9 11 Gold Silver Coin 3D Stand Up Twin Towers New York City United States Man US

September 11th 2001
Stand Up 3D Coin
Uncirculated Silver & Gold Plated Commemoration Coin
Depicts the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on the New York City Skyline
The twin towers are in silver with the rest of the coin in Silver
The Twin Towers Can be removed from the coin and stands in a small slit to make an amazing ornament
It also has the date it was destroyed September 11th 2001 and the words “In Memory”
It has the words “Even Grief Recedes with Time, but we will never forget”
The Back of the coin shows the freedom tower which replaced the twin towersT
The USA Flag the stars and the stripes in the back ground with the Manhatton Skyline
The bottom half of the coin in the Hudson River
The reflection of the Freedom Tower in the water is the Twin Tower
The words around the coin are “NYPD Counter Terrorism Burea” with stars
“Rember the Past – Defend the Future” and “World Trade Center Command”
The coin is 40mm in diameter, weighs about  1 oz
Comes in air-tight acrylic coin holder with a Deluxe Coin Jewel Case.
In Excellent Condition
9/11 Gold & Silver Stand Up 3D Coin
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Would make an Excellent Gift or Collectable Keepsake to Remember 911
Would make an Excellent Gift or Collectable Keepsake Souvenir
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September 11 attacks
Part of terrorism in the United States
Black smoke billowing over Manhattan from the Twin Towers
Rescue workers climb through rubble and smoke at the World Trade Center site, and an American flag flies at left
A portion of the Pentagon charred and collapsed, exposing the building’s interior
A fragment of Flight 93’s metal fuselage with two windows, sitting in a forest
Illuminated water falls into the square 9/11 Memorial south pool at sunset, and glass-clad One World Trade Center and other skyscrapers rise in the background
    From top, left to right: The Twin Towers burningRescue workers at Ground ZeroCollapsed section of the PentagonFragment of the Flight 93 fuselage9/11 Memorial reflecting pool and One World Trade Center
Location    
    New York City, New York, U.S.;
    Arlington, Virginia, U.S.;
    Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date    September 11, 2001; 20 years ago
8:14 a.m.[a] – 10:03 a.m.[b] (EDT)
Target    
    World Trade Center
    (AA 11 and UA 175)
    The Pentagon (AA 77)
    U.S. Capitol or White House
    (UA 93; unsuccessful due to diversion by passengers)
Attack type
    
    Islamic terrorism
    Aircraft hijackings
    Suicide attacks
    Mass murder
Deaths    2,996
(2,977 victims + 19 al-Qaeda terrorists)
Injured    ~25,000[1]
Perpetrators    Al-Qaeda,[2] led by Osama bin Laden (see also: responsibility)
No. of participants
    19
Motive    Several; see Motives for the September 11 attacks and Fatawā of Osama bin Laden
    vte
al-Qaeda attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11,[c] were a series of four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by the militant Islamic extremist network al-Qaeda[3][4][5] against the United States. On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners mid-flight while traveling from the northeastern U.S. to California. The attackers were organized into three groups of five members and one group of four, with each group including one designated flight-trained hijacker who took control of the aircraft. Their goal was to crash the planes into prominent American buildings, inflicting mass casualties and major structural damage. The hijackers successfully crashed the first two planes into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane was intended to hit a federal government building[d] in Washington, D.C., but instead crashed down in a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania following a passenger revolt that foiled the attack.[6]
The first plane to hit its target was American Airlines Flight 11. It was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan at 8:46 am. Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 am, the World Trade Center’s South Tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175. Both 110-story towers collapsed within an hour and forty-two minutes, leading to the collapse of the other World Trade Center structures including 7 World Trade Center, and significantly damaging surrounding buildings. A third hijacked flight, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the west side of the Pentagon (the headquarters of the American military) in Arlington County, Virginia at 9:37 am, causing a partial collapse of the building’s side. The fourth, and final flight, United Airlines Flight 93, was flown in the direction of Washington, D.C. The plane’s passengers, alerted about the previous attacks, attempted to regain control of the aircraft and prevent it from crashing into its intended target. A struggle broke out in the aircraft and the hijackers crashed the plane in a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania near Shanksville, at 10:03 am. Investigators determined that Flight 93’s target was either the U.S. Capitol or the White House.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, suspicion quickly fell onto al-Qaeda. The United States formally responded by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, which had not complied with U.S. demands to expel al-Qaeda from Afghanistan and extradite their leader Osama bin Laden. In the aftermath of the attacks the United States invoked Article 5 of NATO for the first time and called upon its allies to aid its fight against al-Qaeda. As U.S. and NATO ground forces swept through Afghanistan, bin Laden fled to the White Mountains where he was nearly captured by U.S.-led forces, but managed to escape.[7] Although bin Laden initially denied any involvement, in 2004 he formally claimed responsibility for the attacks.[2] Some of the motivations for the attack Al-Qaeda cited were: U.S. support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia and sanctions against Iraq. After evading capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located in a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and subsequently killed by the U.S. military on May 2, 2011.
