“Dear fellow citizens, today our way of life, our freedom is under attack,” for many Americans, these words of President George W. Bush meant that their lives would never be the same. On September 11, 2001, the United States was hit by the deadliest terrorist attack in history: 19 al-Qaeda fighters hijacked four passenger planes, turning them into powerful weapons. Two airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, one crashed into the Pentagon building, another crashed in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people died as a result. Lenta.ru figured out how America has changed 15 years after the terrible attack and why its consequences are felt to this day.

“Something is wrong… We are in a sharp decline. I see water, I see houses. We're flying low, very low, too low. Oh God, we're flying too low. Oh God," American Airlines Flight 11 flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney didn't have time to finish her sentence as the plane rammed the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Audio recordings of the last words of passengers doomed to death, photographs of skyscrapers on fire and people jumping out of them shocked American society. Citizens demanded the immediate punishment of those who dared to attack the United States, the authorities wanted the same.

Washington goes to war

The intention to strike a crushing blow against terrorism was expressed by George W. Bush in his very first speech on September 11, 2001. “America, along with its friends, allies, unites with everyone who wants peace and security throughout the earth. Together we will win the war against terrorism,” he assured the Americans. His approval rating soared to 90 percent, and Bush took decisive action.

Within three days, Congress gave the president the power to use the US military to retaliate against all those who "planned, approved, carried out, or assisted in carrying out" the 9/11 attacks and those who provided safe haven to terrorists.

On September 20, Bush issued an ultimatum to the Afghan authorities, demanding that the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, who was hiding in the territory of this state, and all those involved in the attacks be handed over. Kabul asked for proof of bin Laden's guilt, promising to try him in an Islamic court. Evidence was not provided. And the founder of Al-Qaeda himself denied involvement in the attack (Osama admitted that it was he who planned the attack only in 2004).

On October 7, US Air Force aircraft launched the first strikes against Afghan targets, starting the longest war in US history. In November, Kabul was taken, the Taliban were pushed back into the mountains. But this campaign was only partially successful: bin Laden was never captured.

The world community had no doubts about the justification for the invasion of Afghanistan. Bush's decision was supported by many leaders, including Vladimir Putin. But the US president's intention to send troops to Iraq was condemned even by US allies in NATO. Nevertheless, in 2003, American soldiers entered the territory of this state and, almost without resistance, overthrew the regime of Saddam Hussein. Further events did not develop at all as planned in Washington. Many world leaders, as well as experts, have warned that the removal of Hussein would throw Iraq into chaos and turn it into an Islamist foothold - and that is exactly what happened.

After the whole world was surrounded by footage depicting the abuse of captured Afghans and Iraqis in the Bagram and Abu Ghraib prisons, the attitude towards the Americans, who had not been particularly loved in the Middle East before, deteriorated catastrophically. Many Muslims began to perceive them as new crusaders, enemies of Islam. The ranks of the jihadists grew rapidly. One of the consequences of Bush Jr.'s ill-advised decision to attack Iraq is the rise of the most notorious terrorist group in modern times: the Islamic State (IS).

The current American leader, Barack Obama, even during the first election campaign, promised to return military personnel home. But he fulfilled his promise only partially: in July 2016, he was forced to leave almost eight and a half thousand soldiers in Afghanistan to help local security forces. Troops were withdrawn from Iraq, but this allowed IS jihadists to capture almost half of the country.

“There are more suicide attacks against Americans and their allies in Afghanistan, Iraq and other Muslim countries every month than in the entire period of world history before 2001. Between 1980 and 2003, there were 343 self-blasts worldwide, and at least 10 percent of these attacks were inspired by anti-Americanism. Since 2004, there have already been more than two thousand of them - and nine out of ten are directed against the Americans and their allies, ”wrote Robert Pape, an American political scientist and professor at the University of Chicago, in 2010 in Foreign Policy magazine.

irrefutable evidence

Alexander Tarasov

Review of Thierry Meyssan's book September 11, 2001. A monstrous scam." M.: Moscow branch of the Karno publishing house, 2003.

