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September 11th Conspiracies - What Do We Know?
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part 1: World Trade Center Towers--Basic Facts
- Part 2: Hijack and Collapse--Cause and Effect
- Part 3: Responsibility
- Part 4: Peripheral Issues--What's Not Covered Here And Why
- Part 5: This Account of What Happened vs. Alternative Theories--Why You Can't Be Agnostic Anymore
- Conclusion: What Can We Know?
Introduction & Methodology
This document will attempt to summarize, briefly, what we know about the September 11 attacks, and what conclusions we can draw from them. I'm calling upon my legal training to employ a methodology that should be reasonably acceptable to most people. That is, I will place into this document pieces of evidence, which will be corroborated by other pieces of evidence, and then state the conclusion that can be reasonably drawn from these pieces of evidence. Where you see this symbol: ● that will indicate that a conclusion has been demonstrated.
I do not intend to present every piece of evidence regarding September 11--just the bare minimum to support the conclusions. In the course of this document, I will not refer to either the 9/11 Commission Report or the NIST Report regarding September 11. This is not because these documents are untrustworthy, but rather to avoid potential counter-arguments regarding the veracity of those investigations, and to demonstrate that what happened on 9/11 can be proven without reference to either of those official documents. All of the sources I cite here are freely available on the web for anyone to examine, and I supply links to all of them (or, in the case of photos, I embed the photos themselves).
The purpose of this document is to demonstrate, to people who profess to be "agnostic" regarding 9/11 or that there is not enough information to draw a conclusion, that we can know with reasonable certainty what happened on that day.
Part 1: World Trade Center Towers--Basic Facts
Witness 1: Lakshman Achutan
Lakshman Achutan was attending a meeting on the ground floor of WTC1 when it was struck. He describes an explosion, impact and aftermath (begins at 0:31).
http://memory.loc.gov/service/afc/afc2001015/sr/sr327a01.mp3
Purpose: evidence that something struck WTC1.
At 4:30 (same link), Mr. Achutan describes seeing with his own eyes--not on television--the second plane crashing into the WTC2 tower.
Witness 2: Monique Mojica
Ms. Mojica, in this taped interview, describes working near the WTC tower and hearing the impact of WTC1 when it was struck. At 2:32 she also describes a co-worker who specifically saw an American Airlines jet fly right past his office window moments before the impact.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/afc/afc2001015/sr/sr294a01.mp3
Purpose: corroborates Lakshman Achutan's claim that something hit WTC1. Evidence that it was an airplane, possibly American Airlines, that struck WTC1.
Later, beginning at 5:28, she describes seeing a second plane strike WTC2.
Purpose: evidence that an airplane struck WTC2.
Witness 3: Carol Paukner
Carol Paukner was a New York City police officer. In an interview recorded at Hunter College, she describes the morning of September 11. After getting a call regarding "unknown conditions," she walked outside and (at 1:25 in the interview) describes an airplane sticking out of the WTC1 tower.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/afc/afc2001015/sr/sr316a01.mp3
Purpose: corroborates Lakshman Achutan that something struck WTC1; corroborates Monique Mejia, and also provides independent evidence, that what struck WTC1 was an airplane.
I am unaware of any evidence that disputes the statements made by these witnesses--consequently, it is reasonable to consider their statements are true.
● CONCLUSION 1: WTC1 was struck by an airplane.
Carol Paukner, continued: At about 5:20 (same link), Ms. Paukner describes a second explosion caused by jet fuel having fallen down the elevator shaft in the WTC1 tower.
Purpose: evidence that plane strikes caused extensive damage throughout the buildings.
Witness 4: Denise Weiss
Denise Weiss was at school near the WTC towers. When the building was evacuated, she came out and saw WT1 on fire. She then witnessed, with her own eyes, the second plane crashing into WTC2. (Describes this beginning 1:34--also describes horrifying sight of people jumping from the towers).
http://memory.loc.gov/service/afc/afc2001015/sr/sr276a01.mp3
Purpose: corroborates Monique Mojica; evidence that a second plane struck WTC2.
I am unaware of any evidence that disputes the statements made by these witnesses--consequently, it is reasonable to consider their statements are true.
● CONCLUSION 2: WTC2 was struck by an airplane.
Witness 4: Kristin Vogel
Kristin Vogel, in her interview, describes learning of the attacks. More importantly for purposes of this document, she saw, with her own eyes, the WTC2 collapse. (Begins at 5:20)
http://memory.loc.gov/service/afc/afc2001015/sr/sr318a01.mp3
Purpose: evidence that WTC2 collapsed sometime after the plane strike.
Document 1: Statement by Gage Averill
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/afc911:@field(DOCID+afc2001015t017)
"I then rushed out to the park and joined a crowd of shocked people unable to take our eyes off the developing tragedy. A column of smoke was all that was left of the first tower. People were just reaching the park who had fled the first collapse, covered in grey... sirens were screaming everywhere and the only planes in the sky were air force fighters and police helicopters. A cry went out in the crowd, and I saw that we could distinguish someone throwing himself off a high floor. Then as we watched, the north tower began to collapse in a grey sparkling shower. Everyone screamed: my own was involuntary and I felt my knees buckle."
Purpose: corroborates Kristin Vogel regarding the fact that WTC2 collapsed sometime after the plane strike; direct evidence that WTC1 also collapsed sometime after that.
