I was watching some more documentaries. There's so many.
Clinton administration had nine opportunities to get UBL. He was smart enough in a few instances to have foreign princes visit for us to access the risk. Richard Clarke acknowledged we weren't doing that. Michael Scheuer was adamant it was treason from the Clinton administration. The UBL plan wasn't even on Condi's desk till the day of 9-11. That summer the system was blinking red. Then it died off. Intel even said it was likely due to delays. Condis statement on the system blinking was that was based on historical data. Woops. I believe she was demoted. I'd say the primary was Clinton, and secondary the Bush administration.
The engines blew through the WTCs about 4-6 blocks away since they were about the only solid pieces left including landing gears etc. The second tower hit was going an estimated 590mph. The plane that hit the Pentagon, its engine went to the C-ring. It went from A-E. If I'm correct that was the portion of the Pentagon that had just been constructed with reinforced concrete.
Sad but ingenious plan. Reporter John Miller and others thought nothing of UBL as a threat from a cave. He'd been exiled, and his family wealth had been stripped from him.
Edit: I know the edges of the WTC hotel were reinforced with concrete. That's what saved some of those people below. The miracle of stairwell B (WTC 1) I likened to extremely lucky yet plausible since those firefighters were near the bottom. It was the guy who was laying on a platform a couple stories up I thought was amazing to survive.
You couldn't pay me to be a politician and say in front of the camera 'see its safe to fly again!' It was disheartening to hear politicians cover for our defense system. We had no idea. Flying east of NY over the ocean. Launching when Flight 93 already crashed. At least the woman pilot acknowledged they weren't even close.
There's another video of a group of firefighters waiting a block or two at the base of the towers. Maybe 50 of em watching jumpers. A reporter starts shooting and that's when the first tower fell. He'd say later he ducked into a door nearby. Be interesting to know if the others made it.
The FAA never called the air defense system. Curious to know why since they are protocalled for standard hijackings. I know the director said these red alert tests where they try and smuggle fake bombs on board were deemed useless since a hijacker could just threaten a cabin's death to get access to the cockpit. Cost/benefit not sure.
There's other amazing video of one tower down and a person is roaming around next to it. Right before the second tower went the last person out was being interviewed. You could see him hauling ass moments later. Another person who was one of the last out was hit by debris and woke up in a hospital nearly untouched.
The architect said the towers were built to withstand the impact of a 737. Back then though they didn't have the modeling for damage due to fire. Nor the ability to access the fire resistance being blown off from impact. They were built with core columns and a steel girder exterior and truss floors to tie it together to maximize office space instead of traditional girder throughout. It meant the bldg was very hollow. Cheaper fire resistant materials were used in the stairwells vs say concrete. The two towers acted as a wind barrier from the other. Conclusion was they performed acceptably under the conditions. I think though that's due to construction economics. The new WTC is built like a tank but maybe fear and overblown. Since it's a symbol of the US I guess. Ah when the old ones were hit they were described as having a tremendous sway to them. I wonder if the new one has any of that.
Military informed Intel about two hijackers living in the FL area. I'd bet they didn't have jurisdiction and told military to stand down. Or it really was about power like how the FBI/CIA fued over turf. One reporter said hey did you know there's a radical anti American conference? Intel said you must be outta your fucking mind to cover up jurisdiction problems. Something happens well we didn't know about it. Phillipines Intel had info on a plot that was never passed to us. CIA guy says ok well even if we had that info doesn't mean we for sure would've stopped it. Beyond administration it was system wide problem. The alert system wasn't wasn't even updated at the airports. You could carry a 4" knife on board. You.could pass through a security wander without much resistance. Kind of a joke you look back on it. Heads in Intel weren't even informed it was so closed off.
KSM was the uncle of Ramzi Yousef. Didn't remember that. He advanced the ideas of Yousef's '93 WTC plot. Stairs were highlighted to make exiting more visible. Plus the day of 9-11 was on an election so who knows how many more. KSM was trying to get UBL to STFU (ie Intel chatter and bragging). Really don't like Condi much on Katrina either. Buying shoes Fargasios, tennis with Monica Seles, going to a play etc. Someone in the street said 'how dare you do that while people are sleeping on the ground!' Good lesson in PR LOL.
79-89 Afghan/Russia War but really just leaving and the Civil War after. The rise of the Taliban. UBL took it personally Saudi Arabia used US military vs his troops LOL. Protecting the oil fields from Saddam but then potentially gaining Afghan natural resources. A very good fatwa storyline.