This book created a sensation and became an instant bestseller in France and later in other European countries. In the United States, the authorities prevented the publication of this book for more than a year, but it was nevertheless published - and immediately became a powerful tool for the anti-war and "anti-globalization" movement. The fact that Meissan's book not only did not become a bestseller in our country, but, on the contrary, was actually hushed up, is a shameful phenomenon, which speaks of the corrupt, puppet, nature of the political.

Immediately after September 11, 2001, a variety of people in our country - from representatives of the left and Muslim circles to a respectable TV academician from the pro-government channel V. Pozner - began to publicly explain to the United States that since America had created such a planetary system in which all the blessings and wealth "Third World" flows into the United States, and the peoples of the "Third World" get only poverty, disease, hunger, war and death, it is naive to expect that the "Third World" will endure this forever and will not strike back sooner or later on America.

The reality turned out to be much worse. It turned out that the “third world”, for all its hatred of America, is not yet capable of an action on the scale of September 11th. It turned out that September 11 is a monstrous provocation, "worldwide arson of the Reichstag", organized by ultra-right "hawks" from the ruling circles of the United States itself. Thierry Meyssan's book proves this, literally leaving no stone unturned on the official version of the US administration.

To begin with, T. Meyssan analyzes the story of the Boeing 757-200 attack on the Pentagon - moreover, exactly on the sector of the building where the army counter-terrorism department was located. The first thing T. Meissan establishes is that no "Boeing" fell on the Pentagon! And that's why:

1) The size of the hole in the wall of the building (recorded in photographic and film documents - before the facade collapsed) does not correspond to the size of the aircraft: the hole is much smaller (pp. 18-20). If, however, we assume that only the nose of the plane crashed into the Pentagon - and then for some reason the car stopped, as if rooted to the spot, without even touching the building with its wings (which cannot be, given the speed at which the Boeing was flying - from 400 to 700 km / h - and the weight of the machine - 115 tons) (p. 16, 18), then

2) The wings, fuselage and tail of the Boeing must remain outside and not be damaged. However, they are not there - they are not even in the very first photographs taken at the moment when fire engines had just arrived at the Pentagon, but had not yet begun to put out the fire inside the building (p. 20);

3) In the event that the rest of the aircraft exploded and burned outside, debris would have to be left behind. There are none - not a single one (S. 19-22)! Moreover, during the explosion and fire outside, the surroundings of the Pentagon in this place should have been badly damaged: lawns, fences, poles, car and helicopter parking. They are intact (p. 17);

4) The most reasonable thing - with the intention to cause maximum damage to the Pentagon with an air strike - is to bring down the Boeing on the roof of the building (you can't miss: the Pentagon covers an area of ​​117,363 sq.m). But the terrorists, on the contrary, choose to hit the facade, risking missing, since the height of the building is 24 m, while the height of the aircraft itself is 13 m (p. 17);

5) The plane crashes into the building, flying strictly horizontally, between the first and second floors - while the very height of the Boeing is such that it CANNOT crash lower than between the third and fourth floors(p. 17); besides, during a horizontal flight near the ground, the plane somehow miraculously did not knock down trees, poles, fences (and did not even damage them with an air jet!), car and helicopter parking (p. 16-17);

6) Despite the cruising speed and weight, the plane only penetrated the outer wall of the building, which is incredible (p. 18);

7) The size of the fire at the Pentagon did not match the amount of fuel on board the Boeing. Moreover, the Arlington County fire brigades were not allowed by the special services to the site of the explosion and fire (p. 21), and fire chief Ed Ploeger, when asked by reporters about fuel, said something incredible: “We found something that we took for a puddle, just where we think the nose of the plane was” (p. 22). Thus, something completely ridiculous is obtained: part of the fuel ignited during the collision and explosion, and part did not. T. Meyssan uses the word "surrealism" on this occasion (p. 21);

8) None of the surveillance cameras recorded the Boeing (p. 22);

9) The air defense services of Washington and - separately - the Pentagon "did not notice" the Boeing (p. 13-15);

10) On the Boeing 757-200, at the moment of capture, the transcoder turned off (an automatic transmitter that sends an identification signal and flight data to the controllers' consoles). It is not possible to turn off the transcoder (p. 185);

