Responsibility for the September 11 attacks
Two weeks after the September 11 attacks, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation connected the hijackers to al-
Qaeda,[1] a global, decentralized terrorist network. In a
number of video, audio, interview and printed statements,
senior members of al-Qaeda have also asserted responsi-
bility for organizing the September 11 attacks.[2][3][4] It
is believed that Osama Bin Laden, Khalid Sheikh Mo-
hammed, and Mohammed Atef were the ones who plot-
ted the attacks after meeting together in 1999.[5] It is
also believed Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was the one who
planned the attacks[5] and that Atef was the one who or-
ganized the hijackers.[5]
1 Identifying the hijackers
Further information: Hijackers in the September 11
attacks
The FBI investigation into the attacks, codenamed oper-
ation PENTTBOM, was able to identify the 19 hijack-
ers within days, as they made little eort to conceal their
names on ight, credit card, and other records.[6] By
checking ight manifests and comparing them with other
information, like watch lists, customs ocials were able
to nd the names of all 19 hijackers quickly.
Passengers and crew aboard the ights provided infor-
mation about the hijackers while the hijacking was in
progress. Two ight attendants on American Airlines
Flight 11, Betty Ong and Madeline Amy Sweeney, con-
tacted airline personnel on the ground. Sweeney pro-
vided the seat numbers of the hijackers, and descrip-
tions of the men, identifying Mohamed Atta as one of
the hijackers.[7][8][9] A ight attendant on United Air-
lines Flight 175 called a United Airlines mechanic and
reported that hijackers had killed the crew.[9] While the
hijacking was in progress on American Airlines Flight
77, several passengers, including a ight attendant, Re-
nee May, contacted and reported details of the hijack-
ing to persons on the ground.[10] Sales clerks identied
two individuals to whom they sold tickets on Flight 77 as
the hijackers Hani Hanjour and Majed Moqed.[9] During
the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93, Jeremy Glick
identied the hijackers as Arabic-looking and carrying
box-cutters.[11]
Mohamed Atta's luggage did not make the connection any claim of responsibility, explaining why they had car-
from his Portland ight to American Airlines Flight 11. ried out the attacks. As the media covered the 9/11 at-
In his suitcase, authorities found a handwritten letter in tacks unfolding, many quickly speculated that bin Laden
Arabic. As well, a handwritten letter was found at the
crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, and another in Hazmis vehicle.[12] When
examining Mohamed Atta's left-behind luggage, the FBI
found important clues about the hijackers and their plans.
Attas luggage contained instructional videotapes for y-
ing large aircraft, a fuel consumption calculator, and a
ight plan, along with a copy of the Quran.[13] His lug-
gage also contained papers that revealed the identity of
all 19 hijackers, along with a copy of Attas last will and
testament.[14] The passport of hijacker Abdulaziz Alo-
mari was also found in Mohamed Attas left-behind lug-
gage.
Various items of evidence were found in vehicles left
behind at the airports, in luggage that did not make it
onto the ights, and at the crash scenes. A rental car
belonging to the hijackers was found at Bostons Logan
International Airport, which contained an Arabic lan-
guage ight manual and documents from Human Avi-
ation in Florida. There, investigators were able to nd
Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi's previous address
in Hamburg, Germany.[15] Nawaf al-Hazmi's 1988 blue
Toyota Corolla was found on September 12 in Dulles
International Airports hourly parking lot. Inside the
vehicle, authorities found a letter written by Mohamed
Atta, maps of Washington, D.C., and New York City,
a cashiers check made out to a Phoenix ight school,
four drawings of a Boeing 757 cockpit, a box cutter-type
knife, and a page with notes and phone numbers.[16]
In New York City, a passport belonging to Satam al-
Suqami was found by a passerby before the towers col-
lapsed, and given to a NYPD detective.[17][18] The pass-
ports of two of the hijackers of Flight 93 were also found
intact at the crash site.
On September 27, 2001, the FBI released photos of the
19 hijackers, along with information about the possible
nationalities and aliases of many.[19]
2 Assigning responsibility
For several months after the 9/11 attacks, no one, nor any
group, claimed responsibility for the attacks, so the pri-
mary responsibility fell solely upon the hijackers, all of
whom were killed and all of whom left no message or
1
2 3 AL-QAEDA AND OSAMA BIN LADEN

