Initial reaction

[geggy]

If you can remember, who did you initially think was responsible for the attack while it was unfolding and before the suspect was officially announced?

I read a book a ways back, before 9/11, called "Culture of Fear," written by Barry Glassow. It claimed that 70 percent of americans initially thought muslims were responsible for the OKC bombing before the real perpetrator was caught.

[Bell]

If you can remember, who did you initially think was responsible for the attack while it was unfolding and before the suspect was officially announced?

I read a book a ways back, before 9/11, called "Culture of Fear," written by Barry Glassow. It claimed that 70 percent of americans initially thought muslims were responsible for the OKC bombing before the real perpetrator was caught.

I initially thought the pixies (http://www.bonavada.com/index.html) did it.

[Muckar-duva]

I didn't think any which way about it. I was at work, and every damned newssite was down due to overload, so by the time I got to some news, I was mainly busy catching up on the events. The days after, I was mainly grossed out about how we care so much when things like this happen in the west... it felt terribly tasteless to me, at the time, to be honest. I read up on it later.

[Housefly]

I was walking into town from school with a few people, including a girl I fancied quite ravenously. She got a call from someone, reacted with shock, and said to the rest of us "terrorists have just flown planes into the twin towers!"

Not the best environment to pursue a romantic connection. Anyway, by the time I got to a TV the towers had already fallen and there was already talk of "suicide bombers". Even here in England every single channel showed the same footage on a loop for 48 hours.

Worse things have happened before and since, all over the world, as far as casualties and human suffering go. But 9/11 was more than a terrorist attack; it was a statement of intent against the world's most powerful country. That was what upset me about it. My initial thought was "America's going to nuke the entire middle east now".

[twinstead]

I recall thinking "they've taken off the gloves now". I wasn't one of those who thought those 'towelheads' weren't capable of the act.

[Pardalis]

301 Congrats!

You win... an avatar depicting the murder of innocent people?

Wow, very becoming.

I read a book a ways back

You did? :wide-eyed

[defaultdotxbe]

ok, so assuming the govt has a vested interest in hyping fear of muslim terrorism, and that they are willing to go as far as attacking themselves to justify this fear, why even bother catching mcveigh?

if 70% of the country thought it was muslims, let them

then when mcveigh blows up another building, blame that on the muslims too

its false flag with plausible deniability

[stateofgrace]

My initial reaction?

One of horror and sadness.

[fuelair]

If you can remember, who did you initially think was responsible for the attack while it was unfolding and before the suspect was officially announced?

I read a book a ways back, before 9/11, called "Culture of Fear," written by Barry Glassow. It claimed that 70 percent of americans initially thought muslims were responsible for the OKC bombing before the real perpetrator was caught.Shortly after the second tower was hit (under five minutes) I was explaining to my tv production class how fuelair bombs work and where they were likely to be dropped. That day (if I recall correctly) the thing about government involvement came up and I pronounced it ridiculous . I still believe that given all real evidence, study, calculations, structural data, etc.

[Anti-sophist]

My first reaction to both OKC and 9/11 was Islamic radicals did it. Does that make me racist?

[fuelair]

My first reaction to both OKC and 9/11 was Islamic radicals did it. Does that make me racist?

Of course not, A) because Islamic radicals are of more than one race - at least three race have been involved in radical Izzie crap (cauc,black, oriental)
and B) given Izzie threats against US, it was a logical assumption.

[Garb]

I initially thought "what is the world trade center?"




No I'm not kidding.

[Housefly]

Actually, I was kind of the same. I knew that the twin towers were skyscrapers but that was the limit of my involvement with American architecture.

I knew what the Pentagon was, though. That helped to drive it home.

[geggy]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.

Maybe I'm asking the wrong question here, I should've asked if it came as a surprise to you when it was announced that al-qaeda was the responsible one. I think when we feel the shock, horror and sadness, we become more susceptible to propaganda. With knowing the history of terror acts by al qaeda, it was easier for the bush administration to point the blame on al qaeda because we were most likely to believe it.

[Pardalis]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.

Woah! :eek:

that theory never even crossed my mind. You really have a peculiar brain geggy.

I think when we feel the shock, horror and sadness, we become more susceptible to propaganda.