11) After losing contact with the Boeing, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), which controls all airspace, took up the search and interception of the aircraft, which sent three F-16 fighters from the Langley base to intercept. Visual contact was made with the Boeing in the air. But the Boeing evaded (!) the NORAD tracking, dodged (!) the fighters and attacked the Pentagon (p. 14-15, 22), which is simply unbelievable;

12) As it turned out, the explosion fell exactly on that sector of the Pentagon, which was under repair. The counter-terrorism department has already been evicted from there, the Navy Command Center has not yet been moved in. The premises housed mostly civilian personnel involved in their equipment. That is why the victims were mostly civilians and only one general was among the dead. This also explains the small number of deaths - 125 people (p. 18-19);

13) In order to deliver a blow of such increased accuracy at such a low altitude in the city limits by a huge passenger plane (the length of the Boeing is 47 m, the wingspan is 38 m), one must train many times on the ground in order to know all the obstacles (which "Arab terrorists ”, of course, they could not do) and, moreover, to be a pilot of the highest class (p. 25).

Based on all this, T. Meyssan came to the conclusion that the official version of the "crash of a plane hijacked by terrorists on" - linden, which he called "a bloody dramatization".

No plane fell on the Pentagon, the explosion was carried out inside the building by people who had access to the Pentagon and had the ability to freely deliver a large supply of explosives inside the building.

At the same time, the Boeing 757-200 of American Airlines Flight 77 really disappeared along with all the passengers. T. Meyssan asks questions: who killed them and where are they? He believes that sooner or later the American administration will have to answer these questions (p. 24).

However, some assumptions can already be made. If the Boeing is nowhere to be found, it was most likely sunk (along with passengers) in the ocean. And besides, the damage to the Pentagon that Meissan described can be caused not only by a directed explosion from the inside, but also by a cruise missile strike from the outside. It is obvious, however, that only they themselves can attack the Pentagon with a cruise missile - and only by order of the highest authorities.

Actually, T. Meissan could stop at exposing the "attack on the Pentagon" - this is quite enough to prove that September 11, 2001 organized by the American administration: only knowing in advance the date, time and nature of the attack on the "twin towers", it was possible to arrange a "bloody staging" in the Pentagon.

But Meissan was not limited to the Pentagon. He drew attention to the mass of absurdities with the attack on the World Trade Center. Firstly, NORAD was unable, oddly enough, to locate and intercept the planes that attacked the "twin towers". Secondly, on these aircraft, as well as on the Boeing 757-200, the transcoders were turned off.

By the way, the civil transcoder signal disappears if the transcoder is equipped in advance not only with a civil, but also with a military code - and on command from the ground (or in accordance with the program embedded in the on-board computer), the transcoder is switched from a civilian code to a military one: civilian radars are equipped with filters that make them "blind" in relation to Air Force facilities (p. 15, 185).

And after a series of consultations with experts, Meissan came to the conclusion that amateur pilots could not get into the middle of the “twin towers” ​​with such accuracy (and even at low altitude in the city, where the flight is devilishly difficult).

The wingspan of the Boeing 767 is 38 m, and the width of the tower is 63 m; it is enough to deviate to the side by 5 m - and the attack on the towers would fail. At the same time, it should be taken into account that at a speed of 700 km/h and the weight of Boeings, the pilots had only 0.3 seconds to correct their course (p. 32-33)!

The professionals suggested to Meyssan that there is a way to accurately hit the target: to follow the radio beacon. If you install radio beacons in the towers, then the planes will reach them automatically (to the point that for this they don’t even need to be captured, you just need to put the appropriate program into the on-board computer - moreover, you can then control the plane from the ground, this technology is available, called she is "Global Hawk") (p. 33-34).

Meissan began to look - and found out that there really were radio beacons in the World Trade Center, which turned on, apparently, shortly before the attack! Their signals were recorded by radio amateurs, since the beacons interfered with transmissions from the TV antennas installed on the tower (p. 33).

Meissan was also interested in the collapse of the towers. He found calculations by experts who claimed that the WTC towers could not collapse under the influence of the weight of the aircraft and the temperature of the fire. Moreover, Meissan found an official statement from firefighters who claimed to have heard explosions at the bases of the towers and demanded an independent investigation into the causes of the collapse (during which many of their comrades died) (p. 34).

Meissan was even more interested in the collapse of "building number 7" of the World Trade Center complex, into which no plane crashed. "Building No. 7", surprisingly, collapsed inward, as if in a directed explosion.

