The passenger grips the armrest as the plane tilts toward the Manhattan skyline. Around them, people pray, cry, freeze as a hijacker barks orders. A few seats back, someone whispers into a phone - another plane… one of the towers… an explosion. The passenger glances out the window. Smoke billows from a gaping hole in the World Trade Center. Thousands of miles away, a young al-Qaeda member watches it unfold on TV. The second plane hits. Cheers erupt. He clenches his fists in triumph, believing this is just the beginning of a righteous war against the West. But the hijackers and their backers had very different expectations for what would happen next. And we’ll explain on today’s episode of The Infographics Show – What Al-Qaeda Thought Was Going to Happen After 9/11. At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A deafening explosion rocked Lower Manhattan as smoke, ash, and debris rained down the streets. Commuters froze. Sirens blared. Across the city - and soon, the country - TVs flickered on as the news spread. Then, at 9:03 a.m., live on-air and in real time, millions watched in horror as United Airlines Flight 175 tore into the South Tower. At 9:37 a.m., as the world watched in shock, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon. The unthinkable was unfolding in real time. Then, at 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed in a thunderous roar. Less than 30 minutes later, the North Tower followed. Across the world, people stared at their screens, speechless, asking the same terrifying questions: who did this, why, and what was coming next? But not everyone was devastated by the events of 9/11; members of Al-Qaeda, watching the action unfold on their screens, were probably cheering in triumph. It had been a plan five years in the making and it was a success. But to them, this was only the beginning. The global terrorist organization Al-Qaeda was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden and other Islamic jihadists who had fought against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan with U.S. backing. Adhering to a radical Sunni Islamist ideology, they wanted to expel foreign, non-Islamic influence from Muslim lands. In particular, they wanted the U.S. military out of Saudi Arabia, the broader Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia. They also wanted to topple governments in Muslim-majority countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which they saw as corrupt and un-Islamic. They intended to establish a global caliphate under their leadership and governed by their strict interpretation of Sharia law. The United States became a particular target after the 1991 Gulf War, with Al-Qaeda opposing Saudi Arabia’s decision to host U.S. troops during the conflict. Therefore, Al-Qaeda declared a jihad or holy war against the United States and its allies. Al-Qaeda functioned as a network of local cells, which also included affiliate terrorist organizations. While it occasionally cooperated with entities like the National Islamic Front in Sudan - and reportedly maintained limited contact with Iran and Hezbollah despite stark ideological divides - the relationship was opportunistic at best. Iran and Hezbollah, both Shia, have clashed with al-Qaeda’s Sunni militants in multiple theaters like Syria and Iraq, where they were often bitter enemies. Still, a shared hostility toward the United States sometimes led to tactical, if uneasy, alignments. Al-Qaeda established its headquarters in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban regime in 1996. They also ran training camps in Afghanistan and other locations, where recruits from around the world received instruction in paramilitary skills, weapons use, and terrorist tactics. There was also strong evidence that they were seeking to obtain weapons of mass destruction. But the attacks on September 11th were not the first terrorist activities carried out by Al-Qaeda. On December 29, 1992, they bombed the Aden Hotel in Yemen, where U.S. Marines were staying while en route to Somalia. No U.S. personnel were killed, but a local hotel employee lost their life. This is considered by many to be Al-Qaeda’s first attack against the United States. On February 26th, 1993, Ramzi Yousef, a man who trained at an Al-Qaeda facility in Afghanistan, set off a bomb in the World Trade Center in New York, killing 6 people and injuring over 1,000. While it's unclear if Al-Qaeda’s top leadership directly orchestrated the attack, it marked a chilling preview of the group's growing ambition - and foreshadowed what was to come. On June 25th, 1996, a truck bomb detonated outside the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. airmen and injuring hundreds more. The attack was principally carried out by Saudi Hezbollah with support from Iran, according to U.S. intelligence. While there have been indications that al-Qaeda may have played a role, that involvement remains unconfirmed. Then on August 7, 1998, Al-Qaeda orchestrated near-simultaneous truck bombings at the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A total of 224 people were killed, including 12 Americans, and over 4,000 were injured. This was considered a major turning point in the U.S. government’s threat assessment of Al-Qaeda. And on October 12, 2000, an Al-Qaeda attack saw a small boat laden with explosives ram the USS Cole while it was refueling in Aden, Yemen. The attack killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured dozens more. Al-Qaeda’s decision to plan a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil had several immediate motivations that formed part of