Not receiving support from Congress, the head of state in early March 2011 ordered the reopening of military trials against terrorist suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.
In early April 2011, US Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that the accused Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other defendants in the 9/11 case would not be brought before a US civilian court, but before a special military commission at Guantanamo Bay.
On May 31, 2011, the US military prosecutor's office again brought charges of involvement in organizing the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on five suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
On May 5, 2012, a military tribunal officially charged five suspects with involvement in the organization of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the United States. They are accused of organizing a conspiracy, attacking civilians, intentionally causing physical harm, murder, violation of the laws of war, causing destruction, hijacking an aircraft and terrorism.
All five of the accused refused to answer whether they pleaded guilty.
Federal District Judge George Daniels of New York issued a court decision in absentia, according to which Iran must pay $ 7.5 billion to relatives and other representatives of those killed in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building. The judge determined that the Iranian authorities must pay another three billion to insurers who covered property damage and other material losses. Earlier, Judge Daniels ruled that Tehran could not prove its innocence in providing assistance to the organizers of the terrorist attack, in connection with which the Iranian authorities bear a share of responsibility for the damage caused during it.
The site of the destroyed Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2011 was the World Trade Center Memorial. It consists of two square fountain pools located right in the foundations of the former twin towers, along the inner walls of which water flows cascade down into square holes located at the bottom of each of the pools.
The names of 2,983 victims of the attacks (including the six who died in the 1993 World Trade Center attack) are carved into the bronze slabs lining the parapets of both fountains.
A new World Trade Center complex was opened. It is the fourth tallest skyscraper in the world - its height is 541 meters. Construction began in April 2006 on the corner of a 65,000-square-meter site where the twin towers of the destroyed shopping center had previously stood.
Celebrated in the United States as Patriot Day, since 2009, after the approval of Act 111-13 of the General Law of the United States, this date is also referred to as the nationwide Day of Service and Remembrance.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorist suicide bombers in the United States seized four passenger aircraft, - the towers of the World Trade Center, and the other two - on the Pentagon and, presumably, on the White House or the Capitol. All planes, except the last one, reached their targets. The fourth hijacked plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Victims of the 9/11 attacks, including 343 firefighters and 60 police officers. Not only US citizens were killed, but also 92 other states. In New York, 2,753 people were killed, in the Pentagon - 184 people, 40 people crashed in Pennsylvania.
There are also 19 terrorists who died in the attacks, 15 of them were citizens Saudi Arabia, two - United United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon.
At 8.46 (hereinafter local time), an American Airlines Boeing 767, en route from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) on Manhattan Island in New York between floors 93 and 99. There were 81 passengers on board (including five terrorists) and 11 crew members.
At 09.03 a United Airlines Boeing 767, en route from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center between 77 and 85 floors. There were 56 passengers and nine crew members on board.
At 9.37 a Boeing 757 of American Airlines, en route from Washington to Los Angeles, crashed into the Pentagon building. There were 58 passengers and six crew members on board.
At 10.03 a United Airlines Boeing 757, en route from Newark (New Jersey) to San Francisco, crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania, near the city of Shanksville, 200 kilometers from Washington. There were 37 passengers and seven crew members on board.
As a result of a severe fire at 9.59, the South Tower collapsed, and at 10.28, the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
At 6:16 pm, the 47-storey building of the World Trade Center complex collapsed, which was located in the immediate vicinity of the WTC towers. The fire started in it.
The exact figure of the damage caused by the 9/11 attacks is unknown. In September 2006, US President George W. Bush announced that the damage from the September 11, 2001 attacks was the lowest estimate for the United States.
On November 27, 2002, an independent commission to investigate the 9/11 attacks (9/11 Commission) was established in the United States. In 2004, she released the final report on the investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy. One of the main findings of the 600-page document was the recognition that the perpetrators of the attacks took advantage of the work of the US government and intelligence services.
The only person convicted in the case of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States is a French citizen of Moroccan origin, Zacarias Moussaoui. He was arrested in August 2001 after graduating from flight school in Oklahoma and training on a Boeing 747 simulator in Minnesota. In April 2005, Moussaoui was found guilty of intent to commit a terrorist attack, which was to be the fifth in a series of tragic events of September 11, 2001. On the personal instructions of Osama bin Laden, he was supposed to hijack a plane and ram the White House in Washington - this is a terrorist.