I am unaware of any evidence that disputes the statements made by these witnesses or the authenticity of this document--consequently, it is reasonable to consider their statements are true.
● CONCLUSION 3: WTC2 collapsed.
Document 2: Statement by Niloofar Mina
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/afc911:@field(DOCID+afc2001015t023)
"The area was full of people just looking up in astonishment and horror. I do not think it occurred to anyone that the buildings might collapse or pose any danger to the surrounding area. But suddenly the South tower collapsed. It was unbelievable. It looked as if the top of the building was sliding off of it and coming toward us. But the building immediately disappeared in a white cloud and now the cloud was rushing to us. I looked up at the buildings right above me. In a flash I realized that they too were about to collapse or at the least the windows were sure to break on top of us. When the cloud reached us in a matter of seconds, the air was all white with small white particles in it. We could not breathe or see beyond our nose...Right as I reached home the other building collapsed. People were screaming on the street right outside my window. I looked out and saw the second building reduced to smoke."
Purpose: corroborates Kristin Vogel and Gage Averill that both towers collapsed sometime after the plane strikes.
I am unaware of any evidence that disputes the authenticity of this document or the events it describes. Consequently, it is reasonable to consider that what it describes is true.
● CONCLUSION 4: WTC1 collapsed.
Document 3 (Document Collection): collected materials pertaining to American Airlines Flight 11 [download].
http://coop.vaed.uscourts.gov/moussaoui/flights.zip
Available at this link is a Flash presentation that was presented in the Zacarias Moussauoi trial summarizing the information we know about American Airlines Flight 11. This presentation includes:
- Information regarding the flight path of AA11.
- Full passenger manifest of AA11, including five men with Arab names: Mohammed Atta, Waleed al Shehri, Wail al Shehri, Satam al Suqami, and Abdulaziz al Omari. Photos of all passengers, including the five Arabs, are included.
- Audio clip recorded at air traffic control, where one of the hijackers, probably Mohammed Atta, announces the hijacking.
- Audio from a telephone call received by Betty Ong, one of the flight attendants, reporting who she is, where she is and that the plane is being hijacked.
- Evidence that other calls were made from the plane, some of them uncompleted.
Purpose: evidence that AA11 was hijacked on September 11, 2001, and that it was the plane that crashed into WTC1.
Why can we trust this evidence?
This evidence was fully vetted in open federal court in the case of United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia. Moussaoui was represented by counsel. I am aware of no evidence presented at his trial that contradicts any of the points stated above, or that questions the authenticity of this evidence. Consequently, it is reasonable to believe it.
Document 4: New York Times report from 9/15/01.
This report states, among other things, that body fragments of AA11 passengers were found--including the body of a flight attendant whose hands were bound with plastic handcuffs.
Purpose: corroborates Document 3 in many respects, including the fact that it was a hijacking, that it was AA11 (as opposed to some other plane), and that these items were discovered in the WTC1 wreckage (as opposed to somewhere else).
Corroboration: circumstantial evidence (evidence of absence).
In evaluating this evidence, keep in mind that:
- None of the persons listed on the full passenger manifest--including the hijackers--have ever been seen anywhere in the world since 9/11/01. (Note: "hijackers still alive" claim will be dealt with separately)
- The aircraft, a Boeing 767-223ER, registration number N334AA, has never been seen anywhere else in the world since 9/11/01.
● CONCLUSION 5: American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked.
● CONCLUSION 6: American Airlines Flight 11 was the plane that struck WTC1.
Document 3 (Document Collection), continued.
Same link as presented above, this flash presentation contains evidence regarding United Airlines Flight 175. This presentation includes:
- Information regarding the flight path of UAL175.
- Full passenger manifest of UAL175, including five men with Arab names: Fayez Ahmed, Ahmed Alghamdi, Hamzi Alghamdi, Marwan Alshehri, and Mohand Alsherhi. Photos of all passengers, including the five Arabs, are included.
- Evidence of calls made from the plane, some of them uncompleted.
The same analysis regarding the veracity of Document 3, which comes from the Moussaoui trial, applies here as well.
Purpose: evidence that UAL175 was hijacked, and that it was the plane that crashed into WTC2.
The same circumstantial evidence as above also applies: that no one listed on the flight, including the hijackers or the persons stated to have made phone calls, have ever been seen alive again anywhere in the world since 9/11/01; the plane has never been seen again.
Document 5: Photo of portion of Flight 175 fuselage found on top of WTC5.
Purpose: corroborates Document 3 in that it states UAL175 crashed into WTC5. (Also an interesting general demonstration of how debris fell onto other buildings, which is relevant to collapse of WTC7).
● CONCLUSION 7: United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked.
● CONCLUSION 8: United Airlines Flight 175 was the plane that struck WTC2.
Let's stop and analyze...
From the evidence presented so far, this is what we know to be true:
● Conclusion 1: WTC1 was struck by an airplane.
● Conclusion 2: WTC2 was struck by an airplane.
● Conclusion 3: WTC2 collapsed.
● Conclusion 4: WTC1 collapsed.
● Conclusion 5: American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked.
● Conclusion 6: American Airlines Flight 11 was the plane that struck WTC1.
● Conclusion 7: United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked.
● Conclusion 8: United Airlines Flight 175 was the plane that struck WTC2.
Because none of the evidence presented to support these conclusions has been discredited, we must assume that these conclusions are definitely true.