Frontal lobe anyone?

With knowing the history of terror acts by al qaeda, it was easier for the bush administration to point the blame on al qaeda because we were most likely to believe it.

It's because it was al Qaeda.

ETA: wow, I still can't believe it. A long forgotten vengeful japanese kamikaze from 1940's Imperial japan... How come I didn't think of that?

[The_Fire]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.


Oh yeah, because Japan have been suuuch a violent nation these last 60+ years and they have had sooooo many problems in that same period of years and are having SUCH great diplomatic problems with the US.......


Maybe I'm asking the wrong question here, I should've asked if it came as a surprise to you when it was announced that al-qaeda was the responsible one.


No. Not surprised.



I think when we feel the shock, horror and sadness, we become more susceptible to propaganda. With knowing the history of terror acts by al qaeda, it was easier for the bush administration to point the blame on al qaeda because we were most likely to believe it.

Nice try, Geggy. Not biting.

[Gravy]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.

Maybe I'm asking the wrong question here, I should've asked if it came as a surprise to you when it was announced that al-qaeda was the responsible one. I think when we feel the shock, horror and sadness, we become more susceptible to propaganda. With knowing the history of terror acts by al qaeda, it was easier for the bush administration to point the blame on al qaeda because we were most likely to believe it.You also think this:

People in manhattan were experiencing full blown amnesia at the time of the attacks and the collapsing of the towers, they wouldn't remember what they had seen or heard.

http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=1648432&postcount=4320By making an astonishing 300 consecutive stupid posts, geggy has earned automatic induction into the 9/11 Conspiracy Monger Hall of Shame. Congratulations, geggy! Speech! Speech!

:bigclap :bigclap :bigclap :bigclap :bigclap

[Garb]

You also think this:

By making an astonishing 300 consecutive stupid posts, geggy has earned automatic induction into the 9/11 Conspiracy Monger Hall of Shame. Congratulations, geggy! Speech! Speech!

:bigclap :bigclap :bigclap :bigclap :bigclap


Oh so that is why you guys always count down posts with those guys...

[Gravy]

Oh so that is why you guys always count down posts with those guys...Just with geggy, since his streak was unbroken. He's the DiMaggio of wrong.

[Sword_Of_Truth]

TS$1.98 is catching up fast though.

[twinstead]

TS$1.98 is catching up fast though.

I suspect that TS1+1=3 will be the ultimate winner.

[Pardalis]

Well, docker blew that record to smithereens.

But he was on crack, so that doesn't count.

[twinstead]

Well, docker blew that record to smithereens.

But he was on crack, so that doesn't count.

LOL yea, drug-induced paranoia is exempt.

[Anti-sophist]

He's the DiMaggio of wrong.

:selol:

[Sword_Of_Truth]

I originally thought it was the New World Order™ engaging in some massive psy-op.

But then I read the opinions of actual scientists and engineers and realized that the science is rock solid and everything was exactly what it appeared to be.

[Trigood]

I had stayed up late the night before watching Joe Biden talking about terrorism on C-Span. It was a great speech about how defending ourselves from the terrorists will not be a matter of a "Star Wars" weapon system but rather of greater security. I believe he mentioned that any attack would not come as a missile from another country, but with a person on a plane or boat. Stuff like that.

I fell asleep by about 3 am.

I didn't have to get to work the next day until about 3 pm, so I set my alarm for about 9:30. It was set to, I believe, NPR. I kept pushing snooze and after a couple times, I realized I was having dreams about terrorists attacking the World Trade Center so I'd better wake up and snap out of it.

Then I woke up. But I didn't snap out of it.

Who did I think did it? Didn't think much about exactly "who," just knew they were terrorists. Figured they were probably fundamentalist Islamists. But like most Americans, I was preoccupied with making a living, so I didn't have time to think much about "who." I think most people accepted the information as it was coming out, about the hijackers. Funny thing: since then, no one has disproven that theory either.

[Housefly]

It might help to mention my initial reaction to the conspiracy theories.

I thought it was something silly a few kooks were saying. After reading up, I realised the truth.

It is a lot of silly things that a lot of people are saying.

[David Wong]

He's the DiMaggio of wrong.

If you wrote a book my friend, I would buy it.

