like 9/11

@spitefulandbadgrammar quite. October 7 was an horrific large scale terrorist rape and massacre of a civilian population. Very much the type of event being discussed.

Or an attack on vital things like electricity, gas, WiFi. I think we are being stupid trashing the analogue phone lines we have.

Calm down doesn't equate to being reduced...

All some of the new technology such as the newer scanners might do is take some of the PITA out of airports for passengers but the level of protection won't be reduced.

The specific factors that make 9/11 more 'newsworthy' than the many other terrorist attacks before or since are:

1. attacks on 'iconic' buildings so we retain a visual memory.
2. • and this is the big one in terms of its subsequent impact on the world - I think it's really the only major attack on mainland US soil by a foreign organisation in history (certainly living memory).

I think the drama of 9/11 was it all being caught on camera and obviously the famous location.

I live in the USA and turned on the TV (by coincidence, as was at home with my baby on the West Coast) and at the time it was thought there had been a terrible accident of some kind and there was a lot of confusion. Then while we watched the second plane flew in and hit the second tower.

Usually we see the horror of the aftermath of terror attacks and don't witness it as it happens.

The attacks on October 7th were worse in that they involved rape, torture and (still ongoing) kidnappings.

I have little doubt that something like that could happen again.

A few years ago I had a conversation with my then teenage DC about WW2/Hitler. I explained that someone like Hitler would never be able to do something like that nowadays. I do not feel like that now (not that I've shared that with them).

I don't think there is any competition about which atrocities around the world are worse, they are all horrific. The people on the planes that were hijacked were all tortured knowing they were about to die, as were the thousands of people trapped in the buildings.

Almost 3,000 people died in the planes, NYC and the Pentagon and thousands of children lost their parents.

91,000 first responders, recovery and clean up crews were exposed to hazards and are still suffering and dying from the effects.

https://theconversation.com/20-years-on-9-11-responders-are-still-sick-and-dying-166033

Why bother with all the palaver of high-jacking planes when you can do the same far more easily with a drone? Look what's happening in Ukraine.

Yes.

The USA have been using drones since 9/11 in attacks on various nations including Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia and Afghanistan.

lawblogs.uc.edu/ihrlr/2022/11/29/secret-war-u-s-drone-strikes-in-pakistan/

Unfortunately yes. I think what made 9/11 so horrendous was the sheer number of coordinated attacks - the 2 towers, the pentagon, United 93. Same with 7/7.

Yes security forces etc would presumably be more aware of a chain of attacks, but how can you guarantee exactly what they are going to target. If Big Ben was targeted for example, how do you know what they're going to go for next? You could evacuate the London Eye and other London landmarks for them to then strike say the Liver Building. I'd hope the level of planning required to go into such coordinated attacks would be so much that it's picked up by counter terrorism etc before it happens.

Did anyone watch the documentary about the Malaysian airlines flight? It sounded fucking scarily easy for someone who wanted to do so to be able to get into the part of the plane where all the systems are. I really hope it was simplified.

Let's give credit to the security services for terrorist plots that were/are foiled in the UK & USA. I am sure there are many more they chose to keep secret for various reasons.

9/11 would've very likely not have happened if the US secret services had taken seriously warnings form the UK & Europe secret services about many of the men involved. The information was received but not passed on to the correct channels. This was a big reason the Dept of Homeland Security was founded to make sure to join the dots through the entirety of the US. Before 9/11 I was able to just turn up at a US airport to fly within the interior and go through barely any security.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58512901

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsuccessful_terrorist_plots_in_the_United_States_post-9/11

Yes

I'd be more surprised if it DIDN'T tbh.

I do think we're in a complete bubble in the West in lots of ways.

Of course attacks like this can (and do) happen, and can (and will) happen again.

There have been many atrocities of this scale and larger since 9/11. You don't necessarily hear about them all if you're in a Western bubble and aren't paying attention/ seeking out the news.

It seems a bit of a naive question to ask if it will happen again when it's happening fairly frequently around the world. Sadly, the answer is, of course it will.

I think the factors that made 9/11 newsworthy were that it was an attack on predominantly white, predominantly middle class, predominantly Western, predominantly capitalist people and infrastructure.

I think the factors that made 9/11 newsworthy were that it was an attack on predominantly white, predominantly middle class, predominantly Western, predominantly capitalist people and infrastructure.

Well, yes, but the OP seemed not to have noticed that there have been other large scale attacks on such targets in Europe. And they didn't in general provoke large scale military responses.

I would be surprised if there wasn’t. There have been lots since 9/11. I think that is the one that sticks in everybody’s mind though because it was so shocking and public.

I think you’re being optimistic about what Earth will be like in 100-200 years. A terrorist attack will probably be near the bottom of the list of things to worry about.

Baby Kfir just had his first birthday as a hostage held by Hamas terrorists and you wonder if there might be more terrorism?! There is currently a hostage crisis following a massive terrorist attack less than 4 months ago. Do you not watch the news? Or does it not count to you if the victims aren’t WASPs?

I agree, rape of girls and women, mutilation, little Ariel and Kfir taken hostage. It was (and is) much, much more horrific 😔.