Fourteen Years after 9/11 Published Sept. 8, 2015 By Senior Airman Sean D. Smith Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- On September 11, 2001, the militant organization Al Qaeda launched a large-scale terrorist attack against the United States. Four passenger airlines taking off on the east coast were hijacked to be used in suicide attacks. Two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were flown into the north and south World Trade Center towers in New York City. Both towers were completely destroyed, along with several nearby buildings. United Airlines Flight 93 was intended to crash in Washington D.C., but because of intervention by its passengers, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia. In total, nearly 3000 people were killed, and there was more than $10 billion in immediate damage, but the effects of the attack went far beyond the initial destruction. The New York Fire Department and New York Police Department mobilized massive rescue efforts, and suffered heavy casualties in their efforts to save people from the collapsing buildings. Planes were grounded, flights were cancelled, and American airspace was closed to all international flights. The 9/11 attacks planted doubt about the effectiveness of airport security, and led to the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration. Furthermore, the United States Department of Homeland Security was created in response to the 9/11 attacks to protect the United States from terrorist attacks and other disasters. The United States immediately launched the War on Terror and invaded Afghanistan, which had harbored Al Qaeda. While Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, was finally killed in 2011, the War in Afghanistan has gone on to become the longest war in United States history. The damage from the attack extended to the economy; the New York Stock Exchange didn't open on 9/11, and remained closed until 17 Sept. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than seven percent on 9/11, setting a new record for losses in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost just in New York City, and U.S. spending directly resulting from the attacks came to more than five trillion dollars. The damaged section of the Pentagon was promptly rebuilt and occupied, and the One World Tower was built at the site of the attacks, Ground Zero. At 1,776 feet, the One World Tower is the tallest building in the western hemisphere. The 9/11 attacks profoundly affected American culture and made terrorism a permanent fixture of national conversation that has persisted for fourteen years. After the attacks the world rallied around the United States with support and a new era of solidarity against terrorism began.