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== Fair use rationale ==
{{Sep11}}
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{{seealso|September 11, 2001 attacks}}
{{Non-free image data
[[Osama bin Laden]] and senior members of [[al-Qaida]] claimed involvement in the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]]<ref> [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/04/03/2003300706 "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the brains behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, was surprised by the scale of destruction wrought by the tragedy"], ''[[Taipei Times]]'', 2006-4-27. Retrieved on 2008-3-30.</ref><ref> [http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/10/29/binladen_message041029.html "Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11"], ''[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]'', 2004-10-29. Retrieved on 2008-3-30.</ref><ref> [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0316/p01s03-wogi.html?page=1 "The self-portrait of an Al Qaeda leader"], ''[[The Christian Science Monitor ]]'', 2007-3-16. Retrieved on 2008-3-30.</ref> and the identities of the 19 al-Qaeda conspirators who carried out the hijackings were published by the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]].<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/091401hj.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation - Press Release<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation - Press Release<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/09/14/hijacker-names.htm USATODAY.com - U.S. releases names of hijackers<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
| Description = {{Descript-inner-art|||||[[Disney]]}}Art by [[Jack Bradbury]].

| Source = Apparent scan made by the original uploader [[User:Zelda]].
==Identifying the hijackers==
| Portion = Partial panel as published.
{{main|PENTTBOM}}
| Resolution = 250px size unsuitable to use for high end reproduction.

| other_information =
The FBI investigation into the attacks, code named operation PENTTBOM, was able to identify the [[Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks|19 hijackers]] within a matter of days as they made little effort to conceal their names on flight, [[credit card]], and other records.<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/libref/factsfigure/counterterrorism.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation - Facts and Figures 2003<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Additionally three of the hijackers carried an identical handwritten letter (in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]) that was found in three separate locations: the first, in a suitcase of hijacker [[Mohamed Atta]] that did not make the connection to [[American Airlines]] [[American Airlines Flight 11|Flight 11]] that crashed into the [[List of tenants in One World Trade Center|North Tower]] of the World Trade Center; the second, in a vehicle parked at [[Washington Dulles International Airport]] that belonged to hijacker [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]]; and the third at the crash site of [[United Airlines]] [[United Airlines Flight 93|Flight 93]] in [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania|Shanksville]], [[Pennsylvania]]. Translations of the letter indicate an alarming willingness to die on the part of the hijackers.<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress01/caruso100301.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation - Congressional Testimony<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The passport of hijacker Satam Al Suqami{{Fact|date=February 2008}} was found a few blocks from the World Trade Center.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020209185830/http://www.azstarnet.com/attack/10916Nrescues.html Attack on America<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Sep-16-Sun-2001/news/17011253.html Las Vegas Review Journal], [[September 16]], [[2001]].</ref> Rescue workers sifting through the tons of rubble discovered the passport, belonging to one of the suspected hijackers, a few blocks from where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood;<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1546927.stm BBC], [[September 16]], [[2001]]</ref> a passerby picked it up and gave it to a NYPD detective shortly before the World Trade Center towers collapsed.<ref>[http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing7/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-01-26.htm National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Additionally, according to the [[9/11 Commission]], the passports of two of the hijackers Flight 93 were also found intact at the crash site, and the passport of hijacker Abdulaziz Alomari was found in Mohamed Atta’s left-behind luggage.<ref>[http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing7/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-01-26.htm National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The ''Washington Post'' reported that by checking flight manifests and comparing them with other information such as watch lists, customs officials were able to determine the names of all 19 hijackers by 11:00 a.m.<ref>[http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2001nn/0109nn/010921nn.htm#590 NucNews - September 21, 2001<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> When examining [[Mohamed Atta]]'s left-behind luggage, the FBI found important clues about the hijackers and their plans. His luggage contained papers that revealed the identity of all 19 hijackers, and provided information about their plans, motives, and backgrounds.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uslugg274705186apr17,0,6096142.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-print |title=Unraveling 9-11 was in the bags |publisher=Newsday (New York) |date=April 17, 2006 |author=Dorman, Michael}}</ref> The FBI was able to determine details such as dates of birth, known and/or possible residences, visa status, and specific identity of the suspected pilots. However, none of these documents have been scrutinized by independent legal experts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,190413,00.html
|last=Reaves|first=Jessica |title=The Case Against Zacarias Moussaoui|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=January 2, 2002}}</ref> On [[September 27]] [[2001]], the FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about the possible nationalities and aliases of many.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm |title=Press Release|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation|date=September 27, 2001}}</ref>

===Witness reports of hijackers===
{{see|Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks}}

While the hijacking was in progress, two stewardesses on [[American Airlines Flight 11]], Betty Ong and Amy Sweeney, reportedly contacted airline personnel on the ground and were able to identify [[Mohamed Atta al-Sayed]] as one of four Middle Easterners that had hijacked the plane.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20020921045555/http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/primetime_flightattendants_020718.html |title=Calm Before the Crash|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=July 18, 2002}}</ref><ref name=reconstruction>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |last=Johnson|first=Glen |title=Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes |date=November 23, 2001}}</ref>

A flight attendant on [[United Airlines Flight 175]] was able to call a United airline mechanic while the plane was being hijacked and report that the crew had been killed and plane hijacked.<ref name=reconstruction />

While the hijacking was in progress on [[American Airlines Flight 77]], several passengers, including a flight attendant, Renee May, contacted and reported details of the hijacking to persons on the ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/23/FLIGHTS.TMP |title=Investigating 9-11 -- The doomed flights|publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=July 23, 2004}}</ref> Sales clerks identified two individuals to whom they sold tickets on Flight 77 as the hijackers [[Hani Hanjour]] and [[Majed Moqed]].<ref name=reconstruction />

During the hijacking of [[United Airlines Flight 93]], [[Jeremy Glick (September 11 attack victim)|Jeremy Glick]] identified the hijackers as Arabic-looking and carrying knives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93mainstoryp7.asp |title=Flight 93: Forty lives, one destiny|publisher=Post-gazette|date=October 28, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a937glick |title=Context of '(9:37 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Flight 93 Passenger Jeremy Glick Describes Hijackers, Bomb'|publisher=Cooperative Research: history commons}}</ref>

==Assigning responsibility==

The investigators were quickly able to link the 19 men to the terrorist organization al Qaeda, by accessing their intelligence agency files. The ''New York Times'' reported on September 12 that: "Authorities said they had also identified accomplices in several cities who had helped plan and execute Tuesday’s attacks. Officials said they knew who these people were and important biographical details about many of them. They prepared biographies of each identified member of the hijack teams, and began tracing the recent movements of the men." FBI agents in Florida investigating the hijackers quickly "descended on flight schools, neighborhoods and restaurants in pursuit of leads." At one flight school, "students said investigators were there within hours of Tuesday’s attacks."<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E6DC1038F930A2575AC0A9679C8B63 AFTER THE ATTACKS: THE SUSPECTS; Hijacking Trail Leads F.B.I. to Florida Flight School - New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The Washington Post later reported that "In the hours after Tuesday’s bombings, investigators searched their files on [Satam] Al Suqami and [Ahmed] Alghamdi, noted the pair’s ties to [Nabil] al-Marabh and launched a hunt for him."<ref>[http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2001nn/0109nn/010921nn.htm#590 NucNews - September 21, 2001<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

