Who really attacked America?

The CIA, Bush, Israel, aliens - these are just some of the main suspects in the September 11 attacks, according to conspiracy theories that are common in the world. A list of falsehoods

Sharon Sadeh

The horrifying destruction and meticulous planning that characterized the September 11 attacks gave rise to dozens of conspiracy theories, according to which the United States, Israel, or both - either planned the act or carried it out. Alternatively, it is claimed that both countries knew about the attack or were warned about it but decided not to act to prevent it. Either way, the reason for the attacks, according to the propagators of the plots, is hidden motives designed to serve the military interests of both countries; The United States, for example, was looking for a pretext for a military operation, because it longed to replace the Taliban with a pro-Western government that would support the American oil industry.

The distributors of the theories and fabric stories are divided into five categories: those who suffer from mental problems (paranoids or habitual liars), lovers of wild plots who mix imagination with reality, radical Islamic elements, neo-Nazi organizations and charlatans who wanted to make a small profit from the interest in the affair. Most theories are spread on sleepless websites and fringe discussion groups. These are the most prominent of them:

There was no attack

No plane crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, claims the French Thierry Meysan in his book "The Horrifying Deception". All the attacks that day were initiated by a far-right faction in the American government. The book, which was published five months ago, was a bestseller in France, Spain and Morocco (in July it was also published in the United States). According to him, a right-wing faction in the American government conceived and carried out the attacks to promote military interests, including going to war against Afghanistan. What hit the Pentagon was not a plane but an American guided missile. By pointing to photographs from the disaster site, Maysan "proves" that the hole that opened in the building is not similar to the damage caused by an airplane and its wings. But, he admits, he has no explanation regarding the fate of American Airlines Flight 77 or its passengers.

Bin Laden, an American collaborator

Bin Laden actually worked for the CIA. The propagators of this conspiracy theory base themselves on a kernel of truth - the Americans helped bin Laden's forces during the fight against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan - in order to give it an appearance of credibility and legitimacy. According to a publication in the French newspaper "Le Figaro" on October 31, 2001, by freelance journalist Alexandra Richard, bin Laden met with a CIA collection officer in July 2001 while he was in a hospital in Dubai for kidney treatment. The hospital vehemently denied that bin Laden was in its area.

Americans are guilty (1)

The American authorities - primarily the CIA - knew in advance about the attacks; There is "a lot of evidence of criminal complicity in criminal activity on the part of the American government", and especially on the part of the Bush family, which is designed to serve the interests of the oil industry lobby. This is what Michael Rupert, a former police officer in Los Angeles, claims. On his website, he cobbles together items of information such as former President George W. Bush's visits to Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Carlyle Investment Group and Florida Governor Jeff Bush's directive on September 7, 2001, to prepare for a terrorist attack. His conclusion is that the US government planned the attacks or allowed them to happen so that the US could go to war in the service of the oil companies.

Americans are guilty (2)

The attacks are a "result" of "private and dangerous discussions" between the US and the Taliban regime "regarding geo-strategic interests related to oil". This is what two Frenchmen, Jean-Charles Brissard, a former intelligence officer, and Guillaume Dasquier, a journalist, claim in the book "Bin Laden: The Forbidden Truth". According to them, Washington threatened the Taliban with military action and even the overthrow of the regime, while it was chasing bin Laden, because it wanted to ensure that the government in Afghanistan would be sympathetic to the needs and interests of American oil companies. In response to American pressure, the Taliban and Bin Laden decided to strike first.

To prove these claims, the authors attribute malicious motives to the UN's initiative to settle intra-tribal disputes and conflicts in Afghanistan.

Americans are guilty (3)

A military helicopter loaded with missiles was spotted near the Twin Towers about ten minutes before the first plane hit, claimed the Alternativei website. "Did the administration know about the expected attacks, but failed to prevent them, or did it allow them to happen on purpose?"

wondering there. On another website, it was claimed, shortly after the Bush administration asked Congress for extensive powers for a military operation and operations within the United States, that the attacks were nothing more than a pretext to increase the government's governmental power.

Israel is guilty

Immediately after the attacks, Muslim organizations - as well as neo-Nazi websites - claimed that only Israel and the Jews could benefit from them, and therefore they were the ones who did them.

According to them, it was a ploy designed to turn public opinion against Israel's enemies. Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station claimed that 4,000 Israelis who worked in the Twin Towers were absent from work on the day of the attacks following hints from the Shin Bet. Another theory is that the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, canceled a visit to New York that was planned for September 11.

Someone made money from it

Shortly before the attacks, unknown parties carried out a "short sale" of a large amount of shares of American airlines. These transactions, which yielded high returns, were mostly made outside the United States, and immediately after their nature became clear, two theories emerged. One, that the American administration was aware of the move but ignored it for unclear reasons; And the other, that a handful of capitalists, close to Bin Laden's limited circle, received early information and used it for quick profit.

The aliens are to blame

Creatures from outer space are the ones who caused the attacks - this is what was claimed on one of the conspiracy websites, cited on the Salon.com website. "George Bush is Bill Clinton! Both of them together are the presidents of the 'Alien Agency' and they allow the alien race to juggle and deceive in snap games here in America."

The disasters are immortalized on banknotes

The authors of the theory claim that if you fold a $20 bill several times, you can see the crash site in the Pentagon. Additional folds will make it possible to witness the Twin Towers burning. In addition, if you crease the bill near the number 20, the name Osama will appear. According to the drafters, the winning proof of the correctness of the theory is that if you add the numbers 11 (the date the attacks happened) and 9 (the month the attacks happened) the result is equal to 20 (the value of the note). $10 folds also reveal the Twin Towers on fire; A $50 bill documents the collapse of the towers; A $100 bill allows you to see the Twin Towers on fire from afar.

You see everything in a number

11 The date September 11 indicates in advance a possible disaster. The telephone number of the emergency services in the USA is 911. The twin towers were similar to the number 11. The flight number of the first plane that crashed into the towers was 11. There were 92 people on the plane - 11 in Gematria. The following names have 11 letters in English: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon, Muhammad Ata and skyscrapers.

The devil sprouted from the disaster

Several websites show pictures of the collapse of the Twin Towers, in which we can see

The smoke coming out of the towers is like the face of Satan.

Nostradamus predicted everything, of course

On September 12, a prophecy attributed to the mystic Nostradamus was distributed on the Internet in millions of copies:

"In the city of God there will come a great thunder

Two brothers torn apart by chaos,

As the fortress absorbs, the great leader will collapse,

The third great war will begin

When the big city is burning".

However, a few weeks later it turned out that these lines were actually written in 1997 by Neil Marshall. Marshall, who was a high school student at the time, wrote the words for a website that wanted to show how the writings of the 16th century mystic could be distorted.

* The Hidan site was part of the IOL portal from the Haaretz group until 2002