In May 2006, by a decision of the federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, where the trial took place, Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced.
Six other suspects of involvement in the attacks were arrested in 2002 and 2003, they spent several years in CIA prisons, and in 2006 at the American base in Guantanamo, Cuba.
In February 2008, the US Department of Defense committed murder and war crimes as part of an investigation into the 9/11 attacks.
Charges were brought against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who, according to the 9/11 Commission report, is the central figure in the preparation of the terrorist attacks in the United States; a native of Yemen, Ramzi Binalshiba (another spelling of Ramzi bin al-Shiba), who provided organizational support to terrorists and transferred money to them; Mohammed al-Kahtani, who, according to the investigation, on September 11, 2001, was supposed to become another, the 20th hijacker of four American planes; as well as Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmed Hawsawi (another spelling of Mustafa Ahmad Hausawi) and Walid bin Attash.
Hearings in the case of those accused of involvement in the organization of the terrorist attack.
In March 2016, New York Federal District Judge George Daniels issued a court decision in absentia, according to which Iran must pay $ 7.5 billion to relatives and other representatives of those killed at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building. The judge determined that the Iranian authorities must pay another three billion to insurers who covered property damage and other material losses. Earlier, Judge Daniels ruled that Tehran could not prove its innocence in providing assistance to the organizers of the terrorist attack, in connection with which the Iranian authorities for the damage caused during it.
In September 2016, the U.S. Congress passed legislation allowing the heirs of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, where most of the terrorists who carried out the attacks were citizens. Already in early October 2016, an American woman who lost her spouse during the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, filed the first lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. In March 2017, relatives of the victims in the United States. In April, it became known that more than two dozen US insurance organizations filed a lawsuit against two banks in Saudi Arabia and companies associated with the family of Osama bin Laden, as well as against several charities for a total amount of at least $ 4.2 billion in connection with the attacks.
Not receiving support from Congress, the head of state in early March 2011 ordered the reopening of military trials against terrorist suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.
In early April 2011, US Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that the accused Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other defendants in the 9/11 case would not be brought before a US civilian court, but before a special military commission at Guantanamo Bay.
On May 31, 2011, the US military prosecutor's office again brought charges of involvement in organizing the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on five suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
On May 5, 2012, a military tribunal officially charged five suspects with involvement in the organization of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the United States. They are accused of organizing a conspiracy, attacking civilians, intentionally causing physical harm, murder, violation of the laws of war, causing destruction, hijacking an aircraft and terrorism.
All five of the accused refused to answer whether they pleaded guilty.
Federal District Judge George Daniels of New York issued a court decision in absentia, according to which Iran must pay $ 7.5 billion to relatives and other representatives of those killed in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building. The judge determined that the Iranian authorities must pay another three billion to insurers who covered property damage and other material losses. Earlier, Judge Daniels ruled that Tehran could not prove its innocence in providing assistance to the organizers of the terrorist attack, in connection with which the Iranian authorities bear a share of responsibility for the damage caused during it.
The site of the destroyed Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2011 was the World Trade Center Memorial. It consists of two square fountain pools located right in the foundations of the former twin towers, along the inner walls of which water flows cascade down into square holes located at the bottom of each of the pools.
The names of 2,983 victims of the attacks (including the six who died in the 1993 World Trade Center attack) are carved into the bronze slabs lining the parapets of both fountains.
A new World Trade Center complex was opened. It is the fourth tallest skyscraper in the world - its height is 541 meters. Construction began in April 2006 on the corner of a 65,000-square-meter site where the twin towers of the destroyed shopping center had previously stood.
Celebrated in the United States as Patriot Day, since 2009, after the approval of Act 111-13 of the General Law of the United States, this date is also referred to as the nationwide Day of Service and Remembrance.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
On September 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks were carried out in the United States, which resulted in the death of 2,977 people. By official version, destructive attacks were carried out by members of the Al-Qaeda * group, but there are facts that can refute the generally accepted point of view.