As media covered the 9/11 attacks unfolding, many quickly speculated that [[Osama Bin Laden]] was behind the attacks.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.archive.org/details/nbc200109110912-0954 |title=NBC News (9:00 - 10:00 a.m.) |date=September 11, 2001 |publisher=NBC / Internet Archive}}</ref> On the day of the attacks, the [[National Security Agency]] intercepted communications that pointed to [[Osama bin Laden]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Piece by Piece, The Jigsaw of Terror Revealed |publisher=Independent on Sunday (London) |date=September 30, 2001 |author=Blackhurst, Chris, and Paul Lashmar |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article218611.ece}}</ref> as did [[List of intelligence agencies of Germany|German intelligence]] agencies.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE5DA173DF93AA1575AC0A9679C8B63 |title=A NATION CHALLENGED: GERMAN INTELLIGENCE; German Data Led U.S. to Search For More Suicide Hijacker Teams |author=Tagliabue, John, and Raymond Bonner |publisher=The New York Times |date=September 29, 2001}}</ref> It was quickly asserted that Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda organization were solely responsible for the attacks, and other suspects were ruled out. The [[Her Majesty's Government|Government of the United Kingdom]] reached the same conclusion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page3682.asp|title=Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, 11 September 2001 |publisher=10 Downing Street, Office of the Prime Minister of the U.K.|date=2001, November 14|accessdate=2006-09-29}}</ref> Although he denied the attacks at first, Osama bin Laden has since [[2004 Osama bin Laden video|claimed full responsibility]]. However, it has been questioned whether, even several months after the attacks, investigators had definitive proof that bin Laden or al-Qaeda in Afghanistan were directly responsible:<ref>p. 200, [[Noam Chomsky]], [[Hegemony or Survival|''Hegemony or Survival'']], Metropolitan Books 2003.</ref> as late as June 2002, FBI Director [[Robert S. Mueller III]], in testimony before a Senate committee, reported on the then-current speculation: "We think the masterminds of it were in Afghanistan, high in the al Qaeda leadership. Plotters and others - the principals - came together in Germany and perhaps elsewhere."<ref>quoted in Walter Pincus, "[http://www.policeone.com/terrorism/articles/52272-Mueller-Outlines-Origin-Funding-of-Sept-11-Plot/ Mueller Outlines Origin, Funding of Sept. 11 Plot]", ''Washington Post'', 7 June 2002, checked 11 May 2008.</ref>

==Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden==
[[Image:WTC_1993_ATF_Commons.jpg|thumb|250px|Aftermath of the bomb detonation on the World Trade Center in 1993]]
[[Image:September 17 2001 Ground Zero 01.jpg|thumb|250px|[[September 17]], [[2001]] - A small portion of the scene where the World Trade Center collapsed following the September 11 attacks.]] [[Image:WTCgroundzero.jpg|thumb|250px|[[September 14]], [[2001]]- "[[The Pile]]", Manhattan]]
{{see also|Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks}}
Intelligence experts speak of a "short list" of prime suspects -- groups that possess both the means and the motive to carry out the crime. Two of the passengers had been identified as al Qaeda members and were on the FBI's terrorist-alert list prior to 9/11: [[Khalid Almihdhar]], and [[Nawaf Alhazmi]][http://www.webcom.com/hrin/magazine/la-watchlist.html][http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/senatecommittee092602.html]. It appears certain that all [[Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks|hijackers]] had Arabic origins, and none were Afghani; moreover, both in their immense scale, careful planning and refraining from claiming responsibility, the attacks are reminiscent of al-Qaeda's previous attacks such as the [[1998 U.S. embassy bombings]] that killed over 200 people.

===World Trade Center bombing of 1993 ===
{{Main|World Trade Center 1993 bombings}}
In the [[World Trade Center bombing]] ([[February 26]], [[1993]]) a [[car bomb]] was detonated by [[Arab]] [[Islamism|Islamist]] terrorists in the underground [[parking garage]] below Tower One of the [[World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]]. The 1,500-lb [[urea]] nitrate-fuel oil device <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/sept_11/build_up_06.shtml|title=Out of Nowhere?|author= [[Lawrence Freedman]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=2002-08-22|accessdate=2006-10-16|archiveurl=http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:XnEl96JOe4EJ:www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/sept_11/build_up_06.shtml+bbc+%22out+of+nowhere%22&ct=clnk&cd=3|archivedate=2007-05-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/02/26/wtc.bombing/|author=Phil Hirschkorn|publisher=[[CNN]]|title=New York remembers 1993 WTC victims|date=2003-02-26|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> killed six and injured over a thousand people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/02/26/wtc.bombing/|author=Phil Hirschkorn|publisher=[[CNN]]|title=New York remembers 1993 WTC victims|date=2003-02-26|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> It was intended to devastate the foundation of the North Tower, causing it to collapse onto its twin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/sept_11/build_up_06.shtml|title=Out of Nowhere?|author= [[Lawrence Freedman]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=2002-08-22|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref>

The attack was planned by a group of conspirators including [[Ramzi Yousef]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Swansea student links to bin Laden|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/1549539.stm|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=2001-09-18|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Judges Uphold Convictions In '93 Bombing|author=Benjamin Weiser|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0A16F63F5C0C768CDDAD0894DB404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fY%2fYousef%2c%20Ramzi%20Ahmed|publisher=[[New York Times]]|pages=Section D, Page 5, Column 6|date=2003-04-05|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> [[Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman]], [[El Sayyid Nosair]], [[Mahmud Abouhalima]], [[Mohammad Salameh]], [[Nidal Ayyad]], [[Ahmad Ajaj]], and [[Abdul Rahman Yasin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/26/newsid_2516000/2516469.stm|title=1993: World Trade Center bomb terrorises New York|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> They received financing from [[al-Qaeda]] member [[Khaled Shaikh Mohammed]], Yousef's uncle, who would later allegedly admit to planning the September 11, 2001, attacks.<ref>{{cite web|title= Arabic network claims taped 9/11 confessions|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/05/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=2002-09-06|accessdate=2006-09-26}}</ref>

===Statements of motives prior to September 11, 2001 ===
{{Main|Wikisource:Jihad Against Zionists and Crusaders|Osama bin Laden Fatwa|Videos of Osama bin Laden|Wikisource:Osama bin Laden's Declaration of War}}
Since 1996 [[Osama bin Laden]] has stated in public proclamations (''[[fatwas]]'') and in interviews with journalists his common list of grievances which he cites as the reason for his declaration of war against the United States.