[Trigood]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.
Actually, that's not too far off. You got the right motives (revenge), almost the right sort of people (militaristic supra- (as opposed to super-) nationalists), and the right method (kamikaze), just the wrong group. Maybe you should've stayed with your gut instinct.

Maybe I'm asking the wrong question here, I should've asked if it came as a surprise to you when it was announced that al-qaeda was the responsible one. I think when we feel the shock, horror and sadness, we become more susceptible to propaganda. With knowing the history of terror acts by al qaeda, it was easier for the bush administration to point the blame on al qaeda because we were most likely to believe it.
We felt the shock and horror, but that didn't automatically make us imbeciles.

We discovered the truth about fake WMDs, because the evidence spoke. (Actually, the evidence was peeking thru all along. Whatever.)

In the case of 9/11, all the evidence points to 19 soldiers of Al-Qaeda. There is no credible evidence pointing elsewhere. You can call it propaganda, but if it's true, it ain't.

Massive, massive evidence, pointing to Al-Qaeda. Including that Osama has claimed credit himself.

We are not imbeciles. It's been five years; we've all examined the evidence. There is no evidence this was carried out by Bush. None. Zippo. Zilch.

There is evidence of incompetence by Bush and possibly Clinton. That is all.

[WildCat]

I actually suspected OBl and the al Qaeda crew immediately. I even had an argument about it w/ my father, who blamed Palestinians. But I'm much more of current events than he is... it really wasn't a lucky guess but an educated one.

[Class]

Initially thought Osama bin Laden was behind it because of his involvement in the USS Cole bombing 11 months prior to 9/11.

[Unfit4Command]

I was only in 7th grade at the time, so I didn't even know what the World Trade Centers were really. I had heard about them, but had no idea what they looked like or how big of an impact they had on the US and the world.

I actually didn't care much, when the first tower fell I was watching TV in school and it didn't interest me at the time. It wasn't until a few weeks later that I actually started to read about it more. And after that, it wasn't till years later that I started to read more about it, and all of the theories surrounding the attacks.

[Sword_Of_Truth]

Initially thought Osama bin Laden was behind it because of his involvement in the USS Cole bombing 11 months prior to 9/11.

And the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa.

[Sword_Of_Truth]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.

I know 3 or 4 others have already said basically the same thng, but I feel compelled to say myself;

WHAT... THE... @#$%?!

[Bell]

You also think this:

By making an astonishing 300 consecutive stupid posts, geggy has earned automatic induction into the 9/11 Conspiracy Monger Hall of Shame. Congratulations, geggy! Speech! Speech!

:bigclap :bigclap :bigclap :bigclap :bigclap


Gravy... we did it... the Dutch :(
We never should have given New Amsterdam to the Americans :mad:

[boloboffin]

After the Oklahoma City bombing, when news reports were rife with speculation about Arabic terrorists, I had no idea and formed no idea about who had flown planes into the WTC. I only watched with mute sorrow as the towers burned and then collapsed, and then it was time for me to go to work.

[PerryLogan]

I was bewildered by the possibilities--by how many people my country had hurt and infuriated.

I did not think for a moment that the perpetrators of 9/11 were home-grown. America's true terrorists are angry white males, the extreme right-wingers. But I figured they would have been too stupid to pull this one off.

Of course, Alex Jones and the other local conspiracy guys didn't miss a beat. They were getting on local cable and radio, saying "the government did it," from the get-go, adding hatred and paranoia to the pain everyone was already suffering.

And these seditious scumbags dare to call themselves "patriots."

[Spins]

I must admit immediately after the Oklahoma City bombing I thought it was the work of Radical Islamic terrorists, although the target seemed a little weird, but it turned out not to be the case and the perpetrators were caught so who cares.

I knew straight away that 9/11 was the work of Radical Islamic terrorists because it was a suicide attack. Angry American extreme right-wingers are crazy but they have never resorted to suicide attacks before (9/11 being an inside job never even crossed my mind). So common sense dictated it was the work of Radical Islamic terrorists because of the scale of the incident, the fact 4 planes were hijacked meant there were lots of hijackers willing to be martyrs for their cause.