the group’s overall ideology. Specifically, Al-Qaeda was strongly opposed to the U.S.'s support for Israel and its policies regarding Palestine. They saw Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as an injustice against Muslims enabled by the United States. And, as mentioned, they also objected to the continued presence of U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia, home to some of Islam’s holiest sites - including Mecca and Medina. They considered this a desecration, and this resulted in Al-Qaeda declaring a fatwa against the United States in 1996, encouraging Muslims to kill Americans. They also believed that a major attack could help expose the U.S.’s vulnerabilities and encourage others to join a global jihad against the United States and its allies. It was intended to be a catalyst for a broader conflict. They anticipated that the attacks would lead to the overthrow of U.S.-supported governments in Muslim-majority countries, and allow radical Islamist movements to seize power. They also expected to recruit more direct support of Al-Qaeda, making them one of the most powerful organizations worldwide. Al-Qaeda believed the 9/11 attacks would trigger a shift in global power and alliances, ultimately forcing the U.S. to withdraw from the Middle East - especially from Saudi Arabia. They expected retaliation, but they also expected that response to spiral into a long, costly war that would drain U.S. resources and resolve over time. The attack was anticipated to weaken the American economy and its overall global power and influence. This is part of the reason that the World Trade Center, a symbol of U.S. economic domination, was targeted. But the results were very different from what Al-Qaeda expected. The planning of the 9/11 attacks took multiple years, primarily under the direction of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, often known simply as KSM - and with the approval and support of Osama bin Laden as leader of Al-Qaeda. The idea of using airplanes as weapons originated with KSM, who had been involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the Bojinka plot. This attack, planned for January 1995, involved the assassination of Pope John Paul II, the destruction of up to 11 airliners in flight between Asia and the United States, and the crashing of a plane into CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Despite careful planning, a chemical fire drew the attention of the Philippine police, and the terrorists were unable to stage the attacks. Only one person was killed by a test bomb planted on a Philippine Airlines Flight. They also planted two other bombs, in a shopping mall and a theater in the Southern Philippines, but these were discovered. In 1996, KSM presented his ambitious plan for an attack on U.S. soil that was referred to as the “planes operation” among Osama bin Laden’s associates. He suggested hijacking 10 planes to attack the Pentagon, World Trade Center, White House, and Capitol Building. He also planned for a plane to take him to the U.S. to give a speech. Bin Laden originally thought that the plan was too elaborate but eventually gave approval for a scaled-back version of the attack in late 1998. The scaled-back attack had four targets chosen for their symbolism: the World Trade Center as a symbol of U.S. economic power, the Pentagon as a symbol of U.S. military power, and the U.S. Capitol and White House as symbols of political power. Crucial to the execution of this plan was the recruitment of a radical Islamic cell based in Hamburg, Germany. Key members of the group included Mohammed Atta, who was the lead hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11, which hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center; Marwan al-Shehhi, the hijacker and pilot of United Airlines Flight 175 that hit the South Tower; and Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker and pilot of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. They traveled to Afghanistan before the attacks to meet with Al-Qaeda leadership, pledge their allegiance to the operation, and take the lead in planning and executing the attack. Another 15 men – from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon – were recruited to be part of the hijacking of the four planes. Considered to be the muscle of the attack, these men were trained in combat skills in Al-Qaeda’s Afghanistan camps, so that they would be able to subdue passengers with knives and box cutters. Meanwhile, the four leaders and pilots received training at various commercial flight schools in the United States, learning how to control large passenger jets. The hijackers began arriving in 2000 and 2001 using tourist visas, establishing residence, and keeping a low profile. In addition to flight training, the hijackers conducted surveillance of other flights to understand flight procedures and formulate more detailed plans for how to gain control of the aircraft. Finally, in the days before 9/11, the 19 members of the team traveled to their different departure cities – Boston, Newark, and Washington D.C. – and purchased their plane tickets. On the morning of September 11th, at 5:45 a.m., Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al-Omari cleared security at Portland International Jetport in Maine. In their carry-ons were knives and box cutters - all still legal at the time. They boarded a commuter flight to Boston Logan, where they met three other hijackers and boarded American Airlines Flight 11, bound for Los Angeles. The plane took off at 7:59 a.m. Just one minute later, at 8 a.m., President George W. Bush received his