Quick version
The official version of what happened is as follows. In the early morning of September 11, 2001, four passenger Boeings were hijacked in the air by Arab terrorists. The hijackers were armed only with stationery knives and gas cans. Two aircraft attacked the twin towers of the World Trade Center, located in southern Manhattan, a third plane was sent to the Pentagon building, a fourth did not reach the Capitol and crashed in the middle of a field in Pennsylvania.
This version was formed literally a few days after the tragedy and the American government did not change it again. Such hasty conclusions suggest that Washington was preparing for this in advance.
We have already encountered a situation when the White House "knew for sure" that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction, Muammar Gaddafi was sponsoring international terrorism, and Bashar al-Assad was using chemical weapons.
None of these charges have ever been confirmed. However, these suspicions became a pretext for the US-sanctioned use of armed forces in Iraq, Libya and Syria. It is expected that after the events of September 11, the Americans intensified military operations in Afghanistan.
Immediately after the explosions, the head of Al Qaeda * Osama bin Laden declared his innocence in the attacks. Unusual behavior for a person who always gladly took responsibility for terrorist attacks that were committed with his participation. Later, bin Laden nevertheless admitted to involvement in the events of September 11, however, according to some, this was a person only similar to the leader of Al Qaeda *.
Strange destruction
Probably not everyone knows that during the attack on New York, three buildings of the World Trade Center (WTC) collapsed. In addition to the well-known twin towers No. 1 and No. 2, there was also a skyscraper No. 7. The government commission, set up to investigate the events of 9/11, chose to remain silent about this fact. House at number 7 is a 47-storey high-rise, noticeably inferior to its twin brothers in height.
It, in particular, housed the New York branch of the CIA headquarters. This building escaped being hit by a plane, but by 5 pm it collapsed in the same way as the twin towers.
The building collapsed as a result of burning fragments that fell on it from crumbling skyscrapers, as well as the ensuing fire, authorities said. However, much closer to the towers were the WTC buildings numbered 3, 4, 5 and 6, and they all survived. Maybe there was another reason for the fall of the 7th house?
As for the Twin Towers, researchers are still concerned with an interesting question: why did not only the upper floors of the building collapse, but also the lower ones? The official version is relentless: when the building was destroyed, the top carried away the rest of it.
However, a discrepancy arises here too. Parts of the tower's structure did not fall in different directions, but folded right under the base, like a house of cards.
The designers of the World Trade Center all as one declare that during the construction of high-rise buildings the possible hit of an airplane was taken into account, as is the case with all skyscrapers. If a catastrophic scenario does occur, then, according to them, it cannot lead to destructive consequences of this magnitude.
The disaster footage clearly shows that the planes crash into buildings in completely different ways: the liner entered the northern tower right in the center, into the southern tower at an acute angle, chopping off the edge of the skyscraper. At the same time, the destruction of the towers was surprisingly uniform and symmetrical, as in a prepared explosion. And then a strange thing happens: the southern tower, which was less damaged by the explosion, collapses first, and only half an hour later the northern one falls, where the consequences of the catastrophe should have been more impressive.
Experts analyzed the video of the collapse of the towers and almost unanimously stated that this is how industrial demolition of buildings occurs. Indeed, if you carefully look at the slow motion footage of the disaster, you can see how blast waves run across the entire height of the building at equal distances - as if a pre-laid charge had been detonated.
Here are two more facts that will make you think. Shortly before the terrorist attack, the floors, into which the planes subsequently flew, were closed for repairs. And a few weeks before the tragedy, the owner of the twin towers, Larry Silverstein, insured them for $ 3 billion, and insurance against terrorist attacks was spelled out as a separate item.
Selective fire
If you believe the official conclusions, then in a monstrous fire, hundreds of thousands of tons of steel structures were melted, and hundreds of tons of concrete were rubbed into dust.
Is it possible that the ignited aviation kerosene, the combustion temperature of which is less than 1000 ° C, made the hardened steel “tremble”, which melts at no less than 2000 ° C. At the same time, there was a critical loss of strength of 50 massive load-bearing beams at once, which is possible only if the fuel is evenly spread over all floor areas.
As a result of the explosions, charred and unidentifiable body particles were left from the passengers of both Boeings. Meanwhile, the passport of Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers of the plane, which became one of the main pieces of evidence in favor of the guilt of Al Qaeda *, was completely unharmed. According to the commission, the document miraculously survived a powerful explosion, fell out of the plane and landed safely near the building.