The New York Times found out that Building 7 housed CIA secret base, engaged in economic espionage around the world and was in acute conflict with political departments and with the General Staff (p. 35-36). The destruction of this base certainly cannot be associated with an "attack from the air."

Then T. Meyssan drew attention to the unexpectedly low number of deaths in the ruins of the World Trade Center: 2843 people, including passengers and crews of two Boeings, as well as police, firefighters and rescuers who arrived at the buildings - despite the fact that in the towers of the World Trade Center at the time of the first aircraft the impact was up to 40,000 people (and even just the total number of employees on the upper floors, cut off by the flames, should have been at least 4,800 people) (p. 36-37).

Meissan found an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in which Misha Makover, director of Odigo, one of the leaders in the field of electronic communications, reported that the company received a warning about the upcoming terrorist attack 2 hours before it– with a proposal to evacuate personnel (p. 38). Interestingly, after this publication, the FBI forbade Odigo employees to communicate with the press (p. 104).

T. Meyssan draws an analogy with the famous explosion of the federal building. Alfred P. Marra in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. The explosion, according to the official version, was organized by Timothy McVeigh, a member of the far-right paramilitary organization Militsiya (created during the Cold War by himself to deploy guerrilla operations in America in the event of its occupation by Soviet troops). In Oklahoma City, only 168 people died, as the vast majority of those working in the building were suddenly released from work for half a day. Meissan believes that this was done by the FBI in order to reduce the number of victims (the FBI controls the "Militia" and, therefore, knew in advance in detail about the impending explosion) (p. 38-39).

Finally, Meissan unearthed the amazing recognition of President Bush Jr. made by him in Orlando (pcs.).

The President said that on September 11, shortly after the first air attack on the World Trade Center, he was shown on TV footage of a plane colliding with the tower - and while he was watching these footage, Andy Card, the chief secretary of the President, burst into the room with the words: “The second plane crashed into the tower. America is under attack” (p. 40).

However, unlike the collision of the plane with the second tower of the World Trade Center (which the whole world could watch live), the footage depicting the first collision was discovered much later - 13 hours after the events, when the Gamma agency released the footage of the Naudet brothers. Therefore, Meissan concludes, the president was shown other footage - footage of a secret film made by the special services. But since the special services were filming like this, it means that they knew in advance about the place and time of the events (pp. 40-41).

T. Meyssan draws the following general conclusion: the planes were sent to the WTC building by radio beacons; firms and institutions located in the buildings (at least some of them) were warned about the attack in advance in order to reduce the number of human losses; all three collapsed buildings were blown up by charges from the ground.

Meissan then asks (not without sarcasm): "Could such an operation be conceived in the caves of Afghanistan, controlled from them, and carried out by a handful of Islamists?" (p. 41). And Meissan puts forward a version conspiracy within the US administration, the CIA and the military elite.

The first thing he notices is thorough intimidation of President Bush by a part of his entourage. The plane that Bush flies to - in accordance with the CONPLAN plan, which comes into effect in emergency situations (such as September 11th) - suddenly "disappears." In fact, the presidential plane is first driven to the base in Barksdale (Louisiana), and then to the base in Offut (Nebraska). Between the bases, Bush's plane, escorted by fighters, flies at low altitude and zigzags, as if hiding from radar and anti-aircraft fire. At the bases themselves, the president is driven along the runways in an armored car, motivated by protection from snipers (p. 44)!

T. Meissan draws attention to mysterious fire at the White House, which arose in the interval between two attacks on the WTC towers (40 minutes before the second collision). Footage of the fire was broadcast by ABC (p. 50).

This strange fire, all information about which later completely disappears, cannot be drawn by the ears to attacks from the air. But you can, however, although Meissan does not do this, remember that high-ranking American officials on September 11 named the White House as one of the targets of terrorists (according to some statements, it was on him that the plane that fell in, according to others - the White House was the original target of the airliner that eventually allegedly attacked the Pentagon).

But something did not work - and the fire turned out to be "superfluous". How "superfluous" were the reports of the agencies about the explosion on Capitol Hill. But, by the way, after the fire, the White House staff, led by Vice President Cheney, as well as congressmen, were forcibly evacuated "to safe places."