I remember when the London 7/7 bombings occured and I had a heated disussion with one poster on another forum because he insited it wasn't the work of Radical Islamic terrorists. Then someone mentioned the demonstrations (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4666985.stm) at the July 2, 2005, G8 Summit in Scotland by anarchist protesters and he said it could have been them. I tried to explain it couldn't have been because they had no history of suicide attacks let alone on 4 different targets requiring 4 different people to commit suicide, I don't think he listened though.

[ImaginalDisc]

Just after the first impact, every television at work came on. One coworker said to me, "this is the work of muslim terrorists." I replied, "I think every terrorist group with an ax to grind against us is going to take credit." Just a few minutes later, the second impact happened. The magnitude of the attack hadn't really registered with me yet, but by that point, the list of terroist groups with the coordination and hatered toward America it would take rapidly dwindled to just Al Queda. They had just blown up the Cole, afterall and I distinctly remembered seeing Bush openly mock Clinton for "obsessing" over Bin Ladin.

Why must you CTists insist it was an inside job? The overwhelming evidence of your idiocy aside, there's no shortage of people who dislike us, and Al Queda quite clearly could do it, and wanted to. And, of course, Bush's administration didn't prioritize going after Al Queda.

[chacal]

I was a student at the time and didn't own a television. The first time I noticed that something had happened was in the evening when I was at the gym. There was a television on and it showed the towers collapsing or something. The sound wasn't on but I could read the graphics that I think mentioned planes crashing in to the buildings. I remember thinking what could be behind it, and I first thaught it was some crazy suicide cult. Which wasn't very far from the truth.



Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.



Geggy, you truly are special. You should work in Hollywood or something.;)

[Belz...]

If you can remember, who did you initially think was responsible for the attack while it was unfolding and before the suspect was officially announced?

Terrorists. Seemed logical, since they keep pulling that kind of stuff. Thought of course that time they did so much more loudly.

[Belz...]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.

You thought WHAT ?

Well, that does it for me.

If somebody can possibly come up with something that stupid, nothing he says can POSSIBLY be taken seriously.

Seriously.

[Big Les]

He's the DiMaggio of wrong.

Along with "like being bukkaked with stupid", that's a true instant classic line!

[geggy]

I dont see how it is stupid to think the japanese wanted to avenge for what had happened in WW2. I studied japan, south asia, etc while I was in middle school. My grandfather served in WW2 for the navy. I know, I'm on the other side of the fence, i'm supposed to be the most hated kind here and everything I say to you is dumb. That's how it is in the "game". duh duh duh.

I'm sorry but plastering osama bin laden's face all over the tv is NOT evidence. Talking about the history of terrorism relating to al-qaeda and not 9/11 isn't evidence either. Alright, the reason why I'm asking is because recently I had watched 8 hours compilation dvd of the first 24 hours of the day on 9/11 that was put together by a friend who started recording everything from the moment after the second hit up until late that night. I have to admit, I did not get a glimpse of one single evidence that was supposedly presented to the public pointing out osama and al qaeda's guilt.

[Bell]

I dont see how it is stupid to think the japanese wanted to avenge for what had happened in WW2. I studied japan, south asia, etc while I was in middle school. My grandfather served in WW2 for the navy. I know, I'm on the other side of the fence, i'm supposed to be the most hated kind here and everything I say to you is dumb. That's how it is in the "game". duh duh duh.

I'm sorry but plastering osama bin laden's face all over the tv is NOT evidence. Talking about the history of terrorism relating to al-qaeda and not 9/11 isn't evidence either. Alright, the reason why I'm asking is because recently I had watched 8 hours compilation dvd of the first 24 hours of the day on 9/11 that was put together by a friend who started recording everything from the moment after the second hit up until late that night. I have to admit, I did not get a glimpse of one single evidence that was supposedly presented to the public pointing out osama and al qaeda's guilt.

That would be quite logical geggy, considering it was just the first 24 hours. The US had just been hit - hard - and people were in shock and terrified. The investigation into those terrible attacks was just getting underway. It takes time to conduct an investigation, even more so with something of this scale.

[maccy]

That would be quite logical geggy, considering it was just the first 24 hours. The US had just been hit - hard - and people were in shock and terrified. The investigation into those terrible attacks was just getting underway. It takes time to conduct an investigation, even more so with something of this scale.

