September 11 attacks: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
Assorted References
- major reference
- 9-11 Commission
- 9/11 Memorial
- Afghanistan War
- American Airlines flight 11
- American Airlines flight 77
- Central Intelligence Agency
- charity fraud
- civil defense
- conspiracy theories
- coverage on television in the U.S.
- cybercrime
- Falwell’s views
- hijacking
- In hijacking
- How Many People Were Killed in the September 11 Attacks?
- impact on FBI policies and structure
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Park51 controversy
- Pentagon
- In Pentagon
- Putin
- Remembering the September 11 Attacks Through Photographs
- Timeline of the September 11 Attacks
- toxic waste
- United Airlines flight 175
- United Airlines flight 93
- United States national security
- urban guerrilla units
- What Were the September 11 Attacks?
- Who Planned the September 11 Attacks?
- World Trade Center
effect on
- airport security
- biological weapon defense
- international law
- nuclear strategy
- United States foreign policy
history of
- Iraq
- New York
- Pakistan
- Shanksville
- In Shanksville
- United States
- USA PATRIOT Act
- Yemen
role of
- Ashcroft
- Atta
- bin Laden
- Egyptian Islamic Jihad
- Giuliani
- Mohammed
- Mueller
terrorism
- al-Qaeda
- In al-Qaeda
- strategy
- Taliban
- war on terrorism
Additional Reading
The authoritative account of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the September 11 attacks is The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004). Any history of the attacks must examine how the 19 hijackers became motivated. A comprehensive study of this process of radicalization is the focus of Marc Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks (2004). Terry McDermott, Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It (2005), provides a narrative picture of the hijackers. A discussion of the religious motivations of the hijackers forms the basis for Kanan Makiya and Hassan Mneimneh, “Manual for a ‘Raid’,” The New York Review of Books (January 17, 2002).
Background information on al-Qaeda’s history, ideology, and internal discussions can be found in Peter L. Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al-Qaeda’s Leader (2006), and Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden (2001); and Michael Scheuer, Through Our Enemies’ Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam and the Future of America, rev. ed., 2nd ed. (2006).
A broad explanation of how al-Qaeda evolved from other jihadist strands is Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (2006). The definitive history of the CIA’s role during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan up until the September 11 attacks is Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion Until September 10, 2001 (2004). A discussion of the ideologies that fueled and continue to fuel al-Qaeda’s recruitment and appeal appears in Fawaz A. Gerges, The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global, 2nd ed. (2009). Another discussion of the factors leading to the September 11 attacks forms the basis of Peter Bergen, “What were the causes of 9/11?” Prospect, issue 126 (September 2006).
Perspectives on al-Qaeda from personal interviews with bin Laden and his key lieutenants can be found in Abdel Bari Atwan, The Secret History of al-Qaeda (2006); and Yosri Fouda and Nick Fielding, Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Attack the World Has Ever Seen (2003). An analysis based on on-the-ground reporting from the places in which al-Qaeda operated prior to and after 9/11 is Jason Burke, Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror (2003).
Peter L. BergenResearcher's Note
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Peter L. Bergen
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: NPR - 'The Banality Of Evil': Following The Steps To Sept. 11. | Dec 09, 2025 | ||
| Top questions revised. | Sep 16, 2025 | ||
| Top question updated. | Sep 15, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers revised. | Sep 10, 2025 | ||
| Anniversary information added. | Sep 04, 2025 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Aug 22, 2025 | ||
| Added cross-reference to classified documents. | Aug 01, 2025 | ||
| Added cross-references; deleted expired media. | Jul 30, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Feb 12, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: NPR - 'The Banality Of Evil': Following The Steps To Sept. 11. | Feb 06, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Aug 02, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: ABC News - Three ways terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed our world. | May 04, 2024 | ||
| Updated to detail some of the long-term health issues associated with the September 11 attacks. | Sep 08, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Brookings - How technology and the world have changed since 9/11. | Jul 02, 2023 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Mar 17, 2023 | ||
| Links added. | Feb 23, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Digital History - September 11, 2001. | Nov 30, 2022 | ||
| Infographic added. | Sep 07, 2022 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Sep 07, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Miller Center - The September 11 Terrorist Attacks. | Aug 23, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: United States History for Kids - 9/11 Terror Attacks. | Apr 01, 2022 | ||
| Removed media. | Sep 24, 2021 | ||
| Media added. | Sep 03, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Sep 10, 2020 | ||
| Rearranged media. | Nov 26, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Geographic - Remembering 9/11 in Pictures. | Oct 24, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Digital History - September 11, 2001. | Sep 10, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Digital History - September 11, 2001. | Sep 10, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. | Sep 10, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. | Sep 10, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Library of Congress - Today in History - September 11. | Sep 10, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Library of Congress - Today in History - September 11. | Sep 10, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Park Service - Timeline - Flight 93 - September 11, 2011. | Aug 10, 2018 | ||
| Added a new section on One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. | Aug 01, 2018 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | May 23, 2018 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Sep 15, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: 9/11 Memorial - 9/11 Interactive Timelines. | Dec 09, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | May 17, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: GlobalSecurity.org - World Trade Center - New York City 9-11 Terrorist Attacks. | Apr 28, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Federal Bureau of Investigation - 9/11 Investigation. | Apr 28, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: U.S. Department of State - September 11. | Apr 08, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Digital History - September 11, 2001. | Apr 08, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 08, 2015 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 05, 2015 | ||
| Changed "al-Jazeera" to "Al Jazeera." | Sep 09, 2013 | ||
| Added video addressing the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. | Sep 08, 2011 | ||
| New bibliography added. | Aug 23, 2011 | ||
| Article thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated. | Aug 23, 2011 | ||
| Media added. | Aug 26, 2010 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 26, 2010 | ||
| Added new Web site: Famous Trials - Trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. | Sep 01, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Famous Trials - Trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. | Sep 01, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 17, 2005 | ||
| Article revised. | Dec 24, 2003 | ||
| Article revised. | Sep 12, 2003 | ||
| New article added. | Mar 13, 2003 |