Terrorism and airport security The morning of September 11th was like any other. The sun rose from the east and the day was full of life. People went to work as they were used to and everyone seemed safe from harm. At airports across America: Planes took passengers to their destinations in record time. People went through airport security as usual, passing through the metal detector and sending their bags to the X-ray machines. Security at the airport was normal. As had been done for many years, bags were checked for weapons and explosives. This seemingly routine day turned out to be anything but normal. A group of people belonging to Al-Qaeda had different plans for the people of the United States. On September 11, the men of Al Qaeda, a terrorist group that has long been at the center of attention, hijacked 4 planes and used them as guided missiles to attack the American people and government. These attacks were not against military targets or troops, they were directed against innocent everyday civilians. These cowardly attacks are the reason the United States has spent more time on national security, especially airport security (September 2004). Paul Thompson has compiled a complete timeline of events before and after 9/11. Thompson continued: "The taking off of fighter planes at the first sign of distress is a routine phenomenon. During the year 2000, there were 425 'unknown' pilots who failed to file or deviated [sic] from flight plans or used the wrong frequency." He went on to say that "these attempts before 9/11 occurred about two or three times a week. After 9/11 they went up to three or four times a day" (Thompson, 2002). Paul Bracken,...... at the center of the newspaper......hannel_hsd_story.jsp?id=news/com03244.xmlTerrorism. (2004, March 16) Wikipedia. Retrieved March 17, 2004, from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TerrorismTyson, J. (2004, February 2). How airport security works. How things work. Retrieved March 20, 2004, from the World Wide Web: http://travel.howstuffworks.com/airport-security1.htmstyle='font-family:Geneva'>Thompson, P. (October 29, 2002). Complete 911 History. Center for Corporate Research. Retrieved March 21, 2004, from the World Wide Web: http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&timeperiod=0:10am-11:50pm%2011%20Sept%202001< style='font-family: Geneva '>US Department of Homeland Security. (2004, March 16) Wikipedia. Retrieved March 17, 2004, from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Homeland_Securitypan>