It would also suggest that the authorities weren't trying to blame this on Al-Qaeda from the word go, which is also not very surprising.

[Oliver]

If you can remember, who did you initially think was responsible for the attack while it was unfolding and before the suspect was officially announced?

I read a book a ways back, before 9/11, called "Culture of Fear," written by Barry Glassow. It claimed that 70 percent of americans initially thought muslims were responsible for the OKC bombing before the real perpetrator was caught.

Seriously, Geggy. I never use to get my opinions from
books at all ... They are meant to make money.

Cheers,
Oliver

[maccy]

I dont see how it is stupid to think the japanese wanted to avenge for what had happened in WW2. I studied japan, south asia, etc while I was in middle school. My grandfather served in WW2 for the navy. I know, I'm on the other side of the fence, i'm supposed to be the most hated kind here and everything I say to you is dumb. That's how it is in the "game". duh duh duh.

OK I'm not going to accuse you of being dumb, but would you agree that:

1. middle school is not the highest level of study in the history of Japan;

2. one person who has fought on one side of a war is not likely to be an expert on the motivations of the people on the other side, 46 years later; and

3. there is no evidence of any previous attempts by any Japanese group to harm the US in any way?

Edited to Add: there is some evidence of attacks on the US by Japanese marxist groups in the 70s and 80s http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=2081774#post2081774 but nothing to suggest that these were in revenge for WWII or in any way represented the Japanese state or the feelings of the people of Japan.

[Spins]

Alright originally I thought it was the japanese whose suicidal pilots are well known for pulling kamikaze acts, and wanted to avenge the US for what had happened in the US happy camps and the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki during the WW2.
I dont see how it is stupid to think the japanese wanted to avenge for what had happened in WW2. I studied japan, south asia, etc while I was in middle school. My grandfather served in WW2 for the navy. I know, I'm on the other side of the fence, i'm supposed to be the most hated kind here and everything I say to you is dumb. That's how it is in the "game". duh duh duh.No, that comment about the Japanese was total nonsense and you know it (troll), all you are doing now is trying to legitimize what you said, but failing miserably I might add.

The Japanese have no history of terrorism towards the US or anyone for that matter.

[Bell]

The Japanese have no history of terrorism towards the US or anyone for that matter.

That in not entirely true, remember the sarin gas attack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway) at the subway.

But that was not Japan as such, just some fecked up Japanese.

[sleahead]

I dont see how it is stupid to think the japanese wanted to avenge for what had happened in WW2. I studied japan, south asia, etc while I was in middle school. My grandfather served in WW2 for the navy. I know, I'm on the other side of the fence, i'm supposed to be the most hated kind here and everything I say to you is dumb. That's how it is in the "game". duh duh duh.

When the US embassys in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed, did you suspect the Japanese then?. What about when the USS Cole was attacked?

I'm sorry but plastering osama bin laden's face all over the tv is NOT evidence. Talking about the history of terrorism relating to al-qaeda and not 9/11 isn't evidence either. Alright, the reason why I'm asking is because recently I had watched 8 hours compilation dvd of the first 24 hours of the day on 9/11 that was put together by a friend who started recording everything from the moment after the second hit up until late that night. I have to admit, I did not get a glimpse of one single evidence that was supposedly presented to the public pointing out osama and al qaeda's guilt.

Geggy, you and other CTs need to stop looking for evidence from media speculation in the days immediately after 9/11. Time didn't stop then, things have happened.Things like Bin Laden admitting involvement on multiple occasions.

[maccy]

That in not entirely true, remember the sarin gas attack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway) at the subway.

But that was not Japan as such, just some fecked up Japanese.

and also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Red_Army

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukaku-Ha

But both Marxist Revolutionary groups and so in no way state-sponsored (or even nationalistic). Any attacks on the US were part of a more general attack on capitalism, as they saw it. Also, neither of these groups was active in the decade leading up to 2001.

[Spins]

That in not entirely true, remember the sarin gas attack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway) at the subway.

But that was not Japan as such, just some fecked up Japanese.
Yes, I remember the sarin nerve gas attack, I was going to mention it but I didn't bother because I think there is still some doubt why they did it...