was behind the attacks.[20] On the day of the attacks, W. Bush Administration's publicizing of Khalid Sheikh
the National Security Agency intercepted communica- Mohammeds claims of responsibility for 9/11 and nu-
tions that pointed to bin Laden,[21] as did German intelli- merous other acts was a mendacious attempt to claim that
gence agencies.[22] This helped rule out other immediate all of the signicant actors in 9/11 had been caught.[29]
suspects, such as Croatian nationalists, who had bombed
Grand Central Terminal on September 11, 1976.[23]
Authorities in the United States and Britain also ob- 3 Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden
tained electronic intercepts, including telephone conver-
sations and electronic bank transfers, which indicate that
Mohammed Atef, a bin Laden deputy, was a key g-
ure in the planning of the 9/11 attacks. Intercepts were
also obtained that revealed conversations that took place
days before September 11 between bin Laden and an as-
sociate in Pakistan. In those conversations, the two re-
ferred to an incident that would take place in America
on, or around, September 11 and they discussed poten-
tial repercussions. In another conversation with an asso-
ciate in Afghanistan, bin Laden discussed the scale and
eects of a forthcoming operation. These conversations
did not specically mention the World Trade Center or
Pentagon, or other specics.[24]
The investigators were quickly able to link the 19 men Aftermath of the bomb detonation on the World Trade Center in
to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, also by access- 1993
ing material in their intelligence agency les. The New
York Times reported on September 12 that: Authori-
ties said they had also identied accomplices in several
cities who had helped plan and execute Tuesdays attacks.
Ocials said they knew who these people were and im-
portant biographical details about many of them. They
prepared biographies of each identied member of the
hijack teams, and began tracing the recent movements
of the men. FBI agents in Florida investigating the hi-
jackers quickly descended on ight schools, neighbor-
hoods and restaurants in pursuit of leads. At one ight
school, students said investigators were there within
hours of Tuesdays attacks.[25] The Washington Post later
reported that In the hours after Tuesdays bombings, in-
vestigators searched their les on [Satam] al-Suqami and
[Ahmed] al-Ghamdi, noted the pairs ties to [Nabil] al-
Marabh and launched a hunt for him.[26]
Based on the evidence, authorities in the United States
quickly asserted that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda
organization were solely responsible for the attacks, and
other suspects were ruled out. The Government of the
United Kingdom reached the same conclusion.[27] Al-
though he denied the attacks at rst, Osama bin Laden
had since claimed full responsibility.
Author Laurie Mylroie, writing in the conservative po- September 17, 2001 A small portion of the scene where the
litical magazine The American Spectator in 2006, argued World Trade Center collapsed following the September 11 at-
tacks.
that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his family are the pri-
mary architects of 9/11 and similar attacks, that Khalid
See also: Hijackers in the September 11 attacks
Sheikh Mohammeds association with Osama bin Laden
is secondary, and that Al-Qaedas claim of responsibility
for the attack is after the fact and opportunistic.[28] In an Intelligence experts speak of a short list of prime
opposing point of view, former CIA ocer Robert Baer, suspectsgroups that possess both the means and the
writing in Time magazine in 2007, asserted that George motive to carry out the crime. Two of the passengers
had been identied as al-Qaeda members and were on the
3.3 Planning the 9/11 attacks 3

proclamations (fatwas) and in interviews with journalists

his common list of grievances which he cited as the rea-
son for his declaration of war against the United States.
In 1998, bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri (a leader of
Egyptian Islamic Jihad) co-signed a fatwa (binding reli-
gious edict) in the name of the World Islamic Front for
Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, declaring:

[t]he ruling to kill the Americans and their

September 14, 2001 "The Pile", Manhattan
FBIs terrorist-alert list prior to 9/11: Khalid Almihdhar
and Nawaf Alhazmi. It appears certain that all hijackers
had Arab origins, and none were Afghan; moreover, both
in their immense scale, careful planning and refraining
from claiming responsibility, the attacks are reminiscent
of al-Qaedas previous attacks such as the 1998 US em-
bassy bombings that killed over 200 people.
3.1 World Trade Center bombing of 1993
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 ght
the pagans all together as they ght you all to-
gether, and ght them until there is no more
tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice
and faith in Allah.[37][38]
In an interview with journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai pub-
lished in TIME Magazine, January 11, 1999, Osama bin
Laden is quoted as saying:

Main article: World Trade Center 1993 bombings The International Islamic Front for Jihad
against the US and Israel has issued a crystal-
In the World Trade Center bombing (February 26, 1993) clear fatwa calling on the Islamic nation to
a car bomb was detonated by Arab Islamist terrorists in carry on jihad aimed at liberating holy sites.
the underground parking garage below Tower One of the The nation of Muhammad has responded to
World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,500 lb this appeal. If the instigation for jihad against
(680 kg) urea nitrate-fuel oil device [30][31] killed six and the Jews and the Americans in order to lib-
injured over a thousand people.[31] It was intended to dev- erate Al-Aksa Mosque and the Holy Ka'aba
astate the foundation of the North Tower, causing it to Islamic shrines in the Middle East is consid-
collapse onto its twin.[32] ered a crime, then let history be a witness that
I am a criminal.[39]
The attack was planned by a group of conspirators includ-
ing Ramzi Yousef,[33][34] Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman,
El Sayyid Nosair, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad 3.3 Planning the 9/11 attacks
Salameh, Nidal Ayyad, Ahmad Ajaj, and Abdul Rah-
man Yasin.[35] They received nancing from al-Qaeda
According to interviews by Al-Jazeera[40] as well as
member Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Yousefs uncle, who
United States interrogations of al-Qaeda members Ramzi
would later allegedly admit to planning the September 11
bin al-Shibh and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (captured in
attacks.[36] 2002 and 2003 respectively), Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
was the instigator and prime organizer of the attacks. Bin
al-Shibh may have been picked as a hijacker but he failed
3.2 Statements of motives prior to Septem- to get into the United States.[41][42]
ber 11, 2001 Khalid Mohammed had provided funding to his nephew
Ramzi Yousef[43][44] for the World Trade Center bomb-
Main articles: Motivations of the September 11 attacks, ing in 1993. In addition, he collaborated on Oplan Bo-
Wikisource:Jihad Against Zionists and Crusaders, jinka which called for ten or more airliners to be bombed
Osama bin Laden Fatwa, Videos of Osama bin Laden, in mid-air or hijacked for use as missiles.[45] Planning for
and Wikisource:Osama bin Ladens Declaration of War Oplan Bojinka began in 1994, and was funded in part by
Osama bin Laden, but was thwarted by an accidental re
Starting in 1996, Osama bin Laden stated in public in 1995.[46][47][48]
4 3 AL-QAEDA AND OSAMA BIN LADEN

In mid-1996, Khalid Mohammed presented a new plan
to the leadership of al-Qaeda[49] that called for several
airplanes on both east and west coasts[50] to be hijacked
and own into targets.
According to the bin al-Shibh 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.[49] 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 hijack-
ers were planning.[51] However, during a 2006 Moussaoui
trial cross-examination,[52] FBI agents stated that the bu-
reau was aware, years before the attacks in 2001, that al-
Qaeda planned to use planes to destroy important build-
ings. Philippine Chief Superintendent Avelino Razon had
noted such plans during the 1995 investigation of Oplan
Bojinka, of which Razon said
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 ex-
plosives, like a Japanese Kamikaze World War
II pilot diving into a target.[53]
The targets ultimately chosen were the World Trade Cen-
ter, 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 dis-
missed as being too dicult to locate from the air, it was
later included in the plans.[54] In the communications that
developed as the scheme took form, the Pentagons code
name was the Faculty of Arts, Capitol Hill was the Fac-
ulty of Law, and the World Trade Center was coded as
the Faculty of Town Planning.[55]
In late October 2001, Al Jazeera journalist Tayseer Al-
3.4 Al-Qaeda statements after 9/11 louni conducted an interview with Osama bin Laden
which was videotaped. Al-Jazeera refused to broad-
Al-Qaedas spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, said in a cast it
video sent to al Jazeera and broadcast in October 2001 CNN
the following: January
dressed the September 11 attacks, saying:
The Americans should know that the storm
of plane attacks will not abate, with Gods per-
mission. There are thousands of the Islamic
nations youths who are eager to die just as the
Americans are eager to live.[56]
3.5 Osama bin Laden statements after
9/11 In November 2001, US forces recovered a videotape from
Prior to his death on May 2, 2011, the FBI listed 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 FBIs "FBI Most Wanted Terrorists" poster does not
specically hang responsibility for 9/11 on bin Laden, in-
stead it only states Bin Laden is a suspect in other ter-
rorist attacks throughout the world.[57] FBI spokesman
Rex Tomb said, however: Theres no mystery here. They
could add 9/11 on there, but they have not because they
don't need to at this point. There is a logic to it,
namely, the long-standing practice of only putting crimi-
nal charges on the notice.[58] Bin Laden was charged with
the 1998 embassy bombings, not 9/11.[59] David N. Kel-
ley, the former U.S. attorney in New York who dealt with
terrorism-related cases at the time of bin Ladens indict-
ment for the 1998 bombings, explained that, It might
seem a little strange from the outside, but it makes sense
from a legal point of view. If I were in government, I'd
be troubled if I were asked to put up a wanted picture
where no formal charges had been led, no matter who it
was.[58]
Immediately after September 11, 2001, bin Laden
praised the attacks,[60] but denied responsibility for
them.[61] 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: I
stress that I have not carried out this act, which appears
to have been carried out by individuals with their own
motivation.[61][62]
In an interview with bin Laden, published in the Pakistani
newspaper Ummat Karachi on September 28, 2001, he
stated: I have already said that I am not involved in the
September 11 attacks in the United States. As a Muslim,
I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no knowledge
of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of inno-
cent women, children and other humans as an appreciable
act.[63] There was reportedly no way to prove the e-mail
published in Pakistan came from bin Laden. The Taliban
denied he had access to any communications.[64][65]
[66]
and terminated its aliation agreement with
[67]
due to CNNs broadcasting of the interview on
[68]
31, 2002. In the interview, bin Laden ad-
If inciting people to do that is terrorism,
and if killing those who kill our sons is terror-
ism, then let history be witness that we are ter-
rorists ... We will work to continue this battle,
God permitting, until victory or until we meet
God before that occurs.[69]
a bombed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan which showed
a man purported to be Osama bin Laden talking to Khaled
al-Harbi. In the tape, bin Laden talks of planning the
attacks. Translations from the tape include the following
lines:
3.6 Other suspects within al-Qaeda 5