The destruction of the World Trade Center and nearby infrastructure seriously harmed the economy of New York City and created a global economic recession. Many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. The U.S. and Canadian civilian airspaces were closed until September 13, while Wall Street trading was closed until September 17. Many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site took eight months and was completed in May 2002, while the Pentagon was repaired within a year. Design of a replacement World Trade Center complex took several years because of the many stakeholders involved. Work on the new iconic building for the site, One World Trade Center, began in November 2006, and opened in November 2014 after several construction delays.[8][9]
The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and substantial long-term health consequences, in addition to at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage.[10][11] It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in human history and the single deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 340[12] and 72 killed,[13][14] respectively. Numerous memorials have been constructed, including the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial at the Pennsylvania crash site.
Contents
Background
Further information: Responsibility for the September 11 attacks
See also: Jihadist extremism in the United States and 9/11 Commission Report
Al-Qaeda
Main article: Al-Qaeda
Further information: Jihad and Wahhabism
The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden traveled to the central Asian country[15] to volunteer, viewing the war as a holy cause to help fellow Muslims (in Afghanistan) defeat Communist invaders (the Soviets).[16] Bin Laden organized fellow Arab mujahideen (the “Afghan Arabs”) to resist the Soviets until that country’s exit from Afghanistan in 1989.[17] The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funneled several billion dollars worth of weapons to the indigenous Afghan mujahideen resistance, a portion of which bled to the Arab volunteers.[18] However, no direct U.S. aid to bin Laden or any of his affiliates has ever been established.[19]
In 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia.[20] In a second fatwā in 1998, bin Laden outlined his objections to American foreign policy with respect to Israel, as well as the continued presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War.[21] Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances were reversed. Muslim legal scholars “have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries”, according to bin Laden.[21][22]
Osama bin Laden
Main article: Osama bin Laden
Further information: Militant activity of Osama bin Laden
Bin Laden circa 1997–1998
Bin Laden orchestrated the attacks. He initially denied involvement, but later recanted his false statements.[2][23][24] Al Jazeera broadcast a statement by him on September 16, 2001: “I stress that I have not carried out this act, which appears to have been carried out by individuals with their own motivation.”[25] In November 2001, U.S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi and admits foreknowledge of the attacks.[26] On December 27, 2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said:
    It has become clear that the West in general and America in particular have an unspeakable hatred for Islam. … It is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, which kills our people. … We say that the end of the United States is imminent, whether Bin Laden or his followers are alive or dead, for the awakening of the Muslim ummah [sic] (nation) has occurred. … It is important to hit the economy (of the United States), which is the base of its military power…If the economy is hit they will become reoccupied.