In 1998 Osama bin Laden and [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], (a leader of [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]]), co-signed a ''[[fatwa]]'' (binding religious edict) in the name of the [[Wikisource:Jihad Against Zionists and Crusaders|World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders]], declaring:
{{bquote|[t]he ruling to kill the Americans and their allies civilians and military - is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the [[al-Aqsa Mosque]] (in [[Jerusalem]]) and the holy mosque (in [[Makka]]) from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty [[Allah]], 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah'.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm
|title=World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders: Initial "Fatwa" Statement
|accessdate=2006-09-10
|author=Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin
|coauthors=Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, Shaykh Mir Hamzah, Fazlur Rahman
|date=1998-02-23
|publisher=al-Quds al-Arabi
|language=Arabic
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm
|title = Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders. World Islamic Front Statement
|accessdate = 2006-09-24
|author = Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin
|coauthors = Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, Shaykh Mir Hamzah, Fazlur Rahman
|date = 1998-02-23
|publisher = al-Quds al-Arabi
|language = English
}} English language version of the fatwa translated by the [[Federation of American Scientists]] of the [http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm original Arabic document published in the newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi (London, UK) on 23 February, 1998, p3]</ref>
}}
}}
{{Non-free image rationale

| Article = Deep Duck Trouble Starring Donald Duck
In an interview with journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai published in [[TIME Magazine]], January 11, [[1999]], Osama bin Laden is quoted as saying:
| Purpose = Illustration of a specific point within the article.{{Comic-questionable-use

|FUC3=
{{bquote|The International Islamic Front for Jihad against the U.S. and [[Israel]] has issued a crystal-clear [[fatwa]] calling on the [[Islam]]ic nation to carry on [[jihad]] aimed at liberating holy sites. The nation of [[Muhammad]] has responded to this appeal. If the instigation for jihad against the Jews and the Americans in order to liberate [[Al-Aqsa Mosque|Al-Aksa Mosque]] and the [[Kaaba|Holy Ka'aba]] [[Islam]]ic shrines in the [[Middle East]] is considered a crime, then let history be a witness that I am a criminal.<ref>{{cite news|first=Rahimullah|last=Yusufzai|coauthors=|title=Conversation With Terror|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989958,00.html |publisher=TIME Magazine|date=1999-01-11|accessdate=2006-09-28|language=}}</ref>}}
|FUC8=y
<!-- To be later incorporated in other sections or deleted
|list=
One letter written in Arabic, ostensibly bin Laden's "will", appeared on the Internet but has not been authenticated.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4552895-102275,00.html| title=Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America'| publisher=Observer Worldview| year=November 24, 2002| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref>
|glry=

|}}
The [[George W. Bush administration|Bush Administration]] and others have stated that terrorists are motivated to attack by "hatred of America". President Bush said: "America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world."
| Replaceability = {{Comics-replaceability}}
}}
"We swore that [[United States|America]] wouldn't live in security until we live it truly in Palestine. This showed the reality of America, which puts Israel's interest above its own people's interest. America won't get out of this crisis until it gets out of the [[Arabian Peninsula]], and until it stops its support of Israel." -Osama bin Laden, [[October 2001]]
{{Non-free image rationale

| Article = Scrooge McDuck
A [[Germany|German]] friend of [[Mohammed Atta]] is quoted as describing him as "most imbued actually about [[Israel]]i politics in the region and about U.S. protection of these Israeli politics in the region. And he was to a degree personally suffering from that."
| Purpose = Illustration of a specific point within the article.

| Replaceability = {{Comics-replaceability}}
The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) testified that al-Qaeda had specific goals. "One of the primary goals of [[Sunni]] extremists is the removal of U.S. military forces from the [[Persian Gulf]] area, most notably [[Saudi Arabia]]."

--->

===Planning the 9-11 attacks===
According to interviews by Al-Jazeera<ref>{{cite web
|title=Arabic network claims taped 9/11 confessions
|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/05/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html
|date=2002-09-06
|accessdate=2006-10-16
}}</ref> as well as United States interrogations of al-Qaeda members [[Ramzi Binalshibh]] and [[Khalid Shaikh Mohammed]] (captured in 2002 and 2003 respectively), Khalid Mohammed was the instigator and prime organizer of the attacks. Binalshibh may have been picked as a hijacker but he failed to get into the United States.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Al-Jazeera offers accounts of 9/11 planning
|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/
|publisher=[[CNN]]
|date=web
|url=http://www.washtimes.com/world/20040330-120655-9785r.htm
|title=Chicago, L.A. towers were next targets
|author= Paul Martin
|publisher=[[Washington Times]]
|date=2004-03-30
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref>

Khalid Mohammed had provided funding to his nephew [[Ramzi Yousef]]<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/03/02/mohammed.biog/
|title=Khalid Shaikh Mohammed: life of terror
|publisher=[[CNN]]
|date=2003-09-23
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/09/60II/main524947.shtml
|title=The Mastermind
|publisher=[[CBS News]]
|date=2003-03-05
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> for the [[World Trade Center bombing]] in 1993. In addition, he collaborated on ''[[Oplan Bojinka]]'' which called for ten or more airliners to be bombed in mid-air or hijacked for use as missiles.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2811855.stm
|title=Profile: Al-Qaeda 'kingpin'
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=2006-10-16
|accessdate=2003-03-05}}</ref> Planning for Oplan Bojinka began in 1994, and was funded in part by Osama bin Laden, but was thwarted by an accidental fire in 1995.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://taipeitimes.com/News/us/archives/2001/09/14/102905
|title=Suicide-pilot plan uncovered six years ago in Philippines
|pages=3
|publisher=[[Taipei Times]]
|date=2001-09-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/08/12/2003322877
|title=Terror plot echoes 1995 Pacific planes scheme
|pages=6
|publisher=[[Taipei Times]]
|date=2006-08-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.manilatimes.net/others/special/2002/sept/11/20020911spe1.html
|title=The downside to glossing over intelligence data
|author=Johnna Villaviray
|publisher=[[Manila Times]]
|date=2002-09-11
|accessdate=2003-03-05}}</ref>

In mid-1996, Khalid Mohammed presented a new plan to the leadership of [[al-Qaeda]]<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/secrethistory/timeline5.html
|title=The Secret History of 9/11: Planning 9/11
|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]
|date=2006-09-04
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> that called for several airplanes on both [[East Coast of the United States|east]] and [[West Coast of the United States|west coast]]s<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.washtimes.com/world/20040330-120655-9785r.htm
|title=Chicago, L.A. towers were next targets
|author= Paul Martin
|publisher=[[Washington Times]]
|date=2004-03-30
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> to be hijacked and flown into targets.

According to the Binalshibh and Khalid Mohammed, six of the hijackers played active parts in the planning, including the four who became the pilots. The other two were [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] and [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/secrethistory/timeline5.html
|title=The Secret History of 9/11: Planning 9/11
|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]
|date=2006-09-04
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> CIA operatives reportedly monitored the movements of these two known militants when they visited the US but did not notify the FBI or gain an inkling of what the hijackers were planning.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/fedagencies/jan-june02/failure_6-3.html
|title=Failure to Communicate
|publisher=[[The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer|News Hour with Jim Lehrer]]
|date=2002-06-03
|accessdate=2006-10-16
}}</ref> However, during a 2006 Moussaoui trial cross-examination,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/03/08/national/a090713S88.DTL| title=Moussaoui Jury Watches Video Testimony| first=Matthew| last=Barakat| year=March 8, 2006| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref> FBI agents stated that the bureau was aware, years before the attacks in 2001, that al-Qaeda planned to use planes to destroy important buildings. Philippine Chief Superintendent Avelino Razon had noted such plans during the 1995 investigation of Oplan Bojinka, of which Razon said {{bquote|I didn't imagine that they would ram a 757 aircraft into the World Trade Center. I thought the suicide mission [would involve] a [[Cessna]] light aircraft loaded with several kilos of explosives, like a Japanese [[Kamikaze]] [[World War II]] pilot diving into a target.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Suicide-pilot plan uncovered six years ago in Philippines
|url=http://taipeitimes.com/News/us/archives/2001/09/14/102905
|publisher=[[Taipei Times]]
|pages =3
|date=2001-09-14
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref>}}