...we calculated in advance the number of
casualties from the enemy, who would be killed
based on the position of the tower. We cal-
culated that the oors that would be hit would
be three or four oors. I was the most opti-
mistic of them all...We had notication since
the previous Thursday that the event would
take place that day. We had nished 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 oper-
ation, all they knew was that they have a mar-
tyrdom 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 op-
eration to them until they are there and just be-
fore they boarded the planes.[70]
entrusting the 19 brothersAllah have mercy
upon themwith those raids, and I did not as-
sign brother Zacarias to be with them on that
mission.[75]
3.6 Other suspects within al-Qaeda
As of 2004, several peopleincluding Mohammed,
bin al-Shibh, and Mohammed al Qahtani, the 20th hi-
jackerwere being held by the US as illegal combatants;
however, the United States had no one on trial for the at-
tacks. In Germany, Mounir El Motassadeq was convicted
of over 3000 counts of accessory to murder for helping
nance the hijackers but the verdict was put aside and a
new trial scheduled.[76] Abdelghani Mzoudi was acquitted
in Germany on the same charges.[77]

In May 2002, FBI Director Robert Mueller noted that his

organization had not uncovered a single piece of paper,
either here in the U.S. or in the treasure trove of infor-
mation that has turned up in Afghanistan and elsewhere,
that mentioned any aspect of the September 11th plot.[71]
In late November 2002, a letter attributed to bin Laden
and translated by British Islamists surfaced, often called
bin Ladens letter to America. It states the motive be-
hind the September 11 attacks as being: because you
attacked us and continue to attack us and justies the
selection of a civilian target. Itemizing a list of perceived
Western wrongdoings, the letter concludes that the op-
pressed have a right to return the aggression and hinted
at further attacks. Also included are a list of demands, ad-
vice, and a statement of grievances against the American
government and its people.[72]
On February 11, 2003, Al Jazeera broadcast an audio tape
purportedly from bin Laden.[73]
Shortly before the US presidential election in 2004, in
a taped statement, bin Laden publicly acknowledged
al-Qaedas involvement in the attacks on the US, and Anwar al-Awlaki
claimed a direct link to the attacks. He said that the at-
tacks were carried out because we are a free people who Imam Anwar al-Awlaki has been linked to Al-Qaeda and
do not accept injustice, and we want to regain the free- persons involved in the attacks, though he denied any con-
dom of our nation.[74] nections. In 1998 and 1999, he served as Vice President
for the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW)
In an audio message that surfaced on the Internet in May
in San Diego, founded by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani of
2006, the speaker, who is alleged to be Osama bin Laden,
Yemen, who has since been placed on many terrorism
defends Zacarias Moussaoui, who was undergoing a trial
lists.[78] During a terrorism trial, Federal Bureau of Inves-
for his participation in the September 11 attacks. The
tigation (FBI) agent Brian Murphy testied that CSSW
voice in the audio message says
was a front organization to funnel money to terrorists,
and US federal prosecutors have described it as being
I begin by talking about the honorable used to support Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.[78][79]
brother Zacarias Moussaoui. The truth is The FBI investigated al-Awlaki beginning in June 1999
that he has no connection whatsoever with the through March 2000 for possible fundraising for Hamas,
events of September 11th, and I am certain links to al-Qaeda, and a visit in early 2000 by a close as-
of what I say, because I was responsible for sociate of the blind sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (now
6 4 TALIBAN

