The Freedom Tower

The last time Americans could daydream in the safe world of television characters like “Ozzie and Harriet,” or “Leave It to Beaver” was almost 15 years ago when bombs rocked the foundation of the World Trade Center and left a giant crater in the basement of the Twin Towers.
The AP reminds us that the 15th anniversary of the 1993 World Trade Bombing is approaching.  Days before the bomb blast “appear to mark the last time when millions of Americans went about their business, unaware of the dangers posed by international terrorism.

“Not an awful lot of people thought about how vulnerable we were,” recalled Joseph Guccione, the U.S. marshal for New York. “It was a terrible lesson that was learned.”

For the next decade and a half, lower Manhattan tried to armor itself _ only to learn the limits of protection just eight years later.

All the steel barriers, restricted access, closed streets, security gates and gun-toting security guards that tens of millions of dollars could buy could not stop the two hijacked airliners that brought down the trade center.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, security has been ramped up to an even greater degree across the base of Manhattan. More guards. More barriers. Higher fences. More video cameras.

Yet millions of Americans live in fear of another terrorist attack, with the anxiety particularly strong in Washington and New York, the two cities hit on Sept. 11.”