Similarities and differences between Pearl Harbor and 9/11

Pearl Harbor & 911

Similarities and Differences: Pearl Harbor and 9/11

Sixty years separate two of the most infamous events in American history. Both the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor were defining moments that altered the course of history. Both caught the country by surprise, rallied its people against their attackers and engendered a long and difficult war against tyranny.

The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 resulted in more than 2,400 American deaths. Within hours after the incident five of the eight battleships at the U.S. naval base were either sunk or sinking, and many other ships as well as combat planes were heavily damaged or destroyed. The Japanese hoped that by crippling the U.S. Pacific Fleet they could eliminate it as a threat to the Empire's desire to expand south. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were more symbolic than tactical. The death toll from the attacks was almost 3,000. The World Trade Center (the target of a previous al-Qaeda attack in 1993) stood as a symbol of the U.S. free market economy. The Pentagon represented the U.S. military's command center, and the other intended target, either the White House or the Capitol, represented the center of U.S. Government (Miles, 2006).

According to Major General Perry Smith (2011) there are three levels of warfare, tactical, operational, and strategic. Usually successful military campaigns focus on the strategic level and build tactical and operational plans accordingly. If the strategic plan is flawed operational and tactical success is in jeopardy. On the tactical level the attack on Pearl Harbor was a significant success, surprise was achieved, many American ships were sunk or badly damaged, and 188 combat airplanes were destroyed. The Japanese lost no large ships, only 29 combat aircraft and returned home in triumph. On the other hand the operational level was less successful, no American aircraft carriers were attacked, and they failed to hit oil and gasoline storage facilities and repair facilities. At the strategic level the attack created a surge of outrage throughout the nation that focused the nation on retribution. In three and a half years the U.S. And its allies won the war and later established democracies in Germany, Japan, and Italy.

Perry (2011) also notes that the September 11, 2001 attacks had great tactical success. Surprise was complete, damage in New York and at the Pentagon was extensive, and the cost in lives and money to al-Qaida was low. Nonetheless, the operational plan was less successful, the fourth airliner never reached its target and the wrong side of the Pentagon was struck. It is too early to ascertain the complete impact of these attacks on the strategic level. After the attacks the nations of the world united in a cooperative way to fight terrorism. Today intelligence information concerning terrorist activities is not only shared with NATO nations, but also with Russia and China, who feel threatened within their own boarders. Many al-Qaida leaders are now dead or in captivity.

It has been argued that the comparison of the attacks on Pearl Harbor with the attacks of 9/11 have caused the nation great harm. McAvoy (2011) notes that the use of the analogy contributed to the belief that Americans could thwart the terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks with brute force the way the U.S. And its allies defeated Japan, Germany, and Italy in World War II. This led to engaging al-Qaida with conventional military force instead of treating the terror network as a group of criminals.

Conclusion

The two national tragedies are comparable in a number of ways, a horrific surprise attack on American soil, thousands killed or wounded, a sudden out pouring of patriotism and national unity, and an ensuing march into war, yet the comparisons are valid only to a point. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are vastly different in scope and impact. The historical impact of 9/11 is still not clearly known. The ramifications of Pearl Harbor set in motion the Cold War, solidified our position as a dominant economic power, brought women into the work place, and set us along the path to racial integration (Collins, 2011). Both attacks did mark U.S. entry into protracted wars, however in World War II the enemies were clearly defined nation-states, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.