Interestingly, Meissan found out exactly what scheme of actions for the defense of the White House was carried out after the evacuation and others. It was a scheme to protect the White House not from a plane crash or bombing, but from assault by a landing party(p. 50)!

As Meissan established, on September 11, the intimidation of the already not very smart president (and, apparently, other "intractable" at the same time) reached an unprecedented level: presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer, and then intelligence officials reported that the White House Secret Service received telephone messages from the attackers, in which they warned (why, I wonder?) that they were going to attack the White House and the presidential plane - and, most incredible, the callers used the secret codes and ciphers of the presidential office, as well as a number of special services: the Office of Combat narcotics, National Intelligence Service (NIA), Air Force Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Naval Intelligence, State Department Intelligence Services, and . Each of these codes and ciphers is super secret and is known to an extremely limited circle of people, and no one has the right to have several codes at once (p. 46-48).

It is inconceivable that al-Qaeda, or the Taliban, or Iraqi intelligence would be able to get hold of so many super-secret ciphers and codes. If this was possible for someone, then perhaps the Soviet intelligence during the heyday of the USSR (and even then it is doubtful).

Meissan drew attention to two things: firstly, having such a set of ciphers and codes, the attackers could usurp the powers of the president, including command and control. The only way to counter this is to have the President personally present at the US Strategic Command Center at Offut Base (which was done) (p. 49). That is, Bush was frightened by the fact that “terrorists” could seize control of the US armed forces at any moment!

The second thing that Meissan drew attention to: if the attackers entered into negotiations, it means that they put forward some kind of demands or an ultimatum. Kamikaze do not enter into negotiations. Meissan suggested that Bush entered into these negotiations and succumbed to blackmail, after which "the threat receded" (p. 49). This means that the blackmailers were anyone, but not Islamic terrorists.

And T. Meyssan draws the following conclusion: the attacks in Washington and Washington (including the arson in the White House) were organized by people who contacted the president using secret codes and ciphers and who presented him with an ultimatum. Overwhelmed by their possibilities, Bush accepted the ultimatum and continues to rule the country.

This can only happen if The September 11 attacks were carried out by a group at the very top of the US military and political elite., - and only if these attacks were aimed at forcing the president to change the nature of US foreign and domestic policy.

The Islamic trace was falsified. Moreover, falsified badly, primitively, unconvincingly. And only the monstrous hysteria staged by the American authorities and the media gave this trace the appearance of plausibility ...

In the American media, it was said a lot that the buildings of the World Trade Center in Manhattan erected in 1970 brought huge losses to the company that owns Port Authority. Millions of dollars went down the drain every year just because of the cost of electricity, water and heating. In the 1980s, the materials used in the decoration and construction of buildings were recognized as hazardous to health.

Repairs were required, for which it was necessary to lay out at least 20 million dollars, but no one wanted to get involved in this matter. The authorities were even going to demolish skyscrapers, but canceled the decision, since carcinogenic asbestos dust could envelop the entire Manhattan.

Here the entrepreneur Larry Silverstein showed up, who laid out $ 3.2 billion for problematic skyscrapers. The deal was completed a month and a half before the attacks, but the last payment was made by the new owner of the buildings literally on the eve of the tragedy. He insured his purchase for a considerable $ 3.6 billion, and prescribed insurance in the event of a terrorist attack as a separate item.

It is curious that after the events of September 11, Silverstein tried to beg the amount of 7.2 billion from the insurance company, assessing what happened as a double terrorist attack. In the end, they agreed on compensation of $4.6 billion.

Researchers later found out that in the basements of one of the buildings of the World Trade Center, gold bars of various trade and financial corporations were stored in the amount of at least $ 160 billion. According to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, only $230 million was recovered from the rubble. Where are the rest? Many have no doubt that Larry Silverstein had a hand in this.

As a result of the collapse of the WTC skyscraper No. 7, which was silent for a long time, more than 500 tons of carcinogenic asbestos were thrown into the air, and in addition, lead, mercury and other highly toxic substances, which subsequently led to an increase in the incidence of cancer among people who lived or worked in the vicinity. By the way, Silverstein received insurance for this house.

