The fingers have already started pointing, but no conclusive evidence is in yet to determine who committed the worst act of terrorism on American soil in the country's history. Here are some possible groups who could be behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, along with their possible motives.

Please note that we are not accusing anybody. We are simply presenting information and possibilities.

1. Osama bin Laden

The Saudi dissident, who is also on the FBI's top ten most wanted list, is the only one suspected at this moment in the media for this crime so far. He has taken credit for terrorism in the past. This time, although he denies that he or his group, Al-Qaida, is responsible for the attacks, he has expressed his happiness about this human tragedy.

Bin Laden, in interviews with Muslim and Western media, has maintained that all Americans must leave Saudi Arabia. He supports the use of violence against any American to further this goal. He, therefore, has the motive, anger and the track record to be at the top of the list of suspects.

One expert, Steven Aftergood, an intelligence analyst with the Federation of American Scientists,: however, told ABC News that "I think what can be surmised is this was the work of an exceptionally well-organized and sophisticated group of people and they must have left footprints in one place or another," he adds. "This was not bin Laden operating out of his tent."

Steve Emerson, the Muslim basher and self-proclaimed terrorism "expert", on the other hand, thinks that it was not a sophisticated operation.

Osama bin Laden and company may also be unlikely considering that American intelligence has been closely monitoring him and his group's activities for a while. According to the political analysts, if however US does try to attack Bin Laden, it will have to make use of the Pakistani and Indian intelligence in order to track him down.

2. The Palestinians

The Palestinians are in direct war with Israel and its settlers and are increasingly frustrated with the "peace broker" United States, which offers its unconditional support to the Zionist state. Although suicide bombings have been committed by Palestinians, this time, every Palestinian organization that could have been held responsible for the terrorist attacks on Tuesday has denied responsibility for them, from Yasir Arafat to Hamas.

Also, it would be especially ill-timed to commit such an action when in the last few weeks, the tide of world opinion has turned in favor of the Palestinians and their cause. In the aftermath of the World Conference on Racism in South Africa, Israel was isolated, walking out of the conference with its ally, the United States. Over 300 NGOs had supported the resolution at the conference that Zionism is Racism.

In addition, a number of prominent American publications like the daily USA Today and Time magazine had courageously carried news reports critical of Israel, something that is very, very rare.
Why would Palestinians want to spoil positive world opinion for their cause, which was the only thing going for them before these attacks?

3. The Israelis

In the last few weeks, especially during and after the World Conference on Racism, Israel has become isolated. Its basic theoretical foundation, Zionism, had come under attack at the conference by NGOs around the world.

It is possible that Israelis could be behind the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in order to divert world attention away from sympathy for the Palestinian cause and to turn America against the Arabs.

It would not be the first time such nasty tactics have been used by Israel. In 1953, Israel bombed the United States Information Center in Cairo, Egypt. They later admitted to the crime and said this was done to cause a rift between the United States and Egypt.

Also, in 1967, Israeli armed forces attacked the U.S. naval ship USS Liberty, killed 34 young American men, wounded 171 people and inflicted 821 rocket and machine-gun holes to blame the Arabs. USS Liberty survivors and many key US government officials, including former Secretary of State Dean Rusk and ex-JCS Chairman Admiral Thomas Moorer, have pointed out that the Israeli military attack on the USS Liberty ship was no accident.

In addition, Israel and its lackeys in the US fear the growing power and influence of Muslims in America, who have been questioning America's unconditional support for Israel and its human rights abuses against Palestinians. They may have committed this crime to discredit Muslim-Americans, and thus weaken their power and influence in America.

But would Israel really take this much risk to bomb its most powerful ally in the world? And what about Arabic language flying manuals found at Boston airport?

4. Serb supporters of Slobodan Milosevic

In the last nine years, the United States has opposed