Modern terrorist attacks in the USA each time find themselves in the center of attention of all the world media. Their reasons were associated with a variety of conflicts around the American state.
Tragedy in Oklahoma City
Before a landmark terrorist attack took place in New York on September 11, 2001, the most bloody terrorist act seemed to be a car bomb explosion. As a result of the attack, the Alfred Marr Federal Building was destroyed. On April 19, 1995, 168 people died in Oklahoma City, and several hundred more civilians were injured and injured.
The attacks in the USA at that time were such an amazing event that no one expected anything like that, especially in the deep American province. After the nation recovered from the shock, the largest investigation in the history of the FBI began. Investigators conducted thousands of surveys, collected millions of documents. Nobody took responsibility for the attack, so the intelligence services had to go on the trail of criminals almost blindly. Hundreds of buildings were damaged due to the explosion, and nothing but a funnel remained on the site of the bomb.
Reasons for the promotion
The suspects in this case were detained only after a year and a half. Acts of terrorism in the USA always caused a great resonance in a society therefore the investigation was conducted before the eyes of a multimillion public. Finally, Timothy McVeigh, a supporter of radical right-wing views, was arrested. His accomplice Terry Nichols was also captured.
The attack was organized as a response to the authorities on their actions during the assault in Waco. In 1993, FBI officers ransacked a ranch belonging to the David Sect religious sect. Due to the ensuing conflict, a raid took place, in which 86 people died, including 82 members of the community. The assault used military equipment.
It was these events that Timothy McVeigh called his main motive that made him organize a terrorist attack. In 2001, he was executed by injecting a lethal injection. His accomplice Terry Nichols was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Series of attacks of September 11, 2001
This event changed the lives of not only Americans, but also residents of other countries. If you ask a random person what the terrorist attacks in the USA were like, then everyone will surely remember the tragedy that happened on September 11, 2001.
The biggest impact on the whole world was made by the collision of two planes with the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. However, many forget that there were two more hijacked aircraft. The third plane the villains sent to the building that belonged to the Pentagon.
The passengers of the last Boeing tried to stop the terrorists on board. In the ensuing struggle, control was lost, and the plane crashed to the ground, not reaching its goal. The plane crash occurred in the state of Pennsylvania. The results of the investigation showed that the criminals planned to send this aircraft to the Capitol in Washington , DC.
In total, 19 terrorists, divided into four groups, participated in the direct operation. They acted on behalf of Al-Qaeda. 2977 people died from their actions. The terrorist attack was so daring and terrible that after September 11, all US policy related to Islamic radicals changed. In particular, wars began in the Middle East.
Effects
Remembering the September 11 attacks in the United States, the authorities made many legislative changes that were necessary to enhance the safety of citizens and prevent such tragedies. For example, they strengthened all types of searches at airports and other transport hubs through which radicals could get into the country.
Also, intelligence and other special services received additional powers related to control over the company. Many did not like such draconian reforms, and US residents periodically organized protests. Despite the discontent of the masses, all the measures were effective: after the horrors of September 11, such disasters did not happen anymore. At the same time, American citizens faced another problem affecting their security. It was permission to purchase and carry firearms. It was from the executions of single murderers (not connected in any way with political motives) that most of the US residents died in the last decade.
Tragic race
The only terrorist attack in the United States after the events of 2001 was a series of explosions at the traditional Boston marathon on April 15, 2013. Not far from the finish line, two improvised devices were put in place, which worked with an interval of 12 seconds.
The attacks in the United States have not occurred for a long time, so a new attack sowed a huge panic. The place of the explosion was chosen carefully and thoughtfully: it was at the finish that there were most of the spectators. Thousands of runners finished the distance here (amateurs could also take part in the marathon).
The explosion killed three people: two US citizens and one Chinese citizen. Usually, a few days after the attacks, a certain organized group takes responsibility for the tragedy and announces its political demands. However, this time nothing of the kind happened.
The Tsarnaev brothers
The reason for this surprise was that the explosion was prepared by two loners. At first, the authorities did not know this, and the alleged threat of a terrorist attack in the United States was at the highest level. But the investigators did their job and soon they went on the trail of the Tsarnaev brothers.
The Chechens, who have been living in America for quite some time, turned out to be terrorists. During the detention, the older brother Tamerlan was shot dead by operatives. His accomplice, Johar, has been arrested and is still being tried. The history of terrorist attacks in the USA and the fate of past organizers of the attacks that fell into the hands of the authorities show that, most likely, the Chechen will face the death penalty.
Modern furnishings
In the past decade, the main threat of terrorist attacks in the United States has come from Islamic radicals. During this period, the al-Qaeda group and its odious leader Osama bin Laden was at the forefront of the movement. He became the main target of the American intelligence services that hunted him throughout the Middle East.
Bin Laden was killed during a U.S. special operations operation on May 2, 2011 in Pakistan. After the leader’s death, Al Qaeda did not stop its terrorist activities, but its threat in America has noticeably weakened.
However, in the same 2011, events occurred in the Arab world that became the forerunner of the emergence of a new radical force. In the countries of the Middle East and the Maghreb, one after another there were attempts to change power. A distinctive feature of the coups was the fact that they were led by ordinary people, not the military, who usually organized revolutions.
In Syria, an attempt to change regime has grown into a civil war, which continues today. It was in this country, as well as in neighboring Iraq, that ISIS was born - a new large group of terrorists. These radicals not only began to threaten attacks around the world, but also created their own likeness of a state in the Middle East. ISIS attacks have not yet occurred in the United States, but their threat remains real, so the authorities are doing everything to avoid bloodshed on their territory.