The plane did not crash into this house. Then why did the building collapse? Silverstein once let slip in an interview: “I remember the fire commander called me and said that he was not sure that he could contain the flames. I replied that we already had so many victims, so the most reasonable thing would be to demolish it. And we decided to demolish it. After that, we all saw the building collapse.”

(the average: 4,94 out of 5)

This September 11, 2001 in the USA(in the West, simply 9/11) is considered the bloodiest in all of world history. The most media-covered event of all time.

10 years ago, three terrorist-controlled planes crashed into the Pentagon near Washington DC and into the 110-story skyscrapers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, causing them to collapse. As a result of terrorist attacks, 2,977 citizens from 92 countries died.

According to the official version, the responsibility for these attacks lies with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Subsequently official version what happened was criticized by a number of journalists, scientists and witnesses of the tragedy.

Independent investigations were carried out, some of which were documented. According to one version, the attack on the twin towers was just a distraction, and customers should be sought not among Afghan terrorists and not in Osama bin Laden's lair, but much closer - surrounded by the US president.

The events of September 11, 2001 unfolded as follows. At about the same time, terrorists hijacked 4 airliners some time after departure.

1. Statue of Liberty. Manhattan is shrouded in smoke from the collapse of the World Trade Center skyscrapers. The photo was taken on September 15, 2001. (Photo by Dan Loh | AP):

At 08:45 am first Boeing 767-200 crashed into the North Tower of the 110-story skyscrapers of the World Trade Center approximately at the level of 94-98 floors. 18 minutes later at 9:03 second plane Boeing 767-200 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center approximately at the level of 77-85 floors.

2. "A second before." The second plane approaches the South Tower of the World Trade Center, New York, 9:02, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Sean Adair | Reuters):

3. Second plane Boeing 767-200 Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at the level of 77-85 floors, 9:03, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Sean Adair | Reuters):

4. There were 56 passengers (including 5 terrorists) and 9 crew members on board the 175th flight. (Photo by Spencer Platt | Getty Images):

5. Nearly 35 tons of aviation fuel explodes on impact. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

6. A hole in the North Tower of the World Trade Center in the place where the first one crashed, New York, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

After the capture, some passengers were able to report on satellite phones about what was happening. According to them, the terrorists used edged weapons (probably knives), resulting in the death of several flight attendants and crew members.

7. The twin towers of the World Trade Center after 2 airliners crashed into them. Ahead - Empire State Building, New York, Tuesday, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Marty Lederhandler | AP):

8. Satellite view of the burning skyscrapers of the World Trade Center in New York, 9:30, September 11, 2001. (Photo by USGS | AP):

9. People on the top floors of skyscrapers. They are locked in fire on the lower floors where the planes crashed. (Photo by Jose Jimenez | Primera Hora | Getty Images):

10. At least 200 people trapped on the top floors of the towers of the World Trade Center jumped down, preferring such death to death by fire. (Photo by Jose Jimenez | Primera Hora | Getty Images):

11. Their fall was observed by numerous witnesses. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

12. Some tried to climb onto the roofs of the towers, hoping to be evacuated by helicopters, but the evacuation did not take place: the smoke and heat from the fire made it impossible to use helicopters. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

13. Third plane Boeing 757-200 American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 am. This is a picture from a surveillance camera. (AP Photo):

14. Fire in the Pentagon building, after crashing into it. 125 people in the building and 60 passengers aboard the Boeing were killed. (Photo by Will Morris | AP):

16. Part of the Pentagon building collapsed. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque | Reuters):

18. Aim of the 4th aircraft Boeing 757-200 may have been the Capitol. According to Flight 93 voice recorder transcripts, the flight crew and passengers attempted to regain control of the airliner after they learned from mobile phones that other hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers. It is likely that the terrorists, who were losing the fight, decided to send the plane into the ground, where the crash occurred. The Boeing crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania near Shanksville at 10:03 am. (Photo by Jason Cohn | Reuters):

19. The crash site of the 4th aircraft in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, near the city of Shanksville. (Photo FBI | AP):

20. But back to the burning skyscrapers of the World Trade Center. The main events unfolded there. (Photo by Mario Tama | Getty Images):

According to the official version, about an hour after the skyscrapers crashed into the skyscrapers, buildings collapsed as a result of fire and melting of the supporting steel structures by burning aviation fuel.