The US government was in such a hurry to come to the right conclusion that it was not even going to pay attention to such incidents. Further more.
The Commission of Inquiry announced the identification of some of the passengers and crew members of the aircraft by "DNA remnants." And this is after the fire practically completely destroyed the hull of the liner, made of high-temperature resistant aircraft aluminum.
It is curious that despite the fantastically preserved "remnants of DNA", the black boxes were declared completely destroyed by fire. Looking at this, it remains only to believe that the fire acted selectively, completely not being guided by the laws of the physical world.
No trace
The third hijacked Boeing, flying American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon, according to official figures. In order to inflict the most sensitive damage to the building and people, the terrorists sent the liner along the lowest possible trajectory. It is known that the height of the Boeing 757 is 13 meters, the Pentagon is 24 meters.
Based on this, the final kilometers of the plane's flight had to pass at an altitude of only a few meters above the ground, which is an almost impossible task for pilots who have just completed express courses.
Moreover, such a maneuver was absolutely unjustified, since, in the opinion of many experts, it would not have led to such damage as if it fell at an angle. It would be difficult even for an inexperienced pilot to miss in this case, given the impressive area of the Pentagon - 117 363 sq. M. It turns out that the terrorists, who carefully planned the terrorist attack, chose a more complicated and less effective path.
However, the main incident lies ahead. Independent researchers studying photographs of the crash were alarmed by the fact that the Boeing, when it hit a building, did not leave traces of its wings. No debris was found nearby. Moreover, there were no hints of aircraft fragments inside the destroyed section of the building. According to official conclusions, all of them were destroyed by a powerful explosion and fire, which is very doubtful.
All of the above facts suggest another reason for the destruction at the Pentagon - a planned explosion. But if we assume that the Boeing 757 did not crash into the Pentagon, where did the car itself with the passengers and crew of this ill-fated flight disappear?
As for the fourth Boeing, which did not make it to the Capitol and fell in the fields of Pennsylvania, there are fewer questions for him. However, there are still inconsistencies. The authorities claim that the death was caused by the impact on the ground, but they failed to find any significant number of aircraft fragments at the alleged crash site. Eyewitnesses say the debris was scattered for miles. According to researchers who do not share the official point of view, the liner could have been hit in the air by a missile launched from a fighter jet.
The official version says: passengers, having contacted their relatives by mobile phones, learned that two planes had already crashed into buildings in Manhattan and decided to prevent the hijackers' plans. It was as a result of the struggle that ensued on board, the plane went off course and went into a steep dive. However, experts say that the opportunity to use cellular communication in flight has appeared only since 2005.
Avoid misunderstandings
Everything in this story is alarming, including the behavior of top American officials. For example, President George W. Bush long ignored the invitation to address Congress, but when he agreed to the meeting, he put forward conditions that at first glance defy logical explanation. He insisted on limiting the conversation in time - no more than an hour and a mandatory invitation to the event, Vice President Dick Cheney. At the request of the head of the White House from the commission investigating the tragedy, only two people were to be present.
After a lengthy debate, it was still possible to agree on the participation of 10 members of the commission and remove the time limit. During the meeting, everyone expected to hear from the president exhaustive, and most importantly, reliable information about what had happened, but everything turned out to be much more complicated. Bush did not allow video filming, audio recording, or even transcription of the meeting. In addition, Bush and Cheney refused to take an oath to reassure listeners of the truth of what was said.
In April 2004, the performance finally took place. However, to this day it is not known what Bush and Cheney said to the Congressmen. Many people pay attention to the absurdity of this situation. It looks like one witness agreed to appear in court only in the presence of another witness. Why is this needed? Probably in order to avoid inconsistency in the testimony.
Every year there is a growing conviction in the world that the terrorist attacks were planned by the US special services to justify the actions of the American military in the Middle East. But it is too early to draw final conclusions. So far, we can only say with certainty the following: if the US authorities did not organize the attacks themselves, then at least they did not interfere with their planning.
* Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group banned on the territory of the Russian Federation
There is a beautiful theory that centuries - like certain historical periods - rarely fit into the rigid frames given to them in the calendar. So, for example, the 19th century began only after the end of the Napoleonic wars, and ended on July 28, 1914, on the day of the outbreak of the First World War, which launched a whole series of events that determined the course of the next, 20th century.
