9/11

     Did the World Trade Center really collapse because of structural weakening due to a fire or by a controlled demolition?  Were the cockpit voice recorders or black boxes really not found in the WTC wreckage?  Was flight 93 (the fourth hijacked plane) shot down by a U.S. fighter jet?  Did a plane really crash into the Pentagon?  Did ground controllers know that hijackers were in the cockpit before the jets took off?  We'll dig deeper into this issue as we explore America's most controversial conspiracy.
     On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jets.  They intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center located in New York City killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings.  Within two hours, both buildings collapsed destroying at least two other buildings and damaging others.  They crashed a third jet into the Pentagon and a fourth into a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers and flight crew revolted.  Now that we know what happened, lets see what some of the conspiracy theories are.
     Some people think that the official reports were smeared to cover up the incompetence or negligence of the Bush Administration and other U.S. Personnel.  Many theories can be divided into two categories. The first, "let it happen on purpose", suggests that key individuals within the government had some foreknowledge of the attacks and intentionally ignored them or weakened America's defenses to prevent the hijacked flights from being interfered with.  The second, "make it happen on purpose", suggests that key individuals within the government planned the attacks and collaborated with al-Qaeda in carrying them out.
     One popular conspiracy suggests there was a suspiciously high volume of put-options placed on United and American Airlines stocks just before the attack.  This infers that traders knew in advance of the upcoming attack and based their bets accordingly.  Surprisingly, a major warning of possible losses was released by American Airlines shortly before the attacks.
     Another popular claim is that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) issued a stand down or intentionally scrambled fighters late to allow the hijacked airplanes to reach their targets without interference.  This means the NORAD could locate and intercept planes on 9/11 but failed to do so to allow the attacks to occur.  Popular Mechanics claims that there were only 14 fighter jets on alert in the Continental United States on 9/11.
     Regarding the World Trade Center, controlled demolition conspiracy theories claim that the buildings didn't collapse of plane crash damage, or the resulting fire damage, but of explosives installed in advance.  This theory suggests that explosives were installed by the US government making it look like terrorists had done the damage.  Proponents of this theory like physicist Steven E. Jones, claim that aircraft impacts and the resulting fires could not have weakened the buildings enough to induce a catastrophic collapse.  They also claim that the buildings would not have collapsed completely, or at the speeds they did, without additional energy to weaken their structures.  He believes that thermite or nanothermite was used to demolish the buildings and claims he found evidence of their existence in WTC dust.  Soon after the attack, major media sources claimed that the towers had collapsed due to melted steel.  This led to widespread belief among skeptics that the towers would not have collapsed without external interference due to the fact that the burning temperatures of jet fuel could not melt the steel support structure of the WTC.
     Some theories suggest the U.S. government purposely didn't shoot down a plane heading for the Pentagon while others claim a plane didn't hit the Pentagon at all.  They claim the Pentagon was hit by a missile launched by people within the U.S. government and say the holes in the Pentagon wall were far too small to have been made by a Boeing 757.   In other words, "How does a plane 125 ft. wide and 155 ft. long fit into a hole which is only 60 ft. across?"  According to the 9/11 Commission Report, passengers on Flight 77 made calls reporting their plane had been hijacked.  Their identities were confirmed by DNA analysis.  Mete Sozen, a professor of structural engineering at Purdue University believes a crashing jet doesn't form a cartoon-like outline of itself in a reinforced concrete building.
     The fourth hijacked plane on 9/11 was United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed in an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  It was the only hijacked plane that didn't reach its target that day.  A popular conspiracy theory suggests that the plane was actually shot down by a fighter jet.  This is inferred due to the fact that large parts of the plane landed miles away from the main wreckage site which is much farther than in ordinary plane crashes.  Usually, planes leave a small debris field when they crash.  According to some theories, the plane was shot down because the passengers had found out about the alleged plot.  The magazine Skeptic claims that the engine was found only 300 yards from the main crash site, not miles away,  and its location was consistent with the direction in which the plane had been traveling.  CNN reported that investigators found debris from the plane crash at least eight miles away but that it was all very light material that could have easily been blown away by the wind.
     Another conspiracy theory claims that the "black boxes" or cockpit voice recorders were really found at the WTC site by two men who worked extensively in the wreckage.  According to the 9/11 Commission Report, they were not recovered from the remains.  One theory suggest that no planes were involved in the World Trade Center attacks.  It claims that it would be physically impossible for the largely aluminum planes to penetrate the steel walls of the tower and that digital composting was used to make it appear that planes had crashed into the WTC.  Its authors claim that if you watch the footage of the attack frame by frame, you'll see a cigar shaped missile hitting the World Trade Center.
     Now that we know what many of the theories are, lets examine the possible motives.  Commonly claimed motives are to justify the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq leading to US control of their vast oil resources, increased military spending, and restricted domestic civil liberties through the USA Patriot Act.  Many conspiracy theorists question whether 9/11 and the Oil Factor gave the US and UK a valid reason to launch a war they had wanted for a long time.  Others claim the war was also started to benefit the weapons industry.
     First of all, I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims involved in the 9/11 attacks.  The attacks left a scar on the United States that will never be forgotten.  I don't believe the US government planned the attack but believe they didn't accurately report the events that took place in the 9/11 Commission Report.  I also think they might not have taken as much action as they could or should have taken.  I don't believe investors knew about the attack before it took place or made decisions based on that knowledge.  I think that the black boxes of the two planes that crashed into the WTC were really found.  There is certainly a possibility that external interference occurred within the WTC that caused the buildings to collapse the way they did.  9/11 was truly a tragedy that caused us to re question our government and our safety.  View the products below for more information on 9/11.