Tag / September 11 attacks

by Mike Poverello

Commemorating 9/11

CBP personnel in Sault Ste Marie take a moment to recognize the fallen on 9/11 at the International Bridge. (Picture: US Customs & Border Protection)

CBP personnel in Sault Ste Marie take a moment to recognize the fallen on 9/11 at the International Bridge. (Picture: US Customs & Border Protection)

 

Also see –

9/11 – The Significance for Customs

9/11 Vivid Memories

 

by Mike Poverello

WTC developer says United and American airlines negligent

While American’s are accustomed to a period of mourning and remembrance over this time, it seems as though property mogul – Larry Silverstein – is more concerned with lost profits than the fate of a few thousand lost souls resulting from the 9/11 tragedy. Perhaps the US Airforce should be cited for not scrambling fighter jets quick enough to intercept the rogue planes. Moreover, why not cite the ‘negligent’ customs and immigration officials of the DHS for failing to intercept the rogue hijackers. A strange case of selective blame, indeed!

Most of the lawsuits arising from the hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center 11 years ago have been settled, but one demanding that United Airlines and American Airlines be held liable for loss of property and business could go to trial.

Two recent rulings by a federal judge in New York denying the airlines’ bid to dismiss the lawsuit over a narrow insurance dispute have opened the door to the entire case ending up in the hands of a jury. At issue is whether the two airlines and other defendants should pay additional damages to Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder of the World Trade Center property, beyond what he has already received from his own insurer.

Silverstein’s World Trade Center Properties blamed United, now United Continental Holdings Inc, and American Airlines, for breaches of security. The 2008 lawsuit also named aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co, the Massachusetts Port Authority, which manages Logan International Airport, and security companies.

The lawsuit claimed that negligence allowed hijackers to board two planes at the Boston airport and use them as missiles to destroy the 110-story twin towers and cause other buildings on the site in lower Manhattan to burn down. Before Sept. 11, the airlines and the security companies they hired oversaw security at airports and on planes. That responsibility now lies with the Transportation Security Administration, a government agency.

Silverstein is seeking $8.4 billion in damages for loss of property and lost business, even though U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has limited the amount to the $2.8 billion Silverstein paid for the leases. The lawsuit is among the last pieces of litigation resulting from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which killed more than 3,000 people in New York, the Pentagon outside Washington, and Pennsylvania. Read the full article here! Source: Reuters.

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by Mike Poverello

Assessing the Impact of 9/11

Following 10 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks , the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) has released a background report that explores the unique nature of the 9/11 attacks and examines terrorism trends pre- and post-2001. Key findings from the report include:

  • More people died in the 9/11 attacks than in all other US terrorist attacks from 1970 to 2010.
  • The 9/11 attacks involved the first terrorist hijackings in the United States since 1984.
  • There has not been a successful terrorist hijacking in the United States since 9/11.
  • Prior to 9/11, al-Qa’ida had successfully launched only three other terrorist attacks globally—having attacked the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and the USS Cole in the Port of Aden in Yemen in 2000. Since 9/11, groups allied with al-Qa’ida are responsible for over 12,000 deaths worldwide. Globally, over 65,000 people have died in terrorist attacks since 2001, with an average of 7258 deaths in terrorist attacks per year.
  • From 1991-2000, the United States averaged 41.3 terrorist attacks per year. After 2001, the average number of US attacks decreased to 16 per year from 2002-2010.
  • From 2003-2007, there were no fatalities from terrorist activity in the United States. The full background report is available here!