If we follow this logic, then the new XXI century began on September 11, 2001 with a series of terrorist acts committed by the Islamic radical organization Al-Qaeda in the United States.
Up to this point, the collective West was still on the laurels of the victor in the Cold War, its hegemony seemed undeniable, and its military and political power unshakable. It seemed that Fukuyama's prophecy had come true, and the story finally stopped. However, the events of September 11, 2001 dispelled these illusions. The fall of the Twin Towers in New York was broadcast live by television companies around the world. The picture on the TV screen seemed so unreal that it looked more like filming the next Hollywood blockbuster about the end of the world.
The September 11 attack was a real shock for the United States. Terrorists were able to strike at the main symbols of America: its money and military power - the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Despite the huge defense budget and all the power of the American intelligence services, it turned out that the United States was absolutely unprepared for such an attack. On September 11, 2001, confusion and panic reigned in the high offices of Washington.
For America, the events of 09/11/2001 became the second Pearl Harbor, the most powerful country in the world simply could not leave such a slap in the face unanswered. A few days later, al-Qaeda was declared the organizer of the attacks, which was the reason for the start of the operation in Afghanistan. In 2003, US troops invaded Iraq, accusing Saddam Hussein of the support he allegedly provided to the terrorists.
Analyzing all subsequent events, we can say that the world today lives in a geopolitical reality, which is a consequence of the explosions that sounded on September 11, 2001.
Despite the fact that more than fifteen years have passed since the tragedy, a huge number of people around the world believe that we still do not know the whole truth about 9/11. This also applies to the number of victims of the attack, and its participants, and the role of the American special services in these events.
Naturally, an official investigation was carried out, which recognized Osama bin Laden as the organizer of the terrorist attacks, but its results to this day are objects of harsh criticism. Moreover, the events of September 11, 2001 have become a favorite topic of numerous conspiracy theories. Even today they claim that there were no Arab terrorists, and the explosions of the WTC were prepared by the American special services and the world behind the scenes.
So what really happened in the US on September 11, 2001? How many people died in the terrorist attack? And why does the official version of events not suit the conspiracy theorists?
Official version of events
According to the official version, a group of terrorists managed to hijack four passenger airliners, which were heading to California from different airports. In total, 19 criminals boarded the aircraft, fifteen of whom had Saudi Arabian citizenship, two more were from the OAU, one person was from Egypt, and one more was from Lebanon. Several more members of the terrorist group were unable to enter the United States.
To hijack the airliners, the terrorists used the simplest edged weapons, most likely clerical or pocket knives, as well as gas canisters. In addition, they threatened to blow up the planes, although it was just a bluff - they did not have any explosive devices. We know little about the dramatic tragedy that played out in the sky that day, only what passengers who were able to use satellite or mobile phones... It is known that as a result of clashes with criminals, several flight attendants, passengers, and at least one of the pilots were killed.
The terrorists were well prepared for the attack, each of the groups included at least one person who had completed special courses in aircraft control.
At 8.46 am local time, a Boeing 767-200 aircraft numbered N334AA collided with the north side of the World Trade Center Tower (WTC-1). The blow fell on a section of the building at the level of 94 to 98 floors. After the fire, which lasted for about 100 minutes, the north tower of the WTC collapsed.
The second of the hijacked aircraft, a Boeing 767-200 s tail number N612UA, crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center at 09.02 at 78-85 floors. The fire lasted for about 50 minutes and at 9.56 the building collapsed.
According to the investigation, at the time of the start of the attack, there were approximately 16 thousand people in the buildings of the WTC. The overwhelming majority of them survived, as they were evacuated before the collapse began. Today, it is believed that 2,977 people (not including terrorists) have died as a result of the attacks. This list included 246 passengers and crew members of the hijacked aircraft, as well as 2,606 people who were in or near the buildings of the World Trade Center. The attack on the Pentagon resulted in the death of 125 people. The overwhelming majority of the victims are Americans, but among the dead are citizens of another 91 countries.
