How the US Reacted

During the 1990s, terrorism had not been a focus of most Americans, let alone a concern to the political regime. Several bombings happened during the decade, but none resonated as an immediate threat that needed to be addressed. Even warnings of a possible attack in February 2001 and as late as August 6, 2001 were largely ignored.

Until September 9, 2001.

The event shook the world, and the inexplicable mental strength to fly commercial planes filled with civilians into buildings, killing thousands more altered completely the mindset of Americans. A war on terrorism was declared right away, and it led to the longest war in US history - the war in Afghanistan; it also indirectly led to the Iraq war.

The fear of terrorism triggered a burst of xenophobia among American citizens, and immigration procedure since then has seen changes, mostly to strengthen the security measures expected to reduce the chance of admitting a terrorist.

Terrorism is now a significant focus of the US government. Its fearful power can be attributed to the ability of terrorist groups to train surprisingly obedient extremists, which can be traced back to their ability to create and amplify the deindividuation effect.