9/11 - half a decade on

So it's been 5 years since the Twin Towers were hit in an apparent Terrorist Attack by Al Qaeda. We all know the story, and I'm sure most of us are shocked that it's been 5 years.

Copyright BBC News

But in what way has the world changed since that infamous date?

One of the most important things we are now aware of as a result of 9/11, I believe, is Radical Islam. Some Muslims see the USA as The Great Satan (wiki), mainly for it's foreign policy, particularly with regards to Israel. The main beef, from what I can work out, is that many in the Arab/Muslim world are angry that the US is seen to support Israeli expansion beyond it's 1967 borders, but also many in the world (not just the Arab world are angry that the US exerts so much dominance and "forces" it's culture and ideas on the rest of the world. These viewpoints existed before 9/11 (and was in fact its raison d'etre), but now the world is much more aware of it because of what happened 5 years ago yesterday. In this sense, we could say that the Islamic Fundamentalists have succeeded in getting their cause known.

This is a big change.

To be continued....