September 11
On September 11, 2001, four airliners flying out of Dulles International, Logan International and Newark airports en route to California were hijacked by Muslim extremists.
What
happened next would go down in infamy as the most cowardly attack on
the United States by foreign nationals since Pearl Harbor and define
the course of American policy both foreign and domestic well into the
foreseeable future.The mainstream media reported the events to a world transfixed:
At 08:46:30 (Eastern Daylight Time) American Airlines Flight 11 traveling at 465 miles per hour (748 km/h) crashed into the northern facade of the World Trade Center’s North Tower (1 WTC). On board were 11 crew, 76 passengers, 5 hijackers and 10,000 gallons (44,000 liters) of jet fuel. The ensuing fireball engulfed the 94th to 99th floors, caused catastrophic structural failure and led to the buildings eventual collapse at 10:28 hours.
At 09:03:02 (EDT) United Airlines Flight 175 after nearly colliding with Delta Airlines Flight 2315 impacted the South Tower (2 WTC) between the 77th and 85th floors at 590 mph (950 km/h) with 51 passengers, 9 crew, 5 hijackers and full fuel tanks. The intense heat generated by the burning fuel caused the building to collapse 56 minutes and 10 seconds later.
A number of other buildings within and adjacent to the WTC complex were also damaged that day, 7 World Trade Center (7 WTC) becoming the third to suffer catastrophic structural failure collapsed on or about 17:21 (EDT). Though located across the road from the main complex it had been seriously affected by 1 WTC’s demise, damage from debris extending as high as the 18th floor. An ineffective sprinkler system coupled with low water pressure allowed for the spread of fire to other levels and at approximately 14:00 a bulge was noticed in the southwest corner between the 10th and 13th floors where a huge conflagration had been burning for hours. Fearing the worst Fire Chief Daniel Nigro halted search and rescue efforts around 15:30, this timely action to prove decisive in preventing further loss of life when within two hours the expected became reality.
American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the western side of the Pentagon at 09:37:44 (EDT) killing its 53 passengers, 6 crew and the 5 hijackers. The ensuing carnage also resulted in the deaths of 125 persons within the Pentagon itself.
United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Washington D.C. the resultant explosion killing the 33 passengers, 7 crew and 4 hijackers. The passengers and crew aware of the fate of the other hijacked airliners through phone calls to family and friends had attempted to regain control of the aircraft. Their heroic efforts though not successful undoubtedly saved the lives of many in the nations capital. The time of impact was placed at 10:03 hours (EDT).
Both the American and British governments quickly announced their belief that Osama bin Laden and his organization Al-Qaeda were responsible for the attacks.
Bin Laden for his part played
fast and loose:On September 16, 2001, as though fearful of what he might have unleashed he assured the world with the following statement via Al Jazeera “I stress that I have not carried out this act, which appears to have been carried out by individuals with their own motivation.”
While still not admitting responsibility bin Laden stated on December 27, 2001, “Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support of Israel which kills our people.”
It wasn’t until three years after the event, on a tape broadcast by Al Jazeera October 30, 2004, that bin Laden at last acknowledged his involvement “We had agreed with the Commander-General Muhammad Atta, Allah have mercy on him, that all operations should be carried out within 20 minutes, before Bush and his administration noticed” and then referring to President Bush directly, “He reckoned it was more important to preoccupy himself with the talk of the little girl about her goat . . . than with the planes and their strikes on the skyscrapers, giving us three times the time required to carry out the operation, thanks be to God.”
Final confirmation came when in September 2006 another video was released on Al Jazeera, showing bin Laden along with Ramzi Binalshibh a high level Al-Qaeda operative and two of the hijackers Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi preparing for the attack. [1]
While, arguably, the average person agrees with the mainstream version of events (that bin Laden and his minions are one hundred percent responsible), the conspiracy minded, though divided into two camps, disagree:
They “Let it happen on purpose” (LIHOP). The supposition is that key members of the United States federal government up to and including the Bush Administration were aware of the impending attacks and deliberately chose to ignore them. Some theorists go even further, alleging that they deliberately weakened the countries defenses in order to insure maximum damage. To be more specific this first group believes all or part of the following:
The close business and personal relationship between the Bush family and influential Saudis blindsided both the President and the intelligence community regarding a possible Al-Qaeda attack on the American homeland.
Nine eleven was a convenient pretext, necessary in order to justify war and secure for Bush and his business cronies one of the world’s largest remaining reserves of oil.
The U.S. air defense system was deliberately neutralized or stood down on that day (standard NORAD intercept procedures were not activated).
The war games that took place on September 11 had been deliberately timed in order to add to the confusion.
They “Made it happen on purpose” (MIHOP). The supposition is that key members of the United States federal government up to and including the Bush Administration were actively involved in the attacks, collaborating with al-Qaeda in their planning and later shifting all culpability to the terrorist organization. To be more specific this second group believes all or part of the following:
The attacks were instigated by a shadowy organization composed of many of the world’s power elite pulling strings behind the scenes in order to achieve their goal of a new world order. [2]
A missile not an airliner struck the Pentagon, contradictory eyewitness testimony notwithstanding.
United Airlines flight 93 was shot down over Pennsylvania by American fighter jets.
The computer systems on Flights 175, 11 and 77 had been pre-programmed with the information needed to automatically guide them to their targets.
The actual collapse of the Twin Towers and Seven World Trade Center was the result of a controlled explosion using high explosives.
It's an unfortunate fact, but the truth is we will probably never know the who, what, whys and wherefores of that horrific day with any degree of certainty, arguments aside, however, the following is irrefutable: 3,000 innocent people, many while performing acts of incredible bravery, died on 9/11 and hundreds of thousands have died since, many while performing acts of incredible bravery, as a result of 9/11.
[1] Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was killed May 1, 2011, following an intensive almost 10 year manhunt, when American special forces stormed a fortified compound in Abbottabad a Pakistani city 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Islamabad. He was buried at sea.
[2] A term popularized by George Bush Sr. in a speech to Congress on September 11, 1990, when he referred to his “dream of a New World Order” and then used again by David Rockefeller when addressing the United Nations Business Council on September 14, 1994, with what in retrospect might be perceived as a prophetic somewhat ominous statement “We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crises and the nations will accept the New World Order.”