Reply #3: That bearded fanatic in a turban

[Warpy]

is a brilliant man who has made a fortune in construction and real estate. You bet he and his organization could have mounted the attack using just 19 fanatics with box cutters. I don't dispute that part.

However, they did have help, and it was the passive aggressive kind of help. The failure of the air defense system, the failure of the FBI brass to take field agents' reports seriously, the failure of Clarke and his staff to penetrate the hubris at the heart of the idiocy known as the PNAC were all the kind of help OBL and his organization needed to pull this off.

My guess is that the inaction occurred because they knew they needed to consolidate power after grabbing it illegally and against the will of the people. When this fell into their laps, they were quick to blame Iraq (and Cheney still does) and try to justify an immediate invasion of that country.

All the speculation about the towers is just that. I'd prefer to rely on the conclusions drawn by the guy who designed them.

We know how #7 fell. We just don't know what caused that one major upright to fail.

There are no controlled demolition theories out there that don't suspend the rules of physics and chemistry and/or require superhuman abilities.

The questions we should all have should focus on this: when did they know, what did they know, and why didn't they do anything? Those are the real questions that have remained unanswered because answering them will put this gang in prison.