The targets ultimately chosen were the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the United States Capitol. Flight 93 was apparently meant to crash into the Capitol. The White House was considered as a target; initially dismissed as being too difficult to locate from the air, it was later included in the plans.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5224099/
|title=9/11 commission staff statement No. 16
|publisher=[[MSNBC]]
|date=2004-06-16
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> In the communications that developed as the scheme took form, the Pentagon's code name was the ''Faculty of Arts'', Capitol Hill was the ''Faculty of Law'', and the World Trade Center was coded as the ''Faculty of Town Planning''.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Al-Jazeera offers accounts of 9/11 planning
|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/
|publisher=[[CNN]]
|date=2002-09-12}}</ref>

===Al-Qaeda statements after 9-11===
Al-Qaeda's spokesman, [[Sulaiman Abu Ghaith]], said in a video sent to [[al Jazeera]] and broadcast in October 2001 the following:
{{bquote|The Americans should know that the storm of plane attacks will not abate, with God's permission. There are thousands of the Islamic nation's youths who are eager to die just as the Americans are eager to live. <ref>{{cite web
|title=In full: Al-Qaeda statement. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a spokesman for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group, has called on Muslims to join in a holy war against the United States.
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/1590350.stm
|date=2001-10-10
|accessdate=2006-09-29
}}</ref>}}

===Taliban implication after 9-11===

On October 4, 2001, British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] released information compiled by Western intelligence agencies connecting Osama bin Laden to the [[Afghanistan|Afghanistan's]] [[Taliban]] leadership as well as being the leader of the [[al-Qaeda]] organization.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page3682.asp
|title=Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, 11 September 2001 |publisher=10 Downing Street, Office of the Prime Minister of the U.K.
|date=2001, November 14
|accessdate=2006-09-29}}</ref>

The United States requested the Taliban to shut down all al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, open them to inspection and turn over Osama bin Laden. The Taliban refused all these requests. Instead they offered to extradite Osama bin Laden to an Islamic country, for trial under Islamic law, if the United States presented evidence of his guilt.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/09/11/world/main310852.shtml|title=Taliban Won't Turn Over Bin Laden|publisher=[[CBS News]]|date=2001-09-21|accessdate=2007-07-07}}</ref> However the Taliban had previously deemed eyewitness testimony and satellite phone call recordings entered in the public record in February of 2001 during a trial as insufficient grounds to extradite bin Laden for his involvement in the [[1998 U.S. embassy bombings]] in [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]]. The US government launched the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|2001 war in Afghanistan]] on [[October 7]], [[2001]] to achieve these ends and overthrow the Taliban.

===Osama Bin Laden statements after 9-11===
The FBI lists bin Laden as one of the "[[10 Most Wanted]]" in connection with several incidents including the [[USS Cole bombing]] and the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]] in East [[Africa]]. The FBI's "[[FBI Most Wanted Terrorists]]" poster does not specifically hang responsibility for 9/11 on bin Laden, instead it only states "Bin Laden is a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world."<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/terbinladen.htm Most Wanted Terrorist - Usama Bin Laden<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

On September 16, 2001, an [[Al Jazeera]] news presenter read a message purportedly signed by Osama bin Laden, in which the following words were stated:{{bquote| I stress that I have not carried out this act, which appears to have been carried out by individuals with their own motivation.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Bin Laden denies being behind attacks
|author=[[Associated Press]]
|publisher=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
|url=http://www2.jsonline.com/news/nat/sep01/binladen-denial.asp
|date=2001-09-16
|accessdate=2006-09-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bin Laden says he wasn't behind attacks
|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/inv.binladen.denial/
|publisher=[[CNN]]
|date=2001-09-17
|accessdate=2006-09-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Pakistan to Demand Taliban Give Up Bin Laden as Iran Seals Afghan Border
|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34440,00.html
|publisher=[[Fox News]]
|date=2001-09-16
|accessdate=2006-09-29}}</ref>}} But the Taliban had claimed that they had taken away all his means of communication with the outside world.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Bin Laden denies being behind attacks
|author=[[Associated Press]]
|url=http://www2.jsonline.com/news/nat/sep01/binladen-denial.asp
|date=2001-09-16
|accessdate=2006-09-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bin Laden says he wasn't behind attacks
|publisher=[[CNN]]
|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/inv.binladen.denial/
|date=2001-09-17
|accessdate=2006-09-29}}</ref>

In late October 2001, [[Al Jazeera]] journalist [[Tayseer Allouni]] conducted an interview with Osama bin Laden which was videotaped. Al-Jazeera refused to broadcast it<ref>{{cite news
|first = Howard
|last = Kurtz
|title = Interview Sheds Light On Bin Laden's Views
|url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/105787627.html?dids=105787627:105787627&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=&date=Feb+7%2C+2002&author=Howard+Kurtz&desc=Interview+Sheds+Light+On+Bin+Laden%27s+Views|
|publisher = The Washington Post
|pages = A12
|date = 2002-02-07
|accessdate = 2006-09-28
}}</ref> and terminated its affiliation agreement with CNN<ref>{{cite web
| coauthors = Mohammed Jassim Al-Ali (Director General [[Al-Jazeera]]) and [[CNN]]
| title = Al-Jazeera statement and CNN response on bin Laden interview
| publisher = [[CNN]]
| url = http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/31/gen.aljazeera.statement/index.html
| date = 2002-01-31
| accessdate = 2006-09-28 }}</ref> due to CNN's broadcasting of the interview on January 31, 2002.<ref>{{cite web
| coauthors = Mohammed Jassim Al-Ali (Director General [[Al-Jazeera]]) and [[CNN]]
| title = Bin Laden's sole post-September 11 TV interview aired
| work =
| publisher = [[CNN]]
| url = http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/31/gen.binladen.interview/index.html
| date = 2002-02-05
| accessdate = 2006-09-28}}
</ref> In the interview, bin Laden addressed the September 11, 2001, attacks, saying {{bquote|If inciting people to do that is terrorism, and if killing those who kill our sons is terrorism, then let history be witness that we are terrorists...We will work to continue this battle, God permitting, until victory or until we meet God before that occurs.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Transcript of bin Laden's October interview
| publisher = [[CNN]]
| url = http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/02/05/binladen.transcript/index.html
| date = 2002-02-05
| accessdate = 2006-09-28}}
</ref>
}}

In November 2001, US forces recovered a [[Videos of Osama bin Laden#Tape released by the U.S. government|videotape]] from a destroyed house in [[Jalalabad, Afghanistan|Jalalabad]], Afghanistan which showed Osama bin Laden talking to [[Khaled al-Harbi]]. In the tape, bin Laden seems to admit planning the attacks. Translations from the tape include the following lines: {{bquote|
...we calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy, who would be killed based on the position of the tower. We calculated that the floors that would be hit would be three or four floors. I was the most optimistic of them all...We had notification since the previous Thursday that the event would take place that day. We had finished our work that day and had the radio on...Muhammad (Atta) from the Egyptian family (''meaning the al Qaeda Egyptian group''), was in charge of the group...The brothers, who conducted the operation, all they knew was that they have a martyrdom operation and we asked each of them to go to America but they didn't know anything about the operation, not even one letter. But they were trained and we did not reveal the operation to them until they are there and just before they boarded the planes.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/d20011213ubl.pdf
|title=TRANSCRIPT OF USAMA BIN LADEN VIDEO TAPE
|accessdate=2006-07-04
|year=September 13, 2001}}</ref>}}