daily intelligence briefing, which - despite earlier warnings like the August 6th memo titled “Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US” - contained no new mention of Al-Qaeda. The other hijackers boarded flights under similar circumstances. Marwan al-Shehhi and another four hijackers were on board United Airlines Flight 175 when it took off from Logan International Airport in Boston for Los Angeles at 8:14 a.m. Five hijackers, led by Hani Hanjour, boarded American Airlines Flight 77 at Washington Dulles International Airport, heading for Los Angeles, which took off at 8:20 a.m. The final four hijackers, led by Ziad Jarrah, boarded United Airlines Flight 93 at Newark International Airport bound for San Francisco, which took off at 8:42 a.m. The first plane to crash was American Airlines Flight 11, which the hijackers began taking control of over central Massachusetts at 8:14 a.m. Two hijackers sitting in seats 2A and 2B attacked flight attendants Karen Martin and Barbara Arestegui. Moments later, Mohamed Atta stood up from seat 8D and moved toward the cockpit. Daniel Lewin tried to stop him - but was fatally stabbed by the hijacker sitting behind him in 10B. The hijackers then sprayed mace in the first and business class sections to force everyone to the back of the airplane. At 8:19 a.m., flight attendant Betty Ann Ong made a phone call to ground personnel to report the hijacking and said that they had lost control of the cockpit. Not long after, at 8:24 a.m., Mohamed Atta accidentally transmitted a message that was meant for passengers to air traffic control, telling them that multiple planes had been targeted for hijacking. At 8:46 a.m., the plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center between floors 93 and 99. In addition to the hijackers, the 76 passengers and 11 crew members were all killed instantly. United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked between 8:42 and 8:46 a.m., above northwest New Jersey, about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of New York City, just as the first plane crashed. It took only 15 minutes to reach New York, and it ploughed into the South Tower between floors 77 and 85 at 9:03 a.m. There were 51 passengers and 9 crew members on board. American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked over Ohio between 8:50 and 8:54 a.m. The hijackers turned off the transponder and rerouted towards the Pentagon, where it crashed at 9:37 a.m.. All 53 passengers and 6 crew members, as well as 125 people on the ground, were killed. United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked over Ohio at 9:28 a.m. By then, news of the other hijackings had reached the passengers. Realizing what was happening, a group of them - including Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, and Jeremy Glick - decided to fight back. At 9:57 a.m., they launched a desperate counterattack to retake the cockpit. What followed was a struggle between passengers and hijackers, ending with the plane crashing into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m. All 33 passengers and seven crew members were killed U.S. airspace was shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration at 9:45 a.m., and all operating aircraft were ordered to land at their nearest airport. International flights were not permitted into U.S. airspace. The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 9:59 a.m., followed by the North Tower at 10:28 a.m. All five stories of the Pentagon on the West side collapsed at 10:50 a.m. due to fires started by the crash. Later that day, at 5:20 p.m., 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story building, collapsed due to related fires. The attacks resulted in the confirmed deaths of almost 3,000 people, including over 2,700 people in New York, at the World Trade Center – around 2,200 civilians, 343 firefighters, and 71 law enforcement officers. Another 184 people were killed at the Pentagon, including 125 military and civilian personnel in the building and the 59 people on the flight. In Pennsylvania, 40 people on United Airlines Flight 93 lost their lives. Additionally, thousands more – including many first responders – were injured. In the years that have followed, many first responders and survivors on the ground have since developed serious health conditions and died due to exposure to toxins at the attack sites. It is harder to quantify the psychological and emotional repercussions of the attack on the American people. The scale and suddenness of the attacks caused widespread shock and disbelief. It instilled a sense of fear and vulnerability that future attacks could happen at any time. While the plot is estimated to have cost Al-Qaeda less than $500,000, the property damage alone was estimated to be about $100 billion, and the total economic damage is estimated at around $2 trillion. The subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are estimated to have cost around $8 trillion according to recent sources. After 9/11, the United States took several measures to confront Al-Qaeda and restore security at home. In 2001, the Transportation Security Administration, better known as the TSA, was created to federalize airport security. They introduced mandatory screening of all passengers and baggage and placed restrictions on box cutters in carry-on luggage. And in October of the same year, the controversial Patriot Act was passed. This gave the government wide powers to investigate citizens to determine and prevent terrorism. In 2002, the U.S. government established the Department of Homeland Security, which represented the