The heinous actions of a few men changed the world 14 years ago today.
A well-trained and motivated team of 19 extremists managed to commandeer four passenger jets across US airspace, thus unleashing a chain of events that ended up in the genocide of over 3,000 people. Of all these innocent victims, only just above half have been positively identified via DNA records or other means. And even today, the number of 9/11-related casualties keeps rising, as cancer cases linked to the events is on the increase.
The attack, a resounding success for its orchestrator and mastermind Osama bin Laden, struck fear in the heart of the United States and the world at large. It all changed that day. From the way airline security was handled, to a view of a new, unsafe world, where extremists could strike at any time, causing death and destruction.
14 years on, the 9/11 legacy remains alive in the world’s collective mind, and though Osama bin Laden is now long since dead, his cold and efficient planning and execution of the plan will forever haunt security agencies the world over.