In late November 2002, a letter attributed to [[Osama bin Laden]] and translated by British Islamists surfaced. '<i>Because you attacked us and continue to attack us</i>' is the letter's simple claim of motive behind the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]]. Part of the letter includes an attempt at morally justifying the selection of a civilian target. Itemizing a list of perceived Western wrongdoings, the letter concludes that '<i>the oppressed have a right to return the aggression</i>' and hinted at further attacks. Also included are a list of demands, advice, and a statement of grievances against the American government and its people. <ref>{{cite web
|title= Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America'
|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,845725,00.html
|publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]]
|date= November 2002;
|accessdate=2007-01-06}}</ref>
On February 11, 2003, [[Al Jazeera]] broadcast an audio tape purportedly from bin Laden.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2751019.stm
|title=Bin Laden tape: Text
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=2003-02-12
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}
</ref>

Shortly before the US presidential election in 2004, in a [[2004 Osama bin Laden video|taped statement]], bin Laden publicly acknowledged al-Qaeda's involvement in the attacks on the US, and admitted his direct link to the attacks. He said that the attacks were carried out because "we are a free people who do not accept injustice, and we want to regain the freedom of our nation." [[wikisource:Text of 2004 Osama bin Laden videotape|(full text)]]
In an audio message that surfaced on the Internet in May 2006 the speaker, who is alleged to be Osama bin Laden, defends [[Zacarias Moussaoui]], who was undergoing a trial for his participation in the September 11 attacks. The voice in the audio message says {{bquote| "I begin by talking about the honorable brother [[Zacarias Moussaoui]]. The truth is that he has no connection whatsoever with the events of September 11th, and I am certain of what I say, because I was responsible for entrusting the 19 brothers — Allah have mercy upon them — with those raids, and I did not assign brother Zacarias to be with them on that mission."<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/Terrorism/story?id=1995630&page=1
|title=http://abcnews.go.com/International/Terrorism/story?id=1995630&page=1
|accessdate=2006-09-12|date=2006-05-23}}</ref>}}

===Other suspects within Al-Qaeda===

[[As of 2004]], several people including Mohammed, Binalshibh and [[Mohamed al-Kahtani]], the [[20th hijacker]], were being held by the US as [[illegal combatant]]s; however, the United States had no one on trial for the attacks. In Germany, [[Mounir El Motassadeq]] was convicted of over 3000 counts of accessory to murder for helping finance the hijackers but the verdict was put aside and a new trial scheduled.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4690712.stm
|title=Germany releases terror suspect
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=2006-02-07
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref> [[Abdelghani Mzoudi]] was acquitted in Germany on the same charges.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4076346.stm
|title=Acquittal of 9/11 suspect upheld
|date=2005-06-09
|accessdate=2006-10-16}}</ref>

==Financing the attacks==

According to the [[9/11 Commission Report]], the 9/11 plotters spent between $400,000 and $500,000 to plan and conduct the attack:

<blockquote>
al Qaeda funded the plotters. KSM [Khalid Sheikh Mohammad] provided his operatives with nearly all the money they needed to travel to the United States, train, and live... The U.S. government has not been able to determine the origin of the money used for the 9/11 attacks. Ultimately the question is of little practical significance.<ref>[9/11 Commission Report, pp169, 172]</ref>
</blockquote>

CNN and other news outlets reported in September and October 2001 that $100,000 was wired from the [[United Arab Emirates]] to lead hijacker [[Mohammad Atta]] prior to the attacks, by [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh|Ahmed Omar Saeed (Syed) Sheikh]], a long time Pakistani [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] asset.<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essaysaeed Sept. 11's Smoking Gun: The Many Faces of Saeed Sheikh<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The report, which was later confirmed by CNN,<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/south/10/08/india.ressa/ CNN.com - India wants terror spotlight on Kashmir - October 8, 2001<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> stated that "Atta then distributed the funds to conspirators in Florida... In addition, sources have said Atta sent thousands of dollars -- believed to be excess funds from the operation -- back to Syed in the United Arab Emirates in the days before September 11. Syed also is described as a key figure in the funding operation of al Qaeda"<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/10/05/inv.terror.investigation/ CNN.com - Suspected hijack bankroller freed by India in '99 - October 6, 2001<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The day after this report was published, the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, Gen. Mahmood Ahmed, was fired from his position.<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essaysaeed Sept. 11's Smoking Gun: The Many Faces of Saeed Sheikh<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[India]]n news outlets reported the FBI was investigating the possibility that Gen. Mahmood Ahmed ordered Saeed Sheikh to send the $100,000 to Atta, while most Western media outlets only reported his connections to the [[Taliban]] as the reason for his departure.<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essaysaeed Sept. 11's Smoking Gun: The Many Faces of Saeed Sheikh<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' was one of the few Western news organizations to follow up on the story, citing the ''[[Times of India]]'': "US authorities sought [Gen. Mahmood Ahmed's] removal after confirming the fact that $100,000 [was] wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta from Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh at the instance of General Mahmood."<ref>[http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=95001298 The Wall Street Journal Online - Best of the Web Today<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ''The Daily Excelsior'' reported that:

<blockquote>
The FBI’s examination of the hard disk of the cellphone company Omar Sheikh had subscribed to led to the discovery of the 'link' between him and the deposed chief of the Pakistani ISI, Gen. Mehmood Ahmed. And as the FBI investigators delved deep, sensational information surfaced with regard to the transfer of 100,000 dollars to Mohammed Atta, one of the Kamikaze pilots who flew his Boeing into the World Trade Centre. Gen. Mehmood Ahmed, the FBI investigators found, fully knew about the transfer of money to Atta.<ref>[http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/01oct18/news.htm Daily Excelsior News Page<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
</blockquote>

The [[9/11 Commission Report]] stated that "to date, the U.S. government has not been able to determine the origin of the money used for the 9/11 attacks. Ultimately the question is of little practical significance."<ref>[http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch5.htm 9/11 Commission Report, p172]</ref> It concludes: "we have seen no evidence that any foreign government - or foreign government official - supplied any funding."<ref>9/11 Commission Report, p172</ref> The difficulty in tracking the funding is due to the traditional means of zakat, a Muslim form of charitable giving essential to proper following of the faith <ref>[National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (2004). The 9/11 Commission Report. pp 170-171, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.]</ref> and hawala, another ancient system of transferring funds based on trust and connections, including family, clan, and regional affiliations. <ref>[Howard, R.D. (2005). In Terrorism and Counterterrorism, Howard, RD. & Sawyer, RL (Eds.) (2006), Understanding Al Qaeda’s Application of the New Terrorism – The Key to Victory in the Current Campaign, pp 91-106, Dubuque: McGraw Hill Contemporary Learning Series.]</ref>

==Other alleged responsibility==
There have been allegations that individuals outside al Qaeda may have been at least partly responsible for the attacks. Such allegations are often referred to as [[9/11 conspiracy theories]]. The most prevalent of them is that 9/11 was an "inside job", meaning that individuals within the United States government either orchestrated the attacks or deliberately allowed them to take place, as a pretext for the [[War on Terror]]. While some theories, such as the [[Controlled demolition hypothesis for the collapse of the World Trade Center]], assert that the events of 9/11 were substantially different to the mainstream account, others assert that there was merely deliberate negligence which allowed the attacks to succeed. Other 9/11 conspiracy theories against the United States government include claims that extreme incompetence has been deliberately overlooked or covered up.