in prison for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center at- FBI agents with regard to the 9/11 attacks and other sub-
tack). The FBIs interest was also triggered by the fact jects. Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert, noted that his
that he had been contacted by a possible procurement name was on a list of 100 prisoners whose release was
agent for bin Laden, Ziyad Khaleel, who helped pur- sought by al-Qaida-linked militants in Yemen.[89]
chase a satellite phone to call his Yemen communications Although al-Awlaki was covered as relatively minor g-
hub that was used in planning the attacks.[78][80] But the ure in the 9/11 attacks, his involvement was noted again in
FBI was unable to unearth sucient evidence for a crim- 2009 after the Fort Hood shooting where the suspect had
inal prosecution.[78][81][82][83][84][85] been found to be communicating by e-mail to Awlaki in
While al-Awlaki was an imam in San Diego, witnesses Yemen, he was later linked to several terror plots and at-
told the FBI he had a close relationship with two of the tacks in the US, Canada and UK, including the Northwest
hijackers in the September 11 attacks (Nawaf Al-Hazmi Airlines Flight 253 attack by his former student Umar
and Khalid Almihdhar) in 2000, and served as their spiri- Farouk Abdulmutallab.
tual advisor.[78][84][86] The 9/11 Commission Report indi-
cated that the hijackers also reportedly respected [him]
as a religious gure.[80] Authorities say the two hijackers
regularly attended the mosque he led in San Diego, and al-
Awlaki had many closed-door meetings with them, which
led investigators to believe al-Awlaki knew about the 9/11
attacks in advance.[84][85] He left San Diego in mid-2000, 4 Taliban
traveling to various countries.[80][84][87][88][89]
In January 2001, he headed east and served as Imam at
On October 4, 2001, British Prime Minister Tony
the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in the metropolitan Washing-
Blair released information compiled by Western intel-
ton, DC, area.[78][80][90] Esam Omeish hired al-Awlaki to
ligence agencies connecting Osama bin Laden to the
be the mosques imam.[91][92] Fluent in English, known
Afghanistan's Taliban leadership as well as being the
for giving eloquent talks on Islam, and with a mandate
leader of the al-Qaeda organization.[27] The Taliban gov-
to attract young non-Arabic speakers, al-Awlaki was the
ernment gave safe haven to Osama bin Laden in the years
magic bullet, according to mosque spokesman Johari
leading up to the attack, and his al-Qaeda network may
Abdul-Malik; he had everything all in a box.[93] He
have had a close relationship with the Taliban army and
had an allure. He was charming.[94]
police. On the day of 9/11, the Taliban foreign minis-
Shortly after this, his sermons were attended by two of ter told the Arab television network Al Jazeera: We de-
the 9/11 hijackers (Al-Hazmi again, and Hani Hanjour; nounce this terrorist attack, whoever is behind it.[98]
which the 9/11 Commission Report concluded may not
The United States requested the Taliban to shut down
have been coincidental), and by Fort Hood shooter
[84][85][89][95] all al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, open them to inspec-
Nidal Malik Hasan. Furthermore, when po-
tion and turn over Osama bin Laden. The Taliban re-
lice raided the Hamburg, Germany, apartment of Ramzi
fused all these requests. Instead they oered to extradite
bin al-Shibh (the 20th hijacker) while investigating the
Osama bin Laden to an Islamic country, for trial under Is-
9/11 attacks, his telephone number was found among
[78][81][96] lamic law, if the United States presented evidence of his
bin al-Shibhs personal contact information. In
guilt.[99] The Taliban had previously refused to extradite
my view, he is more than a coincidental gure, said
bin Laden to the United States, or prosecute him, after
House Intelligence Committee member Representative
[97] he was indicted by the US federal courts for involvement
Anna Eshoo (D-CA).
in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya
Writing on the IslamOnline.net website six days after the and Tanzania.[100] The Taliban deemed eyewitness testi-
9/11 attacks, he suggested that Israeli intelligence agents mony and satellite phone call recordings entered in the
might have been responsible for the attacks, and that public record in February 2001 during a trial as insu-
the FBI went into the roster of the airplanes and who- cient grounds to extradite bin Laden for his involvement
ever has a Muslim or Arab name became the hijacker by in the bombings.
default.[78]
Invoking the Bush Doctrine, which stated We will make
On August 31, 2006, al-Awlaki was arrested with a group no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbor
of ve Yemenis by Yemeni authorities. He claims it them, the United States and Britain invaded and over-
was with regard to a secret police investigation over threw the Taliban regime in 2001, using air power, spe-
tribal issues, but it has been reported to relate to charges cial forces and the Northern Alliance as a land army.
of kidnapping a Shiite teenager for ransom, and in-
On November 29, 2007, a videotape was released that
volvement in an al-Qaeda plot to kidnap a U.S. military
The Central Intelligence Agency says is likely to be from
attach.[84][94][88] Al-Awlaki blames the U.S. for pressur-
bin Laden. In it the speaker claims sole responsibility for
ing the Yemeni authorities to arrest him, and says that
the attacks and specically denies any prior knowledge of
in approximately September 2007 he was interviewed by
them by The Taliban or the Afghan people.[101]
5.1 Saudi Arabia 7

