Hijacking Clues May Be Red Herrings

The terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon Sept. 11 practiced near-perfect operational planning, coordination and execution before their mission but left behind obvious evidence leading to other operatives who may have supported the hijackings. This begs the question of whether these evidence trails were intentionally left in order to distract U.S. law enforcement from other terrorists.
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thanks to Red Rock Eater Digest

THE IRAQ CONNECTION.
Blood Baath

In the immediate aftermath of Tuesday's attacks, attention has focused on terrorist chieftain Osama bin Laden. And he may well be responsible. But intelligence and law enforcement officials investigating the case would do well to at least consider another possibility: that the attacks--whether perpetrated by bin Laden and his associates or by others--were sponsored, supported, and perhaps even ordered by Saddam Hussein.
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Bin Laden? Better Be Sure

There is, however, one analogy that does not seem to have occurred to anyone: the burning of the Reichstag. The anti-Arab and anti-Moslem hysteria that has followed around the globe in the wake of the catastrophe simply calls out for comparison with the events of the 1930s. The U.S. authorities immediately started the search for the guilty among Arabs, Osama bin Laden cropped up almost immediately as prime suspect and alternative versions have barely been entertained.

In the minutes immediately following the explosions, it seems there was no doubt whatsoever regarding the "Arab" source of the attacks. However, the more evidence and arguments adduced in support of the "Arab version," the more shaky it seems to become. In a television appearance immediately after the explosions, the well-known pundit Vyacheslav Nikonov noted that the guilty would undoubtedly be found, and if not, they would be "nominated," adding cynically: "It would be in Russia's interest if the Taliban and bin Laden were nominated."

To give him his due, Alexander Gordon -- who spoke on two TV programs -- pointed out that it could be far-right militia groups (such as those behind the Oklahoma City bombing) and not Islamic terrorists at all. Analysts have emphasised how easy it would be to carry out each individual element of the terrorist operation: smuggling knives aboard a plane, breaking into the cockpit, etc. However to coordinate all these actions in different parts of the country without making a single serious blunder is devilishly hard.
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