Counterterrorism after 9/11

Counterterrorism after 9/11

Word Cloud

What is one word you think of when you think of the 9/11 attacks?

Essential Question

How did counterterrorism measures evolve in the immediate aftermath of 9/11?

Objective

Students will be able to...
- Explore how intelligence agencies tracked Osama bin Laden over the course of 10 years
- Discuss how changes in strategy and technology impacted the hunt for Osama bin Laden

Vocabulary

al Queda: This international Islamist extremist terrorist network is responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

- Al-Qaeda is responsible for multiple terrorist attacks since its founding in the 1980s by Osama bin Laden and others who were involved in the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan
- Their aim has been to overthrow governments in the Middle East, and elsewhere in the Muslim world, which do not strictly enforce a narrow, fundamentalist version of Islam.

Vocabulary

Counterterrorism: the use of military tactics, techniques, strategies, and practices to combat terrorism

Video #1

Video #2

Osama bin Laden escaped from Tora Bora in December 2001, leaving no trace.

While the hunt for bin Laden continued for years, it was not the U.S. government’s sole priority. America’s strategy to find bin Laden now hinged on tracking al-Qaeda’s global network. 

More intelligence and better integration were key to fighting al-Qaeda. Intelligence and law enforcement officers now deployed alongside troops overseas to help plan special operations. Raids increased in frequency and importance. Materials recovered from these missions, along with aerial imagery, information from detainee interrogations as well as local allies, and other sources, produced a flood of intelligence, all of which needed to be shared and analyzed rapidly. 

When a lead to bin Laden’s location finally emerged in 2010, the U.S. applied a decade of knowledge and experience against the ultimate high-value target.

Video #3

The Counterterroism Toolkit | National September 11 Memorial & Museum

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How did counterterrorism measures evolve in the immediate aftermath of 9/11?

Open Ended

Why was the Patriot Act controversial?

Open Ended

How did flying in America change after 9/11?