5 Financing the attacks lowing the organization to ourish. There have been
claims that pre-9/11 investigations into al-Qaeda were de-
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the 9/11 plot- liberately blocked via high-level interference from Wash-
ters spent between $400,000 and $500,000 to plan and ington, and that this extends to other groups outside al-
conduct the attack: Qaeda, in particular individuals from Saudi Arabia. In
June 2001, a high-placed member of a US intelligence
al-Qaeda funded the plotters. KSM agency told BBC reporter Greg Palast that after the
[Khalid Sheikh Mohammad] provided his op- [2000] elections, the agencies were told to 'back o' in-
eratives with nearly all the money they needed vestigating the bin Ladens and Saudi royals.[110]
to travel to the United States, train, and live... In May 2002, former FBI Agent Robert Wright, Jr. deliv-
The US government has not been able to de- ered a tearful press conference apologizing to the families
termine the origin of the money used for the who lost loved ones on 9/11. He described how his su-
9/11 attacks. Ultimately the question is of lit- periors intentionally obstructed his investigation into al-
tle practical signicance.[102] Qaeda nancing.[111][112] Agent Wright would later tell
ABC's Brian Ross that September 11th is a direct result
CNN and other news outlets reported in September and of the incompetence of the FBIs International Terrorism
October 2001 that $100,000 was wired from the United Unit, specically referring to the Bureaus hindering of
Arab Emirates to lead hijacker Mohamed Atta prior to his investigation into Yasin al-Qadi, who Ross described
the attacks, by Ahmed Omar Saeed (Syed) Sheikh, a long as a powerful Saudi Arabian businessman with exten-
time Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence asset.[103] sive nancial ties in Chicago.[113] One month after the
The report, which was later conrmed by CNN,[104] attacks, the US government ocially identied al-Qadi
stated that Atta then distributed the funds to conspira- as one of Osama bin Laden's primary nanciers, through
tors in Florida... In addition, sources have said Atta sent his Muwafaq Foundation, and they declared him to be a
[114][115]
thousands of dollars believed to be excess funds from global terrorist. A former FBI Counter Terrorism
the operation back to Syed in the United Arab Emirates Agent commented that for someone like al-Qadi to be in-
[116]
in the days before September 11. Syed also is described volved in 9/11 is of grave concern.
[105]
as a key gure in the funding operation of al-Qaeda In June 2009 lawyers for 9/11 victims families provided
The day after this report was published, the head of documents to The New York Times. The families of the
Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence, Gen. Mahmood victims formed an organization called Families United to
Ahmed, was red from his position.[103] Indian news out- Bankrupt Terrorism[117] and led a civil suit in U.S. fed-
lets reported the FBI was investigating the possibility that eral court that sought to hold The Saudi Royal family re-
Gen. Mahmood Ahmed ordered Saeed Sheikh to send sponsible for supporting Al Qaeda. On June 29, 2009 the
the $100,000 to Atta, while most Western media outlets United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal
only reported his connections to the Taliban as the reason of a lower court decision that held that the Royal Fam-
for his departure.[103] ily are immune from suits in U.S. courts due to a 1976
law. According to The Times The documents provide
The Wall Street Journal was one of the few Western
no smoking gun connecting the royal family to the events
news organizations to follow up on the story, citing the
of Sept. 11, 2001. And the broader links rely at times
Times of India: US authorities sought [Gen. Mah-
on a circumstantial, connect-the-dots approach to tie to-
mood Ahmeds] removal after conrming the fact that
gether Saudi princes, Middle Eastern charities, suspicious
$100,000 [was] wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta
transactions and terrorist groups. According to the Royal
from Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh at the instance of
families lawyer In looking at all the evidence the families
General Mahmood.[106]
brought together, I have not seen one iota of evidence that
The 9/11 Commission Report concludes: we have seen Saudi Arabia had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks.
no evidence that any foreign government or foreign gov-
In February 2012, former U.S. senators Bob Graham
ernment ocial supplied any funding.[107] The dif-
and Bob Kerrey made sworn statements led in federal
culty in tracking the funding is due to the traditional
court as part of this litigation commenced by the 9/11
means of zakat, a Muslim form of charitable giving es-
victims families in which the former senators stated that
sential to proper following of the faith [108] and hawala,
the government of Saudi Arabia might have played a di-
another ancient system of transferring funds based on
rect role in the 9/11 attacks.[117][118] The two senators had
trust and connections, including family, clan, and regional
reviewed top secret information concerning the 9/11 at-
aliations.[109]
tacks when they were in the Senate. I am convinced that
there was a direct line between at least some of the ter-
5.1 Saudi Arabia rorists who carried out the September 11th attacks and
the government of Saudi Arabia, stated former senator
There have been suggestions that Saudi Arabia has some Graham in his sworn court document. According to Gra-
responsibility, having helped nance al-Qaeda, and al- hams sworn statement, unanswered questions remain re-
8 6 ALLEGATIONS OF SUPPORTING OSAMA BIN LADEN AND AL-QAEDA