There are allegations that individuals within the [[Pakistan]]i [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] may have played an important role in [[Responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks#financing the attacks|financing the attacks]]. There are also claims that other foreign intelligence agencies, such as the Israeli Mossad, had [[9/11 advanced-knowledge debate|foreknowledge of the attacks]], and that Saudi Arabia may have played a role in financing the attacks. The theory that such foreign individuals outside of al Qaeda were involved is often part of larger "inside job" theories, although it has been claimed that, while al Qaeda deserve most of the responsibility, the alleged role played by Pakistan, Israel or Saudi Arabia was deliberately overlooked by the official investigation for political reasons. Some [[9/11 opinion polls]] have also found that a significant minority of the American public believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible.

===Pakistan===
Based on CNN and other news outlet reports from September and October 2001 about [[Responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks#Financing the attacks|the $100,000 that was wired to hijacker Mohammed Atta]] by [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh]], it has been claimed that General Mahmood Ahmed, the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, was responsible for supplying some of the money used by the hijackers in preparing for the attacks. After Mahmood was fired on 7 October, 2001, the Times of India reported that US authorities sought his removal after confirming that he had authorised the money transfer to Atta.<ref>[http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=95001298 The Wall Street Journal Online - Best of the Web Today<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

According to the ''[[Washington Post]]'', on the morning of [[September 11]], [[Porter J. Goss|Porter Goss]] and [[Bob Graham]] were having breakfast with General Mahmood in Washington.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36091-2002May17&notFound=true| title=A Cloak But No Dagger|first=Richard| last=Leiby| journal=Washington Post|month=May 18| year=2002| pages=C01}}</ref> The following two days, Mahmood met with Deputy Secretary of State [[Richard Armitage]], Senator Joseph Biden, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Secretary of State Colin Powell. An agreement on Pakistan's collaboration in the new "[[War on Terrorism]]" was negotiated between Mahmood and Armitage.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay_pf.jsp?article=mahmoodahmed| title=500 error| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2001/reuters091301.html| title=As of last access redirects to Cooperative Research homepage| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/america_under_attack/article/0,1299,DRMN_16_824298,00.html| title=As of last access redirects to Rocky Mountain News Local homepage| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2001/miamiherald091601.html| title=As of last access redirects to Cooperative Research homepage| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref> General Mahmood then lead a six-member delegation to the Afghan city of Kandahar in order to hold crisis talks with the [[Taliban]] leadership, supposedly in an attempt to persuade them to hand over [[Osama bin Laden]].

=== Israel ===

Theories involving Israel are prevalent in [[9/11 advanced-knowledge debate]]. Some theories go further and claim that Israeli espionage agents have played an active role in the attacks. [[Francesco Cossiga]] was President of [[Italy]] from 1985 until he was forced to resign after revealing the existence of, and his part in setting up, [[Operation Gladio]] in 1992. Cossiga asserts that the 9-11 attacks were an inside job and that this is common knowledge among global intelligence agencies. “All the (intelligence services) of America and Europe…know well that the disastrous attack has been planned and realized from the [[Mossad]], with the aid of the [[Zionist]] world in order to put under accusation the Arabic countries and in order to induce the western powers to intervene in [[Iraq]] (and) [[Afghanistan]].<ref>[http://www.corriere.it/politica/07_novembre_30/osama_berlusconi_cossiga_27f4ccee-9f55-11dc-8807-0003ba99c53b.shtml Corriere della Sera November 30, 2007] </ref><ref>[http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/9-11_solved118.html Italian Says 9-11 Solved] [[December 4]], [[2007]]</ref> [[Morgan O. Reynolds]] chief economist in the President Bush's Labor Department until 2002 claims the attacks were a joint operation involving elements within Mossad, the United States government, and [[Secret Intelligence Service|M16]] the Secret British Intelligence Service.<ref>[http://www.wanttoknow.info/060908.911conspiracytheorists 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists Multiply Washington Post/MSNBC September 8, 2006]</ref>[[Ayman al-Zawahr]] the number two official in [[Al Quaeda]] claimed that the [[Hezbollah]] satellite television station [[al-Manar]] started a rumor that Israel was behind the 9/11 attacks for the purpose of suggesting that [[Sunni Muslims]] can not hurt the United States and to cover up Iran's involvement with the United States in the [[Iraq War|invasion of Iraq]].<ref>[http://news.scotsman.com/world/AlQaeda-No-2-accuses-Iran.4009088.jp Al-Qaeda No 2 accuses Iran of 9/11 conspiracy theory The Scotsman April 23, 2008]</ref>

Five Israelis were caught and arrested on September 2001.<ref>[http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/fiveisraelis.html The Five Dancing Israelis
Arrested On 9-11]</ref>

===Saudi Arabia and the bin Laden family===
There have been claims that [[9/11 advanced-knowledge debate#Blocked al-Qaeda investigations|investigations into al Qaeda were deliberately blocked]] via high-level interference from Washington. Some of these claims also extend to other groups outside al Qaeda, in particular individuals from Saudi Arabia. In June 2001, a "high-placed member of a US intelligence agency" told [[BBC]] reporter Greg Palast that "after the [2000] elections, the agencies were told to "back off" investigating the Bin Ladens and Saudi royals".<ref>{{cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/newsnight/1645527.stm| publisher=BBC News| title=NEWSNIGHT Greg Palest report transcript| year=6/11/01| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref>

In May 2002, former FBI Agent Robert Wright delivered a tearful press conference apologizing to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11. He described how his superiors intentionally obstructed his investigation into [[Al-Qaeda]] financing.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/another-fbi-agent-blows-the-whistle/3706/| title=Another FBI Agent Blows the Whistle| first=Jim| last=Crogan| year=July 31, 2002| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/searchResults.jsp?searchtext=Robert+Wright&events=on&entities=on&articles=on&topics=on&timelines=on&projects=on&titles=on&descriptions=on&dosearch=on&search=+Go+| title=Cooperative Research search result for 'Robert Wright'| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref> Agent Wright would later tell [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s Brian Ross that "September 11th is a direct result of the incompetence of the FBI's International Terrorism Unit," specifically referring to the Bureau's hindering of his investigation into Yassin al-Qadi (al Kadi), who Ross described as a powerful Saudi Arabian businessman with extensive financial ties in Chicago.<ref>[http://billstclair.com/911timeline/2002/abcnews121902b.html Primetime Investigation FBI Terrorist Cover Up<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> One month after the attacks, the US government officially identified al-Qadi as one of [[Osama bin Laden]]'s primary financiers, through his Muwafaq Foundation, and they declared him to be a global terrorist.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2002/10/dos101102.html| title=Fact Sheet: Updated State Dept List of Identified Terrorists and Groups| year=October 11, 2002| publisher=Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/072kqska.asp| title=Wahhabis in the Old Dominion| first=Stephen| last=Schwartz| month=04/08| year=2002| volume=7| issue=29| accessdate=2006-04-27}}</ref> A former FBI Counter Terrorism Agent commented that for someone like al-Qadi to be involved in 9/11 is "of grave concern."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://wbz4.com/iteam/local_story_343145212.html| year=Dec 9, 2002| title=How Much did the FBI know about P Tech?| accessdate=2006-04-27| publisher=CBS4 Boston}}</ref>