    — Osama bin Laden
but he stopped short of admitting responsibility for the attacks.[27]
Shortly before the U.S. presidential election in 2004, bin Laden used a taped statement to publicly acknowledge al-Qaeda’s involvement in the attacks on the United States. He admitted his direct link to the attacks and said they were carried out because …
    we are free … and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security, we undermine yours.[28]
Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.[29][30] Another video obtained by Al Jazeera in September 2006 shows bin Laden with one of the attacks’ chief planners, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, as well as two hijackers, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri, as they made preparations for the attacks.[31] The U.S. never formally indicted bin Laden for the 9/11 attacks, but he was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.[32][33] After a 10-year manhunt, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden was killed by American special forces in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 1, 2011.[34]
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Main article: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed after his capture in 2003
Journalist Yosri Fouda of the Arabic television channel Al Jazeera reported that in April 2002 al-Qaeda member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admitted his involvement in the attacks, along with Ramzi bin al-Shibh.[35][36][37] The 2004 9/11 Commission Report determined that the animosity towards the United States felt by Mohammed, the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks, stemmed from his “violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel”.[38] Mohammed was also an adviser and financier of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the uncle of Ramzi Yousef, the lead bomber in that attack.[39][40]
Mohammed was arrested on March 1, 2003, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by Pakistani security officials working with the CIA. He was then held at multiple CIA secret prisons and Guantanamo Bay where he was interrogated and tortured with methods including waterboarding.[41][42] During U.S. hearings at Guantanamo Bay in March 2007, Mohammed again confessed his responsibility for the attacks, stating he “was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z” and that his statement was not made under duress.[37][43]
A letter presented by Mohammed’s lawyers in the U.S. District Court, Manhattan, on July 26, 2019, indicated that he was interested in testifying about Saudi Arabia’s role in the 9/11 attacks and helping the victims and families of the victims of 9/11 in exchange for the United States not seeking the death penalty against him. James Kreindler, one of the lawyers for the victims, raised question over the usefulness of his testimony.[1]
Other al-Qaeda members
Further information: Trials related to the September 11 attacks
In “Substitution for Testimony of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed” from the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, five people are identified as having been completely aware of the operation’s details. They are bin Laden; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; Ramzi bin al-Shibh; Abu Turab al-Urduni; and Mohammed Atef.[44] To date, only peripheral figures have been tried or convicted for the attacks.
On September 26, 2005, the Spanish high court sentenced Abu Dahdah to 27 years in prison for conspiracy on the 9/11 attacks and being a member of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. At the same time, another 17 al-Qaeda members were sentenced to penalties of between 6 and 11 years.[45] On February 16, 2006, the Spanish Supreme Court reduced Abu Dahdah’s penalty to 12 years because it considered that his participation in the conspiracy was not proven.[46]
Also in 2006 Moussaoui, who some originally suspected might have been the assigned twentieth hijacker, was convicted for the lesser role of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and air piracy. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the United States.[47][48] Mounir el-Motassadeq, an associate of the Hamburg-based hijackers, served 15 years in Germany for his role in helping the hijackers prepare for the attacks. He was released in October 2018 and deported to Morocco.[49]
The Hamburg cell in Germany included radical Islamists who eventually came to be key operatives in the 9/11 attacks.[50] Mohamed Atta; Marwan al-Shehhi; Ziad Jarrah; Ramzi bin al-Shibh; and Said Bahaji were all members of al-Qaeda’s Hamburg cell.[51]
Motives
Main article: Motives for the September 11 attacks
Further information: Fatwa of Osama bin Laden
See also: Islam and violence and Islam and war
Osama bin Laden’s declaration of a holy war against the United States, and a 1998 fatwā signed by bin Laden and others, calling for the killing of Americans,[21] are seen by investigators as evidence of his motivation.[52]
In bin Laden’s November 2002 “Letter to America”, he explicitly stated that al-Qaeda’s motives for their attacks include:
    U.S. support of Israel[53][54]
    Support for the “attacks against Muslims” in Somalia
    Support of Philippines against Muslims in the Moro conflict
    Support for Israeli “aggression” against Muslims in Lebanon
    Support of Russian “atrocities against Muslims” in Chechnya
    Pro-American governments in the Middle East (who “act as your agents”) being against Muslim interests