The official version has been criticized by many experts who believe that the use of aviation fuel to melt 200,000 tons of steel (the amount of steel in one Tower) is an amazing discovery.

Other theories call into question that the nature of the collapse of the WTC towers corresponds to that which could be caused by aircraft hits and fires. The destruction of the towers is said to be more like controlled demolition. It has also been suggested that the September 11, 2001 attacks were not planned and carried out by al-Qaeda, but by US intelligence agencies.

International opinion, according to a survey conducted in 17 countries, paints such a picture. Overall, 46% of those polled place the main responsibility on al-Qaeda, 15% on the US government, 7% on Israel, and another 7% name other perpetrators. We will not delve into this topic. Those interested in these events can find materials on the net.

21. 56 minutes after south tower the second plane crashed at 9:59 am it starts to break down, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

22. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

23. Collapse of the 110-story South Tower World Trade Center. View from the street, September 9, 2001. (Photo by Doug Kanter | AFP | Getty Images):

24. As in from dust and debris. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

25. 102 minutes after north tower the first plane crashed at 10:28 am it starts to break down, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Diane Bondareff | AP):

26. (Photo by Primera Hora | Getty Images):

27. The collapse of the 110-story skyscrapers of the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Greg Semendinger | AP):

28. A total of 2,606 people died at the World Trade Center. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton | Reuters):

29. 1366 people who were on the upper floors died north tower WTC, many of whom died when the plane collided with the tower, and the rest - due to fire and collapse. AT south tower at least 600 people died on the upper floors. At least 200 people trapped on the upper floors of the towers jumped down and crashed. (Photo by Greg Semendinger | AP):

30. On the streets of New York during the destruction of the WTC towers, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett | AP):

31. Clouds of smoke, dust and debris spread throughout Manhattan. (Photo by Ray Stubblebine | Reuters):

32. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

33. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

34. (Photo by Daniel Shanken | AP):

35. 341 firefighters, 60 police officers, and 8 ambulance workers died in the fire. (Photo by Mario Tama | Getty Images):

36. In total, about 18 people were able to leave the hit zone in the South Tower and escape. (Photo by Gulnara Samiolava | AP):

More than 1,600 bodies were identified in New York, but about 1,100 people could not be identified. It was reported that "about 10,000 fragments of bones and tissues were found at the site of the tragedy, which is incomparable with the number of dead."

38. The streets of Manhattan after the collapse of the "twins" of the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Boudicon One | AP):

39. On the site of the former 110-story World Trade Center, September 15, 2001. (Photo by Reuters):

40. The landing gear of one of the planes that crashed into the WTC buildings, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton | Reuters):

41. Search for possible survivors of the collapse of the "twins" of the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Matt Moyer | AP):

42. The fire is still blazing at the site of the former WTC, September 12, 2001, a day after. (Photo by Baldwin | AP):

45. In addition to the destruction of the two 110-story towers of the World Trade Center, other buildings were seriously damaged or destroyed. As a result of the collapse of skyscrapers, about 1.5 kilometers of New York subway lines were damaged. Photo AP):

46. ​​Rescuers work in the underground facilities of the collapsed World Trade Center, September 14, 2011. (Photo by U.S. Navy | Reuters):

The ongoing events have caused chaos throughout the United States. All commercial flights were canceled, landing of aircraft in the United States was prohibited. Aircraft arriving from other countries were diverted back to their departure airports, or were directed to airports in Canada and Mexico. Air Force fighters patrolled over major US cities.

47. The ruins of the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Doug Kanter | AFP | Getty Images):

On September 11, 2001, 2,977 people (not including 19 terrorists) became victims: 246 passengers and crew members of aircraft, 2,606 people - in New York, in the WTC buildings and on the ground, 125 - in the Pentagon building. Citizens of the United States and 91 other countries died, including 96 citizens of Russia and the CIS.

When the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center were destroyed, about 16,000 people were saved, who were in the towers below the impact zone of the aircraft. Most of them survived, being evacuated before the destruction of buildings.

A memorial complex was erected on the site of the collapsed twin towers. Currently, the complex is being reconstructed, which is planned to be completed by 2012.