Military

DATE=12/24/01

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=YEARENDER: TERROR IMPACT

NUMBER=5-50777

BYLINE=JIM MALONE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: When Americans look back on 2001, they will no doubt break it into two parts, before and after the September 11th terrorist attacks. As National correspondent Jim Malone reports, commentators and historians are already trying to determine what will be the lasting impact of the events of September 11th.

TEXT: It is sure to become one of those defining moments in history, an event that will be forever burned into public memory. Who could ever forget the image of a jetliner dissolving into a fireball as it crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center?:

/// EYEWITNESS ACT ///

Oh, there is another one! Another plane just hit! Oh My God, another plane has just hit! (police sirens)

/// END ACT ///

In an instant, how Americans viewed their country and their own lives changed.

For those directly affected by the tragedy, like Trudy Calendrillo searching for her brother in New York, their lives will never be the same:

/// CALENDRILLO ACT ///

I have to see my brother. I want to see him. If it's a dead body at this point, it doesn't matter. If it's a dead body, I know he's o-k now. I know he is up there. I know he is o-k. I have to find him. I want to know that he is o-k.

/// END ACT ///

But for even those Americans not directly affected by the attacks, there was a sense of foreboding and sadness not experienced on a national scale for many years.

Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut put it this way:

/// LIEBERMAN ACT ///

In the last century, I think of two tragedies that seem comparable in some senses in their affect on the collective American psyche and on our sense of security, the (1941) attack on Pearl Harbor and the (1963) assassination of President (John) Kennedy.

/// END ACT ///

But as devastating as the terrorist attacks were on the national psyche, they also pulled the country together in a show of patriotism not seen since perhaps World War Two.

American flags popped up everywhere, even amid the destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Attendance at religious services soared and many Americans said they were focusing anew on family and friends.

Larry Sabato is a political scientist at the University of Virginia and a close observer of American society:

/// 1ST SABATO ACT ///

Americans see how small and petty most of the differences are between and among individuals and groups in the United States and probably also in our politics. So much of what we thought mattered, did not matter.

/// END ACT ///

For a time, patriotic fervor even brought political rivals together in Washington, climaxed by members of Congress singing a stirring rendition of 'God Bless America' on the steps of the U-S Capitol.

Once again, Larry Sabato:

/// 2ND SABATO ACT ///

The change that will have the most lasting value is a sense of proportion and a bringing together of Americans across racial boundaries and party lines and philosophical and ideological perspectives. That is probably to the good.

/// END ACT ///

But even as Americans celebrated their democracy and their patriotism, there were promises to never forget what happened on September 11th, nor the gallant police, firefighters and other rescuers who answered the call when the terrorists struck.

A few months after the attacks, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged Americans to always remember the heroes of September 11th:

/// RUMSFELD ACT ///

Not all that long ago, there were those who asked, "Where are our heroes?" They said there was no unifying spirit in America. Today, all can see that the spirit of our nation is strong. And the heroes? We don't have to look far to find them.

/// END ACT ///

The damaged part of the Pentagon is being rebuilt and should be finished early in 2002. Rebuilding the American spirit could take a bit longer. (Signed)

NEB/JBM/RH