Most victims were in north tower WTC. Here, during an explosion caused by a collision of an aircraft with a building, the subsequent fire and collapse killed 1,366 people. In the south tower, a large number of people fell into a death trap on the upper floors of the building, from which only a few managed to get out. Many of the unfortunate ones preferred to jump down rather than burn themselves alive. Due to the fire and smoke, it was not possible to evacuate people from the roof by helicopters.
During the terrorist attacks, a large number of firefighters, policemen, and other emergency workers died, total amount exceeds 400 people. These people worked really selflessly. Many police officers and firefighters from other parts of the country took holidays and traveled to New York to help their colleagues.
Of the total number of the dead, only 1,670 bodies were identified, more than a thousand bodies are still unnamed.
The outbreak of an unprecedented terrorist attack led to chaos throughout the United States. All commercial flights were canceled, and aircraft in the air were sent back or landed at airports in Mexico or Canada. In large numbers, there were reports of new terrorist attacks, which later turned out to be false. The United States Air Force and National Guard fighters were raised into the sky.
The American Emergency Alert System, which was developed in 1997 to alert the population in the event of large-scale natural disasters, major terrorist attacks, or the outbreak of war, was put on high alert. However, no one addressed the people. The US government went into emergency mode, and the country's national leaders were hastily evacuated.
Just a few days after the attacks, the FBI has already announced the names of the terrorists, as well as their basic data. The luggage of one of the attackers was never loaded onto the plane and fell into the hands of the investigation. In it, law enforcement officers found records that shed light on the organization of the terrorist attack and its participants. Soon, the American intelligence services announced that Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, was behind the organization of the 9/11 attacks. The intelligence services of other countries came to a similar conclusion: Great Britain and Germany.
Bin Laden initially denied his involvement in the events, but already in 2004 he admitted that he personally directed the terrorist attack, and his closest associate, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, directly controlled the hijackers.
For bin Laden, this was not the first attack against America. In 1998, he organized bombings at American embassies in African countries.
The main reasons for organizing the attacks were the support of the Americans for Israel, as well as the war against Iraq in 1990. In turn, American President Bush Jr., shortly after the tragic events, said that terrorists attacked the United States because they hate American freedom and democracy.
The international reaction to the bloody events of September 11 was expected: the world community, with rare and absolutely marginal exceptions, condemned them. The exception was the Palestinians, who, without hiding their joy, celebrated the massacre of infidels. Iraq said America was reaping the fruits of its crimes, and there was also a report of a demonstration by Chinese students, ostensibly in support of the attacks. Most of the world leaders have expressed their absolute support for the United States. Russian President Putin, in a telephone conversation with Bush, offered to help investigate the crime. The attacks were officially condemned in the Middle East as well.
Approximately months later, American troops led the international coalition invaded Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden's headquarters were at that time. Within a few months, the Taliban regime was defeated, and a pro-Western government came to power in the country. In the months following 9/11, suspected al-Qaeda ties have been detained around the world.
In 2003, the United States and its allies launched a second war against Iraq, accusing its leadership of participating in the events of September 11, as well as the manufacture and storage of weapons of mass destruction.
This is the official version of the September 11 attacks, as well as the events that followed. However, it does not suit everyone. There are many alternative versions, whose supporters include not only obvious marginals, but also highly respected people, including famous scientists, journalists, and public figures.
Conspiracy theory
The events of 9/11 came as a real shock to American society. Many simply did not understand how a small group of terrorists could conceive and successfully carry out such a large-scale attack against a country with the most powerful intelligence services in the world.
Soon there was a conspiracy hypothesis that in fact there were no terrorists, and the bombings and hijackings of planes were rigged by the US authorities in order to solve their geopolitical and financial problems. It can be added that today the events of September 11, 2001 have become a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists, overshadowing even such "eternal classics" as the American landing on the moon or the government's cover-up of aliens in Area 51.
Controlled drift theory... Conspiracy theorists believe that the WTC towers collapsed not because of collisions with planes, but as a result of the detonation of some explosives that were previously laid in them. Proponents of this theory argue that the construction of the twin towers was so strong that an aircraft impact and subsequent fire could not cause them to collapse. The combustion temperature of aviation fuel is about 1,000 degrees Celsius, which is not enough to melt the supporting metal structures.