garding Saudi-sponsored nancial links to Al Qaeda and mission later concluded that the FBI conducted a satis-
the role of Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi citizen living in factory screening of Saudi nationals who left the United
San Diego with ties to two of the 9/11 hijackers and to States on charter ights and that the exodus was ap-
ocials of the government of Saudi Arabia.[118] There proved by special advisor Richard Clarke after a request
remains substantial unreleased documentation related to by Saudi Arabia who feared for the safety of their nation-
these issues.[119][120] als. On June 20, 2007, the public interest group Judicial
On February 4, 2015, former al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Watch released FBI documents that it says suggested that
Mousaoui who is imprisoned for life for his role in 9/11 Osama bin Laden himself may have chartered one of
the ights. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton accused
attacks, told lawyers that members of the Saudi royal
family, including former intelligence chief Prince Turki the FBI[128]
of conducting a slapdash investigation of the
ights.
al-Faisal Al Saud, supported al-Qaeda to carry out its
attacks.[121] 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
6 Allegations of supporting Osama Clarke in a column about the book notes that because
it was custom at that time for successful Muslim men to
bin Laden and al-Qaeda have multiple wives this claim rings true. Clark also theo-
rizes that the FBI did not question the bin Ladens before
6.1 Bin Laden family they were own out of the US and have not questioned
them since because they already had extensive knowledge
[129]
Although the wealthy bin Laden family disowned Osama about them.
in 1994 after his alleged involvement in terrorism like
the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, the events of
9/11 brought to attention connections between the bin 6.2 Iraq
Laden family and the Bush family.[122] It has been alleged
that Osama was never disowned and that his family were Further information: Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda
aware of his activities in the years preceding 9/11. The
connections between the bin Laden family and Bush fam- Immediately after the attacks, rumors began that Iraq
ily have led to conspiracy theories that President George could have played a role. The state-run Iraqi media
Bush was also aware of Osamas activities and deliber- praised the attacks but denied that Iraq was responsible.
ately allowed 9/11 to take place. In September 2003, President Bush told the press, we've
The movie Fahrenheit 9/11 shows some business connec- had no evidence that Saddam [130]
Hussein was involved with
tions between the Bush family and the bin Laden fam- September the 11th.
ily. It relates how Salem bin Laden invested heavily in On June 29, 2005 Robin Hayes, a Republican Congress-
Arbusto Energy, a company run by George W. Bush, man from North Carolina and vice chairman of the House
through his friend James R. Bath.[123] Several members Subcommittee on Terrorism at that time, stated evidence
of the Bush family are investors in the Carlyle Group, a is clear that Saddam Hussein and people like him were
defense contractor and investment fund with numerous very much involved in 9/11. Senator John McCain re-
interests in the Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and acting to the Congressmans statement said I haven't
connections to the Saudi Binladen Group, run by for- seen compelling evidence of that.[131] The 9/11 Com-
mer Reagan administration Secretary of Defense Frank mission Report stated that there is no credible evidence
Carlucci.[124] On September 10, 2001, former President that Saddam Husseins government in Iraq collaborated
George H. W. Bush and several members of his cabi- with the al-Qaeda terrorist network on any attacks on
net had been present at a Carlyle Group business con- the United States. In September 2006, the Senate Se-
ference with Shag bin Laden, a half-brother of Osama lect Committee on Intelligence concluded that there is
bin Laden, at the Ritz-Carlton hotel located several miles no evidence that Saddam Hussein had prewar ties to al-
from the Pentagon. The conference was continuing with Qaeda and one of the terror organizations most notorious
the remaining cabinet members and bin Ladens brother members, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and that there was no
at the time of the Pentagon attack.[125][126] George H. W. evidence of any Iraqi support of al-Qaeda or foreknowl-
Bush remained an advisor to the Carlyle Group for two edge of the September 11th attacks.[132]
years after the attacks. Despite this, a number of 9/11 opinion polls have shown
The New York Times reported that members of the bin that a signicant minority of the American public be-
Laden family were driven or own under Federal Bureau lieve that Saddam was personally involved. In 2002,
of Investigation (FBI) supervision to a secret assembly NewsMax.com reported that people within and out-
point in Texas and then to Washington from where they side the US government believed that then Iraqi leader
left the country on a private charter plane when airports Saddam Hussein conspired in the 9/11 attacks and the
reopened three days after the attacks.[127] The 9/11 com- Oklahoma City Bombing.[133] 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.[134]
6.3 Iran
The U.S. indictment of bin Laden led in 1998 stated
that al-Qaeda forged alliances . . . with the government
of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezbollah for
the purpose of working together against their perceived
common enemies.[135] On May 31, 2001, Steven Emer-
son and Daniel Pipes wrote in The Wall Street Journal
that Ocials of the Iranian government helped arrange
advanced weapons and explosives training for Al-Qaeda
personnel in Lebanon where they learned, for example,
how to destroy large buildings.[136]
The 9/11 Commission Report stated that 8 to 10 of
