Great piece by Finn, LB. Thanks for posting it. By outward appearances, it seems likely to me that:
a) rather than targetting the White House or Congress, the PA plane was headed for the Pentagon. Two planes per target would be a failsafe approach.
b) targeting a perceived cornerstone of our economic power and our military power, the goal was to demonstrate to all enemies of the US that we are not invulnerable and impregnable. Its purpose was to embolden others.
c) the bootleg Bin Laden video indicates that he - an engineer - had no idea they could take down the WTC buildings completely. This suggests they thought they'd kill a few hundred, at most. They exceeded their aims inadvertently.
d) That said, they seem less fearsome than portrayed. It is mostly the imagination that suggests they could concieve successful plans to attack tens of thousands when they've yet to concieve a plan that intended to eliminate a thousand lives. No evidence has yet put Iraq's bio-chemicals into their hands. Imo, the sole WMD of concern here is nukes, because of plans purportedly found, and because Pakistani nuclear scientists worked with them. But as yet, mounting an attack on that scale is yet to be shown to be in their capabilities.
e) much more likely is multiple, more conventional bombs, per their past modus operandi. The dirty bomb approach may also be ahead. But nothing to date provides reasonable evidence that they have an operable nuclear device. If they did, they woulda levelled NYC & DC at the outset, to cripple us.
I guess, someday, we'll see. |