largest reorganization of the federal government since World War II. It was charged with strengthening national security through border control, transportation security, emergency preparedness, and cybersecurity. The U.S. also built a broad international coalition to combat terrorism, involving military, intelligence, and law enforcement cooperation with numerous countries. In October 2001, the U.S. and a coalition of international partners launched military operations in Afghanistan to dismantle Al-Qaeda, remove the Taliban regime that harbored them, and prevent future terrorist attacks. This involved extensive air campaigns, ground operations, and support for Afghan opposition forces. Significant resources were dedicated to gathering intelligence on Al-Qaeda's structure, operations, and plans. The U.S. and international partners worked to track and disrupt Al-Qaeda's financial networks through sanctions, freeze assets, and enhance monitoring of financial transactions. The U.S. redirected resources to support moderate voices in the Muslim world. Numerous Al-Qaeda members were captured and detained, both in Afghanistan and other locations. Many were controversially held at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The U.S. employed targeted killings of Al-Qaeda leaders and operatives using drone strikes and special operations forces in various countries, including Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Nevertheless, Al-Qaeda continued to carry out terrorist attacks after 9/11. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for two attacks in 2002 – the Ghriba Synagogue Bombing in Tunisia in 2002, which killed 19 people and the Mombasa attacks in Kenya involving a car bombing at the Paradise Hotel. They also attempted to down an Israeli airliner with a missile strike. Also, that year saw Jemaah Islamiyah - an jihadist group with links to al-Qaeda - carried out the Bali bombings in Indonesia, which killed 202 people. In 2003, an Al-Qaeda bombing killed 35 people at three residential compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. There were also bombings in two synagogues, the British Consulate, and an HSBC bank in Istanbul, Turkey that killed dozens. Al-Qaeda also took credit for bombings on the London Underground that occurred in 2005 and killed 52 people. In 2009, Osama bin Laden was directly involved in a plot to bomb the New York City subway system. An Afghan American named Najibullah Zazi and two other Americans planned to blow themselves up on the first Monday after 9/11 at 9 a.m. to commemorate the attacks. This would have been peak rush hour, and they were targeting commuters on trains at Times Square, Grand Central Station, and the Port Authority stations. The FBI arrested the three men on the eve of the attack, and Zazi later confessed. Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in 2011 culminating a nearly decade-long global manhunt. The operation, code-named Operation Neptune Spear, was a covert mission conducted by a team of United States Navy SEALs. They raided a heavily fortified compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where they fatally shot the Al-Qaeda leader. On May 2nd, 2011, President Barack Obama announced Bin Laden's death to the world in a televised address. This led to a significant leadership transition in Al-Qaeda. He was replaced by his long-time deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, but he lacked Bin Laden's charisma and unifying influence. Some analysts believe this contributed to a relative decline in the group's central authority. Al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 31, 2022. The emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in 2014 also undermined Al-Qaeda's claim as the leading global jihadist organization. ISIS's more brutal tactics and territorial ambitions attracted many foreign fighters and overshadowed Al-Qaeda in terms of media attention and perceived power. In many ways, the results of 9/11 were very different from what Al-Qaeda anticipated. Al-Qaeda believed their attack on U.S. soil would spark a wave of uprisings across the Muslim world - toppling regimes and rallying masses to their cause. But that uprising never came. While there was anger and unrest in some regions, most governments held firm, and widespread support for Al-Qaeda failed to materialize. Instead of retreating, the U.S. doubled down. The military expanded its presence in the Middle East, launching full-scale operations in Afghanistan and later Iraq. Far from being disheartened, Americans rallied in a surge of unity and patriotism. Internationally, the U.S. led sweeping counterterrorism efforts with unprecedented global cooperation. While some policies later sparked debate, the overwhelming global perception at the time was that the U.S. was determined to defend its values and confront threats head-on. Increased domestic security has reduced the risk of large-scale terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda’s influence among extremist Muslims has been undermined by the rise of other organizations such as ISIS. This shows that Al-Qaeda misjudged both U.S. and international reactions to the 9/11 terror attacks, the commitment of the U.S. government, and the resilience of the American people. Now go check How SEAL Team Took Down Osama bin Laden (Minute by Minute) or click this other video instead! This shows how badly Al-Qaeda misjudged the U.S. — setting in motion the mission that would ultimately bring bin Laden down. To see that watch How SEAL Team Took Down Osama bin Laden (Minute by Minute) — or check out this other video instead!