Eighteen Guys Who Shook the World

“In case you missed this news article:

"Air-traffic controllers realized fairly quickly that those four jets had been hijacked. American Flight 11, out of Boston, took 46 minutes to hit Tower One of the World Trade Center. United Flight 175 struck Tower Two 65 minutes after leaving Boston."

"Most damning, American Flight 77 was aloft a total of 88 minutes -- nearly an hour and a half -- making it from Washington/Dulles to southern Ohio en route to Los Angeles before turning around. Math: The flight did a 180-degree turn at least 44 minutes away from the Pentagon. Why weren't our F-16s on top of that plane within 10 minutes? Why wasn't it shot down during the next 34 minutes after that? The answer, sheepishly admitted and buried deep amid the assorted tales of horror, was that there is no policy for forcing down a civilian airliner."

"Unless, of course, there was. The Air Force denies shooting down United Flight 93, which crashed and burned in Shanksville, Pa., the government's silence certifying called-in media stories of heroic passengers rebelling against their captors. Those accounts, however, are cast into doubt by the government's refusal to release the plane's voice cockpit recorder tapes to the public. It's a safe bet, after all, that a bold struggle for control would at least make it out in transcript form. So it's possible that Bush or other officials made a terrible, yet courageous, decision to act; if so, the need to keep it secret provides ample testimony to the aftermath of last year's election-that-never-was: If Bush is the perfect president for this time, he's the empty-headed embodiment of our national cluelessness."

"America's embarrassment of embarrassments continues apace. CIA superspooks admit that their posse of white Mormons from Utah never learned Pashto or Tajik, Afghanistan's two principal languages. The loss of four planes and a few days of airport closures decimate the biggest airline industry in the world, resonating through the economy in the form of the biggest stock-market crash ever. Half a dozen buildings accounting for less than 1 percent of New York City's office space vanish; the national economy plunges decidedly into recession and beyond."

"What would we do if we really were at war? How can the richest superpower in the history of mankind have been brought so low by 18 guys?"

We thought we were smart, but we were wrong. We're just a little bigger.”

“What's the source for that crap TD?”

“We're THE biggest. And whenever you're "it," somebody is gonna be looking to take you down a notch or two. The simple fact is, a free and open society is vulnerable to attack by zealots such as these. There is not much you can do when some well-financed nut is prepared to give up his life to make a political/cultural/religious/economic statement.”

“"Half a dozen buildings accounting for less than 1 percent of New York City's office space vanish"

This is inacurate. The roughly 15 million square feet of class A office space immediately destroyed is about 20% of downtown Manhattan's office space. Over 2 million more square feet is structurally damaged and will have to be demolished. Over 10 million more square feet is damaged and will take a year or more to repair and make ready for occupancy.

Who, before this, would have thought to shoot down a civilian airliner that had simply been hijacked? To keep it from flying to Cuba or someplace?

Why would the government release evidence from perhaps the largest criminal case ever (the cockpit recordings)?”

“Source: Some Monday Morning Quarterback”

“That's alot nicer title than I had in mind!”

“I watched an interview with Dick Cheney, he said that the orders to shoot down the airliners had to go all the way to GWB, he authorized it but by then it was too late.

The airlines were already in bad shape due to the economic slowdown, business travel was way down. The airlines see an opportunity to use this tradgedy to milk some cash out of the government to cover their over expansion and fare wars. (IMHO)”

“TownDogGooberSmoocher -

I tried to send you an e, but our server is screwed.

It wasn't friendly.

I read your bio. I wouldn't take the short drive to TN to join you on a hike for all the gear in the world...”

“More like 18 nuts who started WWIII”

“Along with what ChuckD said, how come the government can't extend unemployment compensation and health care benefits to all the laid off workers but they can bailout an entire industry?”

“Do the math, y'all.”

“this came from the following source..

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/uctr/20010921/cm/eighteen_guys_who_shook_the_world_1.html”

“Hold on guys.. I didn't say I was AGREEING with it.. I just passed it on for your review and comments.”

“...and the vultures just circle closer.
RUN!!
=:0”

“"We thought we were smart, but we were wrong. We're just a little bigger."

Wasn't that your comment KomradeDog?”

“nopers.. but you are right.. it appeared that way, because I didn't enclose it in quotes..”

“Well I'll probably get over it eventually but you shouldn't have labled it a news article. It was an op-ed peice by someone who likes to rub salt in our wounds.”

“My apologies guys.. it was posted on YAHOO (lol.. like THAT is a news source).. as a news article.. at least commentary..

"(Ted Rall, a syndicated cartoonist for Universal Press Syndicate, is author of the new books "2024" and "Search and Destroy.")"

====================
I thought it was pretty bold.. and I wanted to hear y'all thoughts..”

“Maybe I ought to forward our comments to this Ted Rall guy?

Freedom of speech I guess, but I thought the article was pretty gutsy and rude in light of recent events.”