The movie ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'' alleges strong business connections between the [[Bush family]] and the [[bin Laden family]]. It relates how [[Salem bin Laden]] invested heavily in [[Arbusto Energy]], a company run by [[George W. Bush]], through his friend [[James R. Bath]].<ref>http://www.michaelmoore.com/_media/images/documents/salem-bath-trust-agreement.jpg</ref> Several members of the Bush family are investors in the [[Carlyle Group]], a [[defense contractor]] and [[investment fund]] with numerous interests in the [[Saudi Arabia]] and the [[Middle East]] and connections to the [[Saudi Binladen Group]], run by former Bush administration [[Secretary of Defense]] [[Frank Carlucci]].<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A25406-2003Mar14&notFound=true
| title=Connections and Then Some: David Rubenstein Has Made Millions Pairing the Powerful With the Rich |author=Greg Schneider |date=[[March 16]] [[2003]] |publisher=[[The Washington Post]] |accessdate=2007-03-06}}</ref> On [[September 10]] [[2001]], former President [[George H.W. Bush]] and several members of his cabinet had been present at a Carlyle Group business conference with [[Shafig bin Laden]], a half-brother of Osama bin Laden, at the [[Ritz-Carlton]] hotel located several miles from the Pentagon. The conference was continuing with the remaining cabinet members and bin Laden's brother at the time of the Pentagon attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?id=1521846767-479|title=Profile: Carlyle Group|year=Profile: Carlyle Group}}</ref><ref> [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,738196,00.html Dark heart of the American dream] June 16, 2002</ref> George H.W. Bush remained an advisor to the Carlyle Group for two years after the attacks.

''The New York Times'' reported that members of the bin Laden family were driven or flown under [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) supervision to a secret assembly point in Texas and then to Washington from where they left the country on a private charter plane when airports reopened three days after the attacks.<ref>"Fearing Harm, bin Laden Kin Fled From U.S.", by Patrick E. Tyler. ''The New York Times'', September 30, 2001</ref> The 9/11 commission later concluded that "the FBI conducted a satisfactory screening of Saudi nationals who left the United States on charter flights" and that the exodus was approved by special advisor [[Richard Clarke]] after a request by Saudi Arabia who feared for the safety of their nationals. On [[June 20]], [[2007]] the public interest group [[Judicial Watch]] released [[FBI]] documents that it says suggested that Osama bin Laden himself may have chartered one of the flights. Judicial Watch President [[Tom Fitton]] accused the FBI of conducting a "slapdash" investigation of the flights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judicialwatch.org/6322.shtml|title=Judicial Watch}}</ref>

Author [[Steve Coll]] in his [[2008]] book ''The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century'' writes that most members of the family barely know Osama. [[Richard Clark]] in a column about the book notes that because it was custom at that time for successful Muslim men to have multiple wives this claim rings true. Clark also theorizes that the FBI did not question the bin Ladens before they were flown out of the US and have not questioned them since because they already had extensive knowledge about them.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2008/03/26/story_of_the_bin_ladens_offers_a_window_into_two_different_worlds/?page=1 Story of the bin Ladens offers a window into two different worlds Richard Clark for The Boston Globe March 26, 2008]</ref>

===Iraq===
{{see|Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda}}

Immediately after the attacks, rumors began that Iraq could have played a role. The state-run Iraqi media praised the attacks but denied that Iraq was responsible.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} In September 2003, President Bush told the press, "we've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th."<ref>{{cite news| work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]| title=Bush: No Iraq link to 9/11 found| url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/attack/140133_bushiraq18.html| author=Scott Shepard| date=2003-09-18}}</ref>

On [[June 29]], [[2005]] [[Robin Hayes]], a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Congressman from [[North Carolina]] and vice chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism at that time, stated "evidence is clear" that "Saddam Hussein and people like him were very much involved in 9/11".{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Senator [[John McCain]] reacting to the Congressman's statement said "I haven't seen compelling evidence of that."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/29/hayes.911/|title=GOP lawmaker: Saddam linked to 9/11| publisher=[[CNN]]| date=2005-06-29}}</ref> The [[9/11 Commission Report]] stated that there is "no credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq collaborated with the al Qaeda terrorist network on any attacks on the United States. In September 2006, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence concluded that "there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein had prewar ties to Al Qaeda and one of the terror organization’s most notorious members, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi" and that there was no evidence of any Iraqi support of al-Qaeda or foreknowledge of the September 11th attacks.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/washington/09intelcnd.html| work=[[New York Times]]| date=2006-09-08| title=Senate Panel Releases Report on Iraq Intelligence | author=Mark Mazzetti}}</ref>

Despite this, a number of [[9/11 opinion polls]] have shown that a significant minority of the American public believe that Saddam was "personally involved". In 2002, [[NewsMax.com]] reported that people within and outside the US government believed that then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein conspired in the 9/11 attacks and the [[Oklahoma City bombing|Oklahoma City Bombing]].<ref>{{cite news| publisher=[[NewsMax Media]]| url=http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/9/9/111622.shtml| date=2002-09-09| title= Iraq Linked to 9-11 and Oklahoma City Bombing| author=Wes Vernon}}</ref> The theory extended from the one advanced by investigative journalist Jayna Davis in her book ''The Third Terrorist'' linking Hussein to the Oklahoma City Bombing. It was discussed in a 2002 op-ed piece in the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref>{{cite news| work=[[Wall Street Journal]]| url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110002217| title=The Iraq Connection: Was Saddam involved in Oklahoma City and the first WTC bombing?| author=Micah Morrison| date=2002-09-05}}</ref>

==Culpability==

===The Taliban===

The [[Taliban|Taliban government]] of [[Afghanistan]] gave safe haven to Osama bin Laden in the years leading up to the attack, and his [[al Qaeda]] network may have had a close relationship with the Taliban army and police. On the day of 9/11, the Taleban foreign minister told the Arab television network Al Jazeera: "We denounce this terrorist attack, whoever is behind it."<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/09/11/trade.centre.reaction/ CNN.com - World shock over U.S. attacks - September 11, 2001<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

When the United States declared Osama bin Laden their prime suspect, the Taliban refused to extradite or deport bin Laden abroad or put him on trial themselves, saying the US government had not provided them with any evidence linking bin Laden to 9/11. The Taliban had previously refused to extradite bin Laden to the United States, or prosecute him, after he was indicted by the US federal courts for involvement in the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]].<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9902/13/afghan.binladen.02/index.html CNN - Taliban confirms bin Laden is missing - February 13, 1999<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> A few months before this bombing, Qadhafi's Libya had added bin Laden to an Interpol wanted list although it is unclear whether any extradition requests were made to the Taliban.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}

Because of the [[Bush Doctrine]], which stated "We will make no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbor them", the United States and Britain invaded and overthrew the Taleban regime from Kabul in 2001 and restored the legal government, using air power, special forces and the [[Northern Alliance]] as a land army.

