Why is 9/11 known as the biggest tragedy in US history?

[Scepcop]

There's something I don't get. Why is 9/11 considered the biggest tragedy in world history, at least to America? Only 3,000 people died in it, whereas throughout recorded history, including US history, there are thousands of events where a lot more people died than that.

More Americans died during the invasion of Iwo Jima for example. And more Americans died at Gettysburg during the Civil War than that.

More Americans die every year from heart disease than 3,000. And more die every year in car accidents as well.

So why is 9/11 the pivotal event that changed the world? The only change is that the US government used it as an excuse to instate a police state and make war with Arab countries. But other than that, what reason is there for it to have changed the world? Other than the actions of the US and UK governments, I don't see how it changed the world. And I don't see how it changed the world for other countries too.

Isn't it because the US media made it the biggest tragedy in US history? There are many tragedies bigger than that one, so why did the US media focus on that? Were they ordered to? What is their logic?

[Arouet]

I don't live in the US so maybe it is common knowledge there - but where do you get that Americans think 9/11 was the biggest tragedy in history? Is this based on a poll?

[Scepcop]

[SydneyPSIder]

In a word, PNAC. Their desire for a 'Pearl Harbor' event in their own words has been conveniently removed from their publications.

I sincerely doubt anywhere near 3,000 people were killed, I believe a lot of floors had phantom tenants and a lot of IDs were fabricated in order to access the compensation fund and pay off the participants. But there were definitely innocent people killed, sacrificed on the altar of expediency. This was the crime of the century, I hope nothing else in the 21st century exceeds it, although perhaps the invasion of Iraq and the use of DU weapons and their longterm effects already has.