    Support of Indian “oppression against Muslims” in Kashmir
    The presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia[55]
    The sanctions against Iraq[53]
After the attacks, bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri released additional videotapes and audio recordings, some of which repeated those reasons for the attacks. Two particularly important publications were bin Laden’s 2002 “Letter to America”[56] and a 2004 videotape by bin Laden.[57]
Bin Laden interpreted Muhammad as having banned the “permanent presence of infidels in Arabia”.[58] In 1996, bin Laden issued a fatwā calling for American troops to leave Saudi Arabia. In 1998, al-Qaeda wrote “for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.”[59]
In a December 1999 interview, bin Laden said he felt that Americans were “too near to Mecca”, and considered this a provocation to the entire Muslim world.[60] One analysis of suicide terrorism suggested that without U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda likely would not have been able to get people to commit to suicide missions.[61]
In the 1998 fatwā, al-Qaeda identified the Iraq sanctions as a reason to kill Americans, condemning the “protracted blockade” among other actions that constitute a declaration of war against “Allah, his messenger, and Muslims.”[59] The fatwā declared that “the ruling to kill the Americans and their allies – civilians and military – is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque of Mecca from their grip, and in order for their [the Americans’] armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim.”[21][62]
In 2004, Bin Laden claimed that the idea of destroying the towers had first occurred to him in 1982, when he witnessed Israel’s bombardment of high-rise apartment buildings during the 1982 Lebanon War.[63][64] Some analysts, including Mearsheimer and Walt, also claimed that U.S. support of Israel was one motive for the attacks.[54][60] In 2004 and 2010, bin Laden again connected the September 11 attacks with U.S. support of Israel, although most of the letter expressed bin Laden’s disdain for President Bush and bin Laden’s hope to “destroy and bankrupt” the U.S.[65][66]
Other motives have been suggested in addition to those stated by bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Some authors suggested the “humiliation” that resulted from the Islamic world falling behind the Western world – this discrepancy was rendered especially visible by globalization[67][68] and a desire to provoke the U.S. into a broader war against the Islamic world in the hope of motivating more allies to support al-Qaeda. Similarly, others have argued that 9/11 was a strategic move with the objective of provoking America into a war that would incite a pan-Islamic revolution.[69][70]
Documents seized during the 2011 operation that killed bin Laden included a few notes handwritten by bin Laden in September 2002 with the heading “The Birth of the Idea of September 11”. In these notes he describes how he was inspired by the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 on October 31, 1999, which was deliberately crashed by co-pilot Gameel Al-Batouti. “This is how the idea of 9/11 was conceived and developed in my head, and that is when we began the planning” bin Laden continued, adding that no one but Abu Hafs and Abu al-Khair knew about it at the time. The 9/11 Commission Report identified Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the architect of 9/11, but he is not mentioned in bin Laden’s notes.[71]
Planning
Main article: Planning of the September 11 attacks
Ground zero and surrounding area as seen from directly above depicting where the two planes impacted the towers
Map showing the attacks on the World Trade Center (Planes are not drawn to scale)
The attacks were conceived by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who first presented it to Osama bin Laden in 1996.[72] At that time, bin Laden and al-Qaeda were in a period of transition, having just relocated back to Afghanistan from Sudan.[73] The 1998 African embassy bombings and bin Laden’s February 1998 fatwā marked a turning point of al-Qaeda’s terrorist operation,[74] as bin Laden became intent on attacking the United States.
In late 1998 or early 1999, bin Laden gave approval for Mohammed to go forward with organizing the plot.[75] Mohammed, bin Laden, and bin Laden’s deputy Mohammed Atef held a series of meetings in early 1999.[76] Atef provided operational support, including target selections and helping arrange travel for the hijackers.[73] Bin Laden overruled Mohammed, rejecting potential targets such as the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles for lack of time.[77][78]
Diagram showing the attacks on the World Trade Center
Bin Laden provided leadership and financial support and was involved in selecting participants.[79] He initially selected Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, both experienced jihadists who had fought in Bosnia. Hazmi and Mihdhar arrived in the United States in mid-January 2000. In early 2000, Hazmi and Mihdhar took flying lessons in San Diego, California, but both spoke little English; performed poorly in flying lessons; and eventually served as secondary (“muscle”) hijackers.[80][81]