Terrorism is a term used to describe violence or other harmful acts committed (or threatened) against civilians by groups or persons for political, nationalist, or religious goals.

..was it for political, nationalist, or religious reasons, or were they just a kooky cult?

:confused:

[Spins]

and also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Red_Army

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukaku-Ha

But both Marxist Revolutionary groups and so in no way state-sponsored (or even nationalistic). Any attacks on the US were part of a more general attack on capitalism, as they saw it. Also, neither of these groups was active in the decade leading up to 2001.
Wasn't aware of these though, thanks for the links. I think it's safe to say they weren't responsible for 9/11 though. ;)

[maccy]

..was it for political, nationalist, or religious reasons, or were they just a kooky cult?

:confused:

Where do you draw theline between Religion and Kookiness, I suppose you can argue that Al-Qaeda has a polical dimension but I suspect that martyrdom is more imporant to them than any coherent political strategy. At any rate:


The EU (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU) has designated Aum Shinrikyo as a terrorist organisation [6] (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf).
On December 11, 2002, The Canadian government added Aum to its list of banned terrorist groups.
The United States also maintain Aum on its list of foreign terrorist groups.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aum_Supreme_Truth

[Spins]

Where do you draw theline between Religion and Kookiness, I suppose you can argue that Al-Qaeda has a polical dimension but I suspect that martyrdom is more imporant to them than any coherent political strategy. At any rate:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aum_Supreme_Truth

I don't, I think all religions are kooky (varying degrees of kookiness).

As I said there is still doubt why AUM/Aleph did it.

Since the sarin nerve gas attack they have not been linked to any further terrorist acts. AUM/Aleph has announced a change of its policies, apologized to victims of the subway attack, and established a special compensation fund. Aleph members convicted in relation to the attack or other crimes are not permitted to join the new organization, and are referred to as "ex-members" by the group.

The group reportedly still has about 2,100 members, and continues to recruit new members under the new name "Aleph". Though the group has renounced its violent past, it still continues to follow Asahara's spiritual teachings. Members operate several businesses, though boycotts of known Aleph-related businesses, in addition to searches, confiscations of possible evidence and picketing by protest groups, have resulted in closures.

So are they a terrorist organization, using terrorism in the pursuit of religious or political goals, or a (kooky) religious organization, also who cares j/k.

Regarding Al-Qaeda, they do have political and religious goals. But Al-Qaeda are not a terrorist organization in the true sense, it's a brand name...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares

[NobbyNobbs]

I vividly remember my first thoughts when viewing the disaster at the WTC.

1) Shock. I thought "This can't be happening." (And before you make some big amnesia-type deal out of this, Geggy, this is a perfectly natural reaction for humans in the face of *any* sort of tragedy.)

2) Concern. My uncle works in Manhattan, though I didn't know exactly where, and I was hoping he was ok.

3) Support. I live in the Philadelphia area, and wondered whether I should make the trip up to help with the clean-up.

At no time do I recall making a supposition about who was responsible, other than the general "must be terrorists" theory. Until evidence was found, I wasn't going to guess either way, though I do remember thinking that several groups (I had none in particular in mind) would probably initially take credit.

[alexg]

If you were an adult in 93 and had paid any attention to the news then you new Islamic terrorists were behind the first WTC bombing. That they were likely behind this one is what you call a no brainer.

[Bell]

If you were an adult in 93 and had paid any attention to the news then you new Islamic terrorists were behind the first WTC bombing. That they were likely behind this one is what you call a no brainer.

Kind of contradicts with the troofers intellectual capabilities :D

[stateofgrace]

I must admit even though I saw it live it never really entered into my mind that could possibly have done such a dreadful thing at the time. I think it was just a "Holy crap....." type reaction

It was only the following day when the all the UK papers carried the story through on everything single page did I become aware that it was possibly the work of Al Quada and even then I must admit I knew very little about them and again in all honestly had never even heard of Bin Laden. Had I paid closer attention to events from previous years, which I should have, I probably would have made the connection straight away.

Having seen it live and the follow on events I am now pretty comfortable with the belief that it was in fact Al Quada who did this and it was the US that was actually the victim. I find it unfathomable why anybody would make out that the US was the perpetrators and not the victim of this terrorist act.