9/11 NOTEBOOK: A thousand strands combined for horror

To the Al Qaeda terrorists and their evil web of supporters, the attacks on 9/11 were the apogee of their war on the West

Published Sep 10, 2026  •  Last updated 9 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

(FILES) This file photo shows Edward Fine covering his mouth as he walks through the debris following the collapse of one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York, on Sept. 11, 2001, Photo by Stan Honda /AFP via Getty Images

In 1996, second banana Khalid Sheikh Mohammed approached terror master Osama bin Laden with an audacious plan to rain death and destruction on the United States.

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From their redoubts in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, the leading lights of emerging terror organization – Al Qaeda – began plotting their sinister operation.

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Five years later it came to fruition.

By the end of the day on Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 would be dead. Another 10,000 would die later from 9/11-related health issues and the world as we knew it was obliterated.

About that day …

This photo obtained on March 1, 2003 shows alleged plotter of the September 11, 2001 attack Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Photo by - /AFP/Getty Images

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The fanatic pan-Islamist terror group was established in 1988 by wealthy Saudi layabout bin Laden.

Formed to support Mujahadin guerillas in their fight against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the death cult’s aims became much broader. The goal was to unite the Muslim world in an  Islamic caliphate, erase Western influence in the Middle East, and obliterate Israel and governments that didn’t measure up to their standards of piety.

It was all talk until the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In 2000, the U.S. Navy warship USS Cole was suicide bombed in Aden, Yemen.

Two of the Al Qaeda fanatics convicted of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. GETTY IMAGES

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Planning began for the 9/11 attacks in earnest in 1999. Chosen to lead the slaughter was an under-achieving Saudi fanatic named Mohamed Atta with a supporting cast from Al Qaeda’s Hamburg, Germany cell.

The initial 20 hijackers met in Afghanistan to plot the bloodshed.

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“In two days you’re going to hear big news and you’re not going to hear from me for a while,” bin Laden said at the time in a tapped phone call to his mom.

FACE OF HATRED: Terrorist leader Mohamad Atta.

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U.S. law enforcement officials may have thwarted the attacks — if they had been paying attention.

Atta’s team began training at U.S. flight training schools where they raised red flags by showing no interest in learning how to land. The team drank, watched strippers and criss-crossed the country doing recon at airports.

A trail of suspicions followed them and one of the most profound questions remains: How the hell did they get into the country?

A COLLECTION OF LOSERS WHO GOT LUCKY

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“The 19 hijackers entered through U.S. airports showing immigration personnel passports — often doctored or newly acquired to hide prior travel — and visas acquired often with incomplete or inaccurate information … In all, they had 25 contacts with consular officers and 43 contacts with immigration and customs authorities … They successfully entered the United States 33 times over 21 months.” — 9/11 REPORT

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The suicide hijackers would take to the air in four teams, commandeering planes using box cutters. It was to be strictly low-tech. Planes departing Boston, Washington, and Newark would be hit. All four planes were flying cross-country with a full payload of highly combustible jet fuel.

American Airlines passenger jets prepare for departure, Wednesday, July 21, 2021, near a terminal at Logan International Airport, in Boston. Photo by Steven Senne /AP

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There were early signs of the horror to come. From the AA Flight 11 cockpit, Atta accidentally broadcast: “We have some planes. Just stay quiet, and you will be okay. We are returning to the airport.”

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And then, at 8:45 a.m., Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The crash killed all 92 people on board, including the five hijackers.

Estimates are that the jet-turned-missile killed an additional 1,000 inside the building and on the ground.

Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower of the WTC triggering chaos and bedlam in the streets of lower Manhattan.

NOT TERRORISM: At least according to the CBC. Photo by Spencer Platt /Getty Images

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“A second plane has hit the second tower. America is under attack.” — former White House chief of staff Andrew Card to President George W. Bush in a Florida classroom.

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At 9:37 a.m., hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Langley, Virginia. Then, at 10:03 a.m., Flight 93 crashed into an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

But things were different this time: The passengers fought back against the craven hijackers derailing plans to to hit the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington. Their heroic actions likely saved hundreds of lives.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 12, 2001, investigative personnel search the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 looking for debris and evidence, including the plane’s flight recorder in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. (DAVID MAXWELL/AFP via Getty Images)

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“Are you ready? Okay, let’s roll.” — Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer.

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By this time, the skies over North America had been shut down with cops and military on high alert for follow up attacks.

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In New York City, firefighters, cops and EMTs rushed into the burning buildings while citizens tried to escape certain death. In the upper floors, above where the jets hit, terror, desperation.

Rather than burn to death, some chose to jump from the stricken buildings. The photos and sounds of these souls’ last minutes of life remain haunting.

At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower came down followed by the North Tower 29 minutes later.

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And now, America was counting its dead and missing. Initial estimates were that between 5,000 and 12,000 may have been killed in the attacks.

New York firefighters march as they mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, in New York, on Sept. 11, 2021. Photo by ANGELA WEISS /AFP via Getty Images

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“When we get the final number, it will be more than we can bear.” — America’s mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

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To the Al Qaeda terrorists and their evil web of supporters, the attacks on 9/11 were the apogee of their war on the West.

But the psycopaths behind the plot had their timing wrong: 20-25 minutes later and there would have been 50,000 in the WTC and a significantly higher death count.

Read More

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2. 

   Al-Qaida is stronger than ever 25 years after 9/11, experts warn
3. 

   EDITORIAL: 9/11 Newspeak insults victims of terror attack

AFTERMATH

Osama bin Laden was taken off the board by U.S. special forces at his Pakistan hideaway in 2011. Most of his flunkies have also been iced or caged forever.

America stands. Israel stands. The Islamic State’s loopy caliphate gambit was pulverized.

Retired Paramedic Chief Charlie Wells kisses the name of a relative killed in the attack on the World Trade Center at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum during the ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York, on Sept. 11, 2021. Photo by DAVID HANDSCHUH /POOL/AFP via Getty Images

LAST WORD

“Preserving that history also means preserving its moral clarity. The men who attacked this city were terrorists. The men and women who ran into the towers to save innocent lives were heroes.  Twenty-five years cannot be allowed to blur that distinction and shame on those who do.” — NYPD Commisioner Jessica Tisch to 9/11 first responders’ families.

[email protected]

@HunterTOSun

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