On [[November 29]], [[2007]] a videotape was released that [[The Central Intelligence Agency]] says is likely to be from [[Osama bin Laden]]. In it the speaker claims sole responsibility for the attacks and specifically denies any prior knowledge of them by The Taliban or the [[Afghan]] people.<ref>[http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2912911920071129?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 Bin Laden urges Europe to quit Afghanistan Reuters UK November 29, 2007]</ref>

===United States===
{{seealso|9/11 advanced-knowledge debate}}
{{seealso|Health effects arising from the September 11, 2001 attacks}}

The [[9/11 Commission Report]] concluded that both [[President of the United States|Presidents]] [[Bill Clinton]] and [[George W. Bush]] had been "not well served" by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] prior to 9/11.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2004/s1160100.htm 9/11 Commission finds 'deep institutional failings']</ref> It also explained that the military response protocols were unsuited for the nature of the attack, and identified operational failures in the emergency response.

Immediately following the attacks, the Bush Administration stated that "nobody in our government at least, and I don't the think the prior government, could envisage flying air planes into buildings" (George Bush) and that no-one "could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile" (Condoleezza Rice). An Air Force general called the attack "something we had never seen before, something we had never even thought of." FBI Director Robert Mueller announced "there were no warning signs that I'm aware of."<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021208092449/http://www.publicedcenter.org/faaterrorist.htm The Public Education Center<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Some mainstream media reports have conflicted with these statements, claiming that the FBI and CIA knew of the threat of planes being used as missiles as early as 1995, following the foiling of the [[Bojinka Plot]]. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that:

<blockquote>The FBI had advance indications of plans to hijack U.S. airliners and use them as weapons, but neither acted on them nor distributed the intelligence to local police agencies. From the moment of the September 11th attacks, high-ranking federal officials insisted that the terrorists’ method of operation surprised them. Many stick to that story. Actually, elements of the hijacking plan were known to the FBI as early as 1995 and, if coupled with current information, might have uncovered the plot.</blockquote>

The 9/11 Commission Report stated that "the 9/11 attacks were a shock, but they should not have come as a surprise. Islamic extremists had given plenty of warnings that they meant to kill Americans indiscriminately and in large numbers."<ref>9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, p2</ref> During the spring and summer of 2001, US intelligence agencies received a stream of warnings about an imminent al Qaeda attack; according to George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, "the system was blinking red."<ref>9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, p6</ref> The warnings varied in their level of detail and specificity, and included warnings from both domestic intelligence operations and warnings from foreign governments and intelligence agencies.<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&complete_911_timeline_key_events=complete_911_timeline_key_warnings Complete 911 Timeline: Key Warnings<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

A classified military intelligence program known as "[[Able Danger]]" was created in October 1999 specifically targeting al Qaeda. According to statements by [[Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer]] and those of four others, Able Danger had identified the [[September 11, 2001 attack]] leader [[Mohamed Atta]], and three of the 9/11 plot's other 19 hijackers, as possible members of an [[al Qaeda]] cell linked to the '93 [[World Trade Center bombing]].<ref>{{cite web| last = The Associated Press| year = 2005| url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9163145/| title = More remember Atta ID’d as terrorist pre-9/11| work = MSNBC News - US Security| publisher = MSNBC.com| accessdate = 2006-06-11}}</ref> In December 2006, an investigation by the US Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that those assertions were unfounded. It rejected as untrue "one of the most disturbing claims about the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes." Reacting to the Pentagon report, [[Curt Weldon]] (R-PA) said "The report trashes the reputations of military officers who had the courage to step forward and... describe important work they were doing to track al-Qaida prior to 9/11".

In her testimony to the 9/11 Commission, Condoleezza Rice stated that "the threat reporting that we received in the spring and summer of 2001 was not specific as to time nor place nor manner of attack. Almost all the reports focussed on al Qaeda activities outside the United States." This statement has been criticised by family members of victims of the attacks and who described it as "an insult".<ref>[[9/11 Press for Truth]] film</ref> On August 6th 2001, President Bush's Presidential Daily Briefing, which was entitled "[[Presidential Daily Briefing on bin Laden, August 6, 2001|Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States]]" warns that bin Laden was planning to exploit his operatives' access to the US to mount a terrorist strike: "FBI information... indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country, consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attack."

The 9/11 Commission Report outlined the following "opportunities that were not or could not be exploited by the organizations and systems of the time":
*not watchlisting future hijackers Hazmi and Mihdhar, not trailing them after they traveled to Bangkok, and not informing the FBI about one future hijacker's US visa or his companion's travel to the United States;
*not sharing information linking individuals in the ''Cole'' attack to Mihdhar;
*not taking adequate steps in time to find Mihdhar or Hazmi in the United States;
*not linking the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui, described as interested in flight training for the purpose of using an airplane in a terrorist attack, to the heightened indications of an attack;
*not discovering false statements on visa applications;
*not recognizing passports manipulated in a fraudulent manner;
*not expanding no-fly lists to include names from terrorist watchlists;
*not searching airline passengers identified by the computer-based CAPPS screening system; and
*not hardening aircraft cockpit doors or taking other measures to prepare for the possibility of suicide hijackings.<ref>9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, pp8-9</ref>

With regard to [[U.S. military response during the September 11, 2001 attacks|the failures of the US air defense system]] on the morning of the attacks, the Report explains that:
<blockquote>Existing protocols on 9/11 were unsuited in every respect for an attack in which hijacked planes were used as weapons. What ensued was a hurried attempt to improvise a defense by civilians who had never handled a hijacked aircraft that attempted to disappear, and by a military unprepared for the transformation of commercial aircraft into weapons of mass destruction.<ref>9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, p7</ref></blockquote>

The Report explains that the emergency response was also "necessarily improvised": there were "weaknesses in preparations for disaster, failure to achieve unified incident command, and inadequate communications among responding agencies... At the Pentagon, [there were] problems of command and control."<ref>9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, p8</ref>

==See also==
* [[Justification for Terrorism]]

==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>

*[http://www.voxfux.com/features/stranger_than_fiction.htm ''Stranger than Fiction'' investigation by Dr Albert Pastore]

==Further reading==
*{{cite book
|last = McDermott
|first = Terry
|year = 2005
|title = Perfect Soldiers : The 9/11 Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It
|publisher = Politico's Publishing Ltd
|id = ISBN 1-84275-145-X
}}
}}


==Licensing==
*''1000 YEARS FOR REVENGE: International Terrorism and the FBI'' by [[Peter Lance]] (2003). Covers the plotting, motives, and unsuccessful investigations of Al Qaeda in the US leading up to 9/11. ISBN 0-06-054354-X
{{Non-free comic|Disney comics images}}

==External links==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/newsnight/1645527.stm Has someone been sitting on the FBI? - ''BBC Newsnight'']
*[http://www.laweekly.com/ink/02/37/news-crogan.php Another FBI Agent Blows the Whistle - ''LA Weekly'']
*[http://billstclair.com/911timeline/2002/abcnews121902b.html Primetime Investigation FBI Terrorist Cover Up - ''ABC News: Primetime Live'']
*[http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2002/10/dos101102.html Comprehensive List of Terrorists and Groups Identified Under Executive Order 13224]
*[http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,77682,00.html Ptech workers tell the story behind the search - ''Computerworld'']

{{9-11 hijackers}}

[[Category:Al-Qaeda activities]]
[[Category:September 11, 2001 attacks]]
[[Category:Participants in the September 11, 2001 attacks| ]]

[[fr:Responsabilité des attentats du 11 septembre 2001]]

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