World Trade Center, September 11, 2001 463 The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon shocked the world The ruins of the twin towers are seen in an aerial shot The towers had previously been the target of a terrorist attack in 1993 immediate reaction of shock and fear gave way to anger and vengeance afterward in the United States President George W Bush addressed the nation on the evening of September 11, saying that the United States was not going to be cowed by the acts of mass murder The United States declared al-Qaeda the prime suspect, and bin Laden became a wanted man Patriotism reached a new height, and sales of the U.S flag soared Donations to charitable organizations topped half a billion dollars within two weeks after September 11 Blood donations increased A $40-billion emergency fund was granted by the U.S Congress to tackle terrorism and help in recovery operations in New York and Washington after the attack Counterterrorism laws were introduced by the Bush administration infringing on the personal liberty of citizens A Council for Homeland Security was established for internal counterterrorism efforts The USA Patriot Act empowered federal authorities to prosecute terrorism suspects and detain them without charges The Information Awareness Office (IAO), created in 2002, initiated measures for collecting information pertaining to Internet activity, credit card purchase histories, air- line ticket purchases, medical records, driver’s licenses, and personal information The Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, released its final report in December 2002 The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission), the bipartisan commission created by Congressional legislation, made its report public on July 22, 2004 The attacks also had significant economic repercussions, pushing the United States deeper into a recession U.S stocks lost $1.2 trillion in value in a week, after the stock market was reopened six days after the attack Recovery operations took months to complete, and the WTC fire was extinguished after burning for three months The September attack led to the “War on Terror,” with the United States increasing it military operations, putting pressure on terrorist groups, threatening governments sheltering the militants, and waging war in Afghanistan and afterward in Iraq Operation Enduring Freedom, which lasted for two months, began on October 7, 2001, against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan Although a cooperative