In late 1999, a group of men from Hamburg, Germany, arrived in Afghanistan. The group included Mohamed Atta; Marwan al-Shehhi; Ziad Jarrah; and Ramzi bin al-Shibh.[82] Bin Laden selected these men because they were educated, could speak English, and had experience living in the West.[83] New recruits were routinely screened for special skills and al-Qaeda leaders consequently discovered that Hani Hanjour already had a commercial pilot’s license.[84] Mohammed later said that he helped the hijackers blend in by teaching them how to order food in restaurants and dress in Western clothing.[85]
Hanjour arrived in San Diego on December 8, 2000, joining Hazmi.[86]: 6–7  They soon left for Arizona, where Hanjour took refresher training.[86]: 7  Marwan al-Shehhi arrived at the end of May 2000, while Atta arrived on June 3, 2000, and Jarrah arrived on June 27, 2000.[86]: 6  Bin al-Shibh applied several times for a visa to the United States, but as a Yemeni, he was rejected out of concerns he would overstay his visa.[86]: 4, 14  Bin al-Shibh stayed in Hamburg, providing coordination between Atta and Mohammed.[86]: 16  The three Hamburg cell members all took pilot training in South Florida at Huffman Aviation.[86]: 6 
In the spring of 2001, the secondary hijackers began arriving in the United States.[87] In July 2001, Atta met with bin al-Shibh in Spain, where they coordinated details of the plot, including final target selection. Bin al-Shibh also passed along bin Laden’s wish for the attacks to be carried out as soon as possible.[88] Some of the hijackers received passports from corrupt Saudi officials who were family members or used fraudulent passports to gain entry.[89]
There have been a few theories that 9/11 was selected by the hijackers as the date of the attack because of its resemblance to 9-1-1, the phone number used to report emergencies in the United States. However, Lawrence Wright wrote that the hijackers chose the date when John III Sobieski, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, began the battle which turned back the Ottoman Empire’s Muslim armies that were attempting to capture Vienna on 11 September 1683. During 1683, Vienna was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg monarchy, both major powers in Europe at the time. For Osama bin Laden, this was a date when the West gained some dominance over Islam, and by attacking on this date, he hoped to make a step in Islam “winning” the war for worldwide power and influence.[90]
Prior intelligence
Main article: September 11 intelligence before the attacks
In late 1999, al-Qaeda associate Walid bin Attash (“Khallad”) contacted Mihdhar, telling him to meet him in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Hazmi and Abu Bara al Yemeni would also be in attendance. The NSA intercepted a telephone call mentioning the meeting, Mihdhar, and the name “Nawaf” (Hazmi). While the agency feared “Something nefarious might be afoot”, it took no further action.
The CIA had already been alerted by Saudi intelligence about the status of Mihdhar and Hazmi as al-Qaeda members, and a CIA team broke into Mihdhar’s Dubai hotel room and discovered that Mihdhar had a U.S. visa. While Alec Station alerted intelligence agencies worldwide about this fact, it did not share this information with the FBI. The Malaysian Special Branch observed the January 5, 2000, meeting of the two al-Qaeda members and informed the CIA that Mihdhar, Hazmi, and Khallad were flying to Bangkok, but the CIA never notified other agencies of this, nor did it ask the State Department to put Mihdhar on its watchlist. An FBI liaison to Alec Station asked permission to inform the FBI of the meeting but was told: “This is not a matter for the FBI.”[91]
By late June, senior counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke and CIA director George Tenet were “convinced that a major series of attacks was about to come”, although the CIA believed the attacks would likely occur in Saudi Arabia or Israel.[92] In early July, Clarke put domestic agencies on “full alert”, telling them “Something really spectacular is going to happen here. soon.” He asked the FBI and the State Department to alert the embassies and police departments, and the Defense Department to go to “Threat Condition Delta”.[93][94] Clarke later wrote: “Somewhere in CIA there was information that two known al Qaeda terrorists had come into the United States. Somewhere in FBI, there was information that strange things had been going on at flight schools in the United States … They had specific information about individual terrorists from which one could have deduced what was about to happen. None of that information got to me or the White House.”[95]
On July 13, Tom Wilshire, a CIA agent assigned to the FBI’s international terrorism division, emailed his superiors at the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center (CTC) requesting permission to inform the FBI that Hazmi was in the country and that Mihdhar had a U.S. visa. The CIA never responded.[96]
The same day in July, Margarette Gillespie, an FBI analyst working in the CTC, was told to review material about the Malaysia meeting. She was not told of the participant’s presence in the U.S. The CIA gave Gillespie surveillance photos of Mihdhar and Hazmi from the meeting to show to FBI counterterrorism but did not tell her their significance. The Intelink database informed her not to share intelligence material on the meeting with criminal investigators. When shown the photos, the FBI were refused more details on their significance, and they were not given Mihdhar’s date of birth nor passport number.[9

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