As the coordinated terrorist attacks on the U.S. continued Tuesday morning, it became clear for Americans that our world will never be the same.

With news bulletins constantly updating the attacks, and the horrific photographs coming across the wire services, there was stomach-tightening anxiety over how this could happen in the U.S. — and when it would end.

The devastating attacks on the World Trade Center towers and at the Pentagon were followed by a hijacked jet crashing south of Johnstown. As these stories unfolded, reports came in of car bombs in Washington and the likelihood of thousands upon thousands of fatalities in New York City as the famous Trade Center towers collapsed.

The coordination required for such a massive attack on America is almost beyond belief. It suggests a stunning failure of U.S. intelligence sources. Planning must have been going on for months, if not years.

Security at U.S. airports and board airliners must be scrutinized now that we’ve seen four hijacked jets turned into instruments of death and destruction.

As America stared in disbelief, the trade center towers collapsed and casualties surely climbed into the tens of thousands. Hours after it began, this attack struck America as no war had.

Referring to the devastation and psychological impact, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said, “This is the second Pearl Harbor. I don’t think that I overstate it.”

The scene in New York City following the collapse of the two giant office towers was described as “nuclear winter,” with smoke, dust and debris in addition to the unthinkable human suffering. As the morning’s events unfolded, much of the rest of the country was the horror in New York and Washington, D.C., and felt worlds away — a sort of insulation from the reality of the attack.

Then before noon, it was learned that a Boeing 757 en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco crashed 30 miles south of Johnstown as the result of another hijacking.

Tuesday’s massive attack stripped from Americans the feeling that we are somehow safe from terrorism. The panic and chaos in the primary target cities was shocking. But all across the nation, fear spread as developments were reported throughout the day. Many people living in Butler County, and across the country, have relatives living or working in New York City or had loved ones boarding planes at airports in New Jersey, New York and Boston.

Most parents of young children wanted to hold their children close to them, while thinking about how to explain the horrible events of the day. It will not be an easy job.

Even as the terrible chain of events seemed to end by mid-afternoon, there was a sense that the details of what had happened — and their impact — had not yet had time to sink in.

In a few short hours, a handful of fanatical terrorists produced more death and destruction than foreign armies of thousands of soldiers using battleships and bombers.

The military response from the United States (and other leading nations of the world) is not yet known. There will be strong national support for swift and punishing retaliation.

Because they tend to be secretive and mobile, terrorist groups make response difficult. Still, there must be retribution.

Dozens of world leaders issued statements expressing their outrage, but words alone will not be enough. The terrorists responsible must be killed. Those supporting them and harboring them must pay a heavy price.

In the U.S., we might see closed borders, dramatic revisions or restrictions to immigration policy and increased scrutiny of foreigners (especially from the Mideast_. There should be broad support for beefed-up covert intelligence operations in the U.S. and overseas.

It will be days, weeks or even months before we fully absorb what has happened. But early Tuesday morning, one Butler Eagle reporter was probably correct when he quietly said, “This will change the world forever.”

— J.L.W.III

This editorial was printed in the Butler Eagle on Sept. 12, 2001.