9/11 Attacks: Is It a Terrorist Attack or a Conspiracy - Research Paper Example

? 9/11 attacks: Is it a terrorist attack or a conspiracy? 9/11 attacks: Is it a terrorist attack or a conspiracy? A WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 17nations found that majorities in only nine of them believed that al Qaeda was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. On average, 46 percent said that al Qaeda was behind the attacks while 15 percent say the US government, seven percent Israel, and seven percent some other perpetrator. One in four said they do not know (International Poll: No Consensus On Who Was Behind 9/11, 2010) (See appendix for more details) The 9/11 attacks on Trade Centre and other critical location in America have raised many controversies. Majority of the people believe it as a terrorist attack as portrayed by the American authorities whereas some people do not reject the possibility of a conspiracy behind this attack. However, it should be noted that Osama never claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks on U.S. “Osama bin Laden: "I was not involved in the September 11 attacks in the United States nor did I have knowledge of the attacks” (9/11 facts, n. d) It is a fact that the current war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq were the bi-products of 9/11 attacks. Moreover, it should be noted that war on terror in happening only in Arab countries or Muslim dominated countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. The ability of Al Qaeda to strike at vital locations of America is still unbelievable to many people. America is believed to be the most developed country as far as technology is concerned. It is difficult even for other superpowers like Russia or China to enter American territories. Moreover similar attacks were never happened in the history and no terrorist group has ever organized such attacks in the past. This paper critically analyses different viewpoints about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Possibility of terrorist attack Even though nobody can deny other viewpoints, majority of the global population believe that the 9/11 attack was a terrorist attack organized by Osama bin laden and Al Qaeda. It is a fact that America has given vigorous training to Osama and his company in the past in order to expel communist or Soviet regime from Afghan’s soil. America never thought that their activities may one day strike them like a boomerang. Al Qaeda got military training from CIA and other American secret services to fight against the former Soviet administration in Afghanistan. In other words, the ability of Al Qaeda to strike distant places or to organize innovative war strategies or terrorist activities cannot be denied. Moreover, it is a fact that Osama became a strong critic of America later because of America’s enormous support to Israel, the number one enemy of Arab world. Moreover, Osama never liked the over involvement of American troops in Saudi Arabia - his native place and the place where the Muslim holy lands Makah and Medina situated. Saudi Arabian sought the help of America when they were afraid of a possible attack from Saddam during the latter part of the twentieth century. Even though Osama offered help to Saudi Arabia, Saudi authorities never took that offer seriously. The above offer itself reveals the ability of Al Qaeda troops. In other words, if Al Qaeda or Osama are confident in their abilities to block Saddam from entering Saudi soil, an attack like 9/11 need not be a complicated one for them. Possibility of American involvement A former prominent republican U.S. congressman stated that the U.S. is close to becoming a totalitarian society and that the current administration is using fear to try to ensure that this happens. General Tommy Franks stated that if another terrorist attack occurs in the United States "the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government". And Daniel Ellsberg, the famous Pentagon Papers whistleblower, said "if there is another terror attack, "I believe the president will get what he wants", which will include a dictatorship. (Nimmo, 2007) Even though United States is a democratic country, the administration likes to function like totalitarians. It is difficult for US administration to gather public support for some of their actions in overseas countries. For example, current war on terror would never been happened if the 9/11 incident was not occurred. 9/11 incident give green signal from the public to the administration for conducting war on terror. It is an accepted fact that America is currently facing severe energy crisis and fresh water scarcity problems. It is difficult for the administration to convince general public to about the necessity of attacking Iraq and Afghanistan like countries without logical or genuine reasons. Moreover, international community would never support America if they attack sovereign countries for looting their resources. Under such circumstances, it is quite possible that America may create an incident like 9/11 to gather domestic and international support for its actions in overseas countries. Muslim world generally have a feeling against the Americans because of America’s effort to baptize the Muslim countries. America knows this opposition from Muslim world. Under such circumstances, nobody can deny the possibility of America organizing an attack in its own soil to gather public support for more productive overseas attacks. Evidence suggests that George W. Bush not only knew of attack in advance, but had been in on its planning and its intended outcome. Academic group of 50 says "We believe these events may have been orchestrated by the administration in order to manipulate the American people into supporting policies at home and abroad (911 Conspiracy, 2010) Possibility of Israeli involvement Israel has the ability to intrude into the territories of other countries and they proved it in the past. They have rescued the passengers from a hijacked Air France plane carrying 246 passengers from Entebbe airport after killing the hijackers. This incident happened in 1976 and the Ugandan authorities failed to detect the entry of Israeli troops in its territory. At about 0100 local time (2200GMT), Ugandan soldiers and the hijackers were taken completely by surprise when three Hercules transport planes landed after a 2,500-mile trip from Israel. About 200 elite troops ran out and stormed the airport building. During a 35-minute battle, 20 Ugandan soldiers and all seven hijackers died along with three hostages (1976: Israelis rescue Entebbe hostages, n. d) In short, the possibility of Israel’s involvement in the 9/11 attacks cannot be ruled out when we consider Israel’s abilities in conducting secret missions. Israel knows better than others that American support is necessary for them to conduct its missions or plots in Middle East. America is the strongest support of Israel and many of the resolutions against Israel were vetoed by America in the UN assembly. America’s better relationships with Arab world may not help Israel in the long run. It should be noted that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE etc are some of the Arab countries which are still keeping good relations with America. Israel do not like the strengthening of America’s relations with the Arab world or Muslim community and many people believe that in order to destroy America’s growing relations with Arab countries, Israel purposefully conducted the 9/11 attack on American soil. Conclusions It is difficult to judge whether 9/11 attack was a terrorist attack or not. Even though many people label it as a terrorist attack, it should be noted that Osama never claimed responsibility for this attack even though he claimed responsibility for many other attacks. At the same time, it is an accepted fact that most of the circumstantial evidences point towards the involvement of Al Qaeda in this attack. At the same time, the actions of America and Israel are unpredictable when we analyze their history in the past. In short, the different viewpoints about the 9/11 attacks will remain in the history until we receive more concrete evidences to cite the exact villain. References 1. 1976: Israelis rescue Entebbe hostages, (n. d). Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2786000/2786967.stm 2. 9/11 facts, (n. d). Retrieved from http://www.tvnewslies.org/html/9_11_facts.html 3. 911 Conspiracy, (2010). Retrieved from http://www.patriotsaints.com/News/911/Conspiracy/Bush/ 4. International Poll: No Consensus On Who Was Behind 9/11, (2010). Retrieved from http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/535.php?nid=&id=&pnt=535&lb=btis&gclid=CNmoi-aQ-6kCFcwa6wodqDWpXg 5. Nimmo K. (2007). Welcome . . . and congratulations for your willingness to look at the proof about 9-11. Retrieved from http://www.911proof.com/ Appendix (International Poll: No Consensus On Who Was Behind 9/11, 2010) Read More