the hijackers previously passed through Iran and their
travel was facilitated by Iranian border guards.[135][137]
The report also found circumstantial evidence that se-
nior Hezbollah operatives were closely tracking the travel
of some of these future muscle hijackers into Iran in
November 2000.[137] Judge George B. Daniels ruled in
a federal district court in Manhattan that Iran bears le-
gal responsibility for providing material support to the
9/11 plotters and hijackers in Havlish, et al. v. Osama
bin Laden, Iran, et al.[138][139] Included in Judge Daniels
ndings were claims that Iran used front companies to
obtain a Boeing 757-767-777 ight simulator for train-
ing the terrorists, Ramzi bin al-Shibh traveled to Iran
in January 2001, and an Iranian government memoran-
dum from May 14, 2001 demonstrates Iranian culpabil-
ity in planning the attacks.[138] Defectors from Irans in-
telligence service testied that Iranian ocials had fore-
knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.[140] By contrast, the 9/11
Commission found no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah
was aware of the planning for later became the 9/11 at-
tack. At the time of their travel through Iran, the al Qaeda
operatives themselves were probably not aware of the spe-
cic details of their future operation. In addition, both
bin al-Shibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed denied any
relationship between the hijackers and Hezbollah and
any other reason for the hijackers travel to Iran besides
taking advantage of the Iranian practice of not stamping
Saudi passports.[137]
7 United States advance knowledge
See also: September 11 intelligence before the attacks
and 9/11 advance-knowledge debate
The 9/11 Commission Report concluded that both
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were not
well served by the FBI and CIA prior to 9/11.[141] It also
9
explained that the military response protocols were un-
suited for the nature of the attack, and identied opera-
tional failures in the emergency response.
Immediately following the attacks, the Bush Administra-
tion stated that nobody in our government at least, and
I don't think the prior government, could envisage ying
air planes into buildings (George Bush) and that no-one
could have predicted that they would try to use an air-
plane 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 Di-
rector Robert Mueller announced there were no warning
signs that I'm aware of.[142]
The 9/11 Commission Report stated that the 9/11 at-
tacks 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.[143] During the spring and summer of
2001, US intelligence agencies received a stream of warn-
ings about an imminent al-Qaeda attack; according to
George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, the sys-
tem was blinking red.[144] The warnings varied in their
level of detail and specicity, and included warnings from
both domestic intelligence operations and warnings from
foreign governments and intelligence agencies.[145]
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 specic as to time
nor place nor manner of attack. Almost all the reports
focused on al-Qaeda activities outside the United States.
On August 6, 2001, the Presidents Daily Brief was titled
Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US. It warned 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 op-
portunities that were not or could not be exploited by the
organizations and systems of the time":
not watchlisting future hijackers Hazmi and Mihd-
har, not trailing them after they traveled to Bangkok,
and not informing the FBI about one future hi-
jackers US visa or his companions travel to the
United States;
not sharing information linking individuals in the
Cole attack to Mihdhar;
not taking adequate steps in time to nd Mihdhar or
Hazmi in the United States;
not linking the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui, de-
scribed as interested in ight training for the pur-
pose of using an airplane in a terrorist attack, to the
heightened indications of an attack;
10
not discovering false statements on visa applications;
not recognizing passports manipulated in a fraudu-
lent manner;
not expanding no-y lists to include names from ter-
rorist watchlists;
not searching airline passengers identied 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.[146]
With regard to the failures of the US air defense system
on the morning of the attacks, the Report explains that:
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.[147]
The Report explains that the emergency response was [15] Sep 14: Day the unthinkable struck at Americas heart
also necessarily improvised": there were weaknesses in (Part III)". Financial Times. September 14, 2001.
preparations for disaster, failure to achieve unied inci-
dent command, and inadequate communications among [16] Lichtblau, Eric (September 27, 2001). Authorities
responding agencies... At the Pentagon, [there were] Dragnet Snags More Suspects. Los Angeles Times.
[148]
problems of command and control.
8 See also
9/11 conspiracy theories
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Has someone been sitting on the FBI? BBC News-
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[146] 9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, pp8-9

[147] 9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, p7

[148] 9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, p8

Stranger than Fiction investigation by Dr Albert Pa-

store

10 Further reading
McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers: The
9/11 Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It.
Politicos Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84275-145-X.

Malik, S. K. (1986). The Quranic Concept of War.

Himalayan Books. ISBN 81-7002-020-4.

Swarup, Ram (1982). Understanding Islam through

Hadis. Voice of Dharma. ISBN 0-682-49948-X.
 15

12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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