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-   -   My 9/11 Conspiracy Theory...wait for it... (https://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=333107)

Allen773 7th November 2018 12:15 PM

My 9/11 Conspiracy Theory...wait for it...
 
...was that the 9/11 attacks on the United States were carried out by a conspiracy of a few dozen individuals - largely but not exclusively Saudi nationals - associated with the Sunni Muslim extremist/terrorist group Al-Qaeda, on the orders and direction of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and operational planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who lived as guests under the Taliban government in Afghanistan (who were, in turn, protected by Pakistan's military and intelligence forces).

At this point, I'm more or less convinced that the attacks benefited from some level of covert financing and facilitation by agents of the Saudi and Pakistani governments, and perhaps some agents of a few other Sunni Gulf governments (the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait), along with Yemen, Sudan, maybe even Iran. However, to what extent this level of state support actually was real, and how intentional (read: knowing of what or who these state agents were supporting) it was, is quite ambiguous and probably, ultimately, unprovable; from what I understand, bin Laden and KSM let only a few other individuals in on the full details of the 9/11 plot, countable on two hands - reportedly, most of the "muscle", non-pilot hijackers didn't even know what they had signed up for before they arrived in the US a few months before 9/11, and from what I understand, the entire operation was actually opposed by most of Al-Qaeda's senior leadership - leading bin Laden and KSM to cut them out of the chain of command and knowledge of the plot altogether. It seems likely that even Mullah Omar and other senior Taliban leaders weren't really aware of what bin Laden was up to in 2000-2001.

Overall, the seemingly large and sophisticated 9/11 conspiracy was effectively decentralized, deputized, and delegated to a few autonomous or semi-autonomous operational cells. Knowledge of the plot's most important components was entrusted to a very, very small number of individuals (besides bin Laden, KSM, probably Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and certainly Al-Qaeda's military commander Mohammed Atef, they were Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh, Mohammed Atta - and pretty much no one else, aside from a few of the other hijackers, ie. Atta's fellow pilots). That's no more than 10 people - hardened, experienced, and skilled jihadist leaders and operatives who trusted each other with their lives - truly "in the loop." THAT's how you carry out a major conspiracy.

As for the "theory" part of "conspiracy theory": this is what a good, substantiated theory looks like. Conspiracy "Theories" are more like Conspiracy Speculation, or Conspiracy Fiction or Fantasy, or indeed, outright delusion. This is what the real world looks like. This is what actually happened, as far as I can tell - with the knowledge and acceptance of the fact that we'll never know all of the answers, but we do know enough to get a pretty good understanding of how the 9/11 plot transpired.

Mark F 7th November 2018 01:21 PM

Seems nutty

Allen773 7th November 2018 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark F (Post 12494783)
Seems nutty

I know, right? :rolleyes:

Cosmic Yak 8th November 2018 01:52 AM

4/10.
Needs more Jews.

Allen773 8th November 2018 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Yak (Post 12495546)
4/10.
Needs more Jews.

Needs more (((what)))?

theprestige 8th November 2018 11:17 AM

17 years later, the only people still pushing conspiracy theories are the debunkers.

benthamitemetric 8th November 2018 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theprestige (Post 12496136)
17 years later, the only people still pushing conspiracy theories are the debunkers.

And even most debunkers have been released from jail and moved on with their lives...

ozeco41 8th November 2018 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benthamitemetric (Post 12496151)
And even most debunkers have been released from jail and moved on with their lives...

Most of those who haven't "moved on" seem to have capitulated to the false dichotomy of "only two sides" including the lowering of standard of debate that it often requires.

JSanderO 8th November 2018 05:49 PM

9/11 was a very low tech attack. It required understanding of the weather... which is very settled in September... I would imagine they were watching the weather and bought the tickets when the saw a decent long term forecast for several days out for Southern New England to DC. Their chosen targets were easy to spot from 50 miles away... very large and easy to hit. I don't believe they expected to "knock the towers over"... The attack was mostly to give USA a black eye... show that they could do multiple hijackings with destructive suicide outcomes... 4 planes and all the passengers plus whatever they took out at the targets. Hitting the pentagon was major PR and embarrassment to the great Satan. Hitting the "Trade Center" symbols of western economic domination and meddling was another black eye. I don't think their goal was to kill thousands as much as it was to jit those symbolic targets and show how vulnerable the West is... Trillion dollar defenses unable to stop a few suicidal people on a mission with box cutters!

Who was behind it? Probably whomever supported terrorist tactics. This would require a few religious fanatics... who believed in a cause.. not a lot of money... Element of surprise and the fact the the USA had not way to stop the sort of attack they would do.

Cosmic Yak 9th November 2018 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Yak (Post 12495546)
4/10.
Needs more Jews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen773 (Post 12496125)
Needs more (((what)))?

I've looked at Infowars and the David Icke forum. It can't be a real conspiracy theory unless it involves Jews in some way.
Bonus points if they're dancing Jews, I believe.

Nay_Sayer 11th November 2018 11:57 PM

The lack of thermite, holograms, paid actors, and space cannons is concerning.

Allen773 12th November 2018 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theprestige (Post 12496136)
17 years later, the only people still pushing conspiracy theories are the debunkers.

Hmmm?

beachnut 15th November 2018 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theprestige (Post 12496136)
17 years later, the only people still pushing conspiracy theories are the debunkers.

end of our jailhouse jobs


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