The adherents of this theory argue that a termite was laid in the building (sometimes they speak of a mysterious nanothermite or superthermite), which burned through the supporting structures of the WTC. True, this hypothesis is not supported by any material evidence.
However, official American experts say otherwise. Indeed, aviation kerosene cannot melt steel, but a high combustion temperature can significantly weaken it. Already at 600 ° C, the metal becomes half as strong, and if the flame temperature reaches 980 ° C, then about 10% of the strength of steel remains. In addition, from the high temperature, it begins to expand, breaking the concrete surrounding it.
So the action of two factors at once - high temperature and ramming impact - is quite enough to collapse even such a huge building as the World Trade Center.
Pentagon... Fans of the conspiracy theory also argue that the Pentagon did not crash at all, and the building was destroyed due to a missile strike, which was inflicted by the American military. To prove this theory, photographs of a building are usually cited, in which the destruction zone is much smaller than the wingspan of a Boeing 757. Conspiracy theorists believe that another proof of their correctness is the absence of aircraft wreckage (engines, landing gear, fuselage parts) in the photographs.
Indeed, the collapse zone of the building looks much smaller than a huge passenger liner. However, experts who studied the crash site said that the plane cut off one wing on impact with the ground, and the other on the structural column of the building. The very same structure crashed directly into the Boeing fuselage.
In addition, the very moment of the plane hitting the Pentagon was seen by many witnesses; parts of the landing gear, engines and the fuselage of the airliner were found at the crash site. As well as numerous remains of passengers and black boxes of the plane. After the hijacking of Flight 77, many of the passengers managed to use their mobile phones and inform their relatives that their plane had been hijacked by terrorists. However, the conspiracy theorists believe that the calls were fabricated by the special services.
Flight 93... Another popular topic for conspiracy theorists about the events of 9/11 is the fate of the fourth airliner, hijacked by terrorists. According to the official version, the criminals planned to send him to the Capitol, but the passengers mutinied and tried to neutralize the hijackers. A fight ensued, as a result of which the plane crashed. Fans of conspiracy theories believe that all this is not true, and in fact, the liner was shot down by a combat fighter.
The main evidence of this theory is the large scatter of the wreckage of the liner at the crash site. According to conspiracy theorists, this only happens if the plane is shot down by a missile.
Several witnesses stated that almost immediately after the crash of Flight 93, an unusual white plane was seen over the crash site. This information gave rise to conspiracy theorists to talk about another piece of evidence of the shooting down. passenger liner military aircraft. Later, reports appeared on several resources that the FBI officers allegedly put pressure on the witnesses of the incident, forcing them to remain silent.
In fact, there really was such a white plane. On that tragic day, a commercial Dassault Falcon 20, owned by one of the corporations, flew near the crash site. He was contacted and asked to survey the Boeing crash site from the air, which was done. The Falcon descended to an altitude of 460 meters and its crew saw a black crater in the ground, from which smoke was pouring. Having noted its coordinates, Falcon returned to its previous route.
Without portholes... Another point under discussion concerning the events of September 11, 2001 is an interview with a certain Mark Birnbach. He told reporters that the plane that crashed into the south tower of the WTC had no windows. From this statement, the conspiracy lovers immediately concluded that instead of the passenger liner of Flight 175, the cunning military used refueling planes to ram the buildings of the shopping center, filled to capacity with fuel.
However, this fake is especially easy to refute, because on the Internet you can easily find photographs of aircraft wreckage, on which the windows are clearly visible. And in the case of using tanker aircraft, a reasonable question immediately arises: what happened to the hundreds of passengers flying on four liners?
The above lists only the main questions regarding the September 11 tragedy, which do not allow conspiracy theorists to sleep. In fact, there are many more of them. However, answers to them have already been found, and they were given by officials or representatives of the special services, and by professional experts working in different fields: civil engineers, pilots, firefighters, explosives technicians, criminologists.
However, this is not even the point. It seems highly unlikely that anyone can even stage events similar to those of 9/11 in America. Imagine how many people needed to be involved in such a performance? And then how to make them all keep their mouths shut?
Our world is too big, complex and “bardachy” for any serious conspiracy to have a chance of success. So, as the smartest monk from Occam once said: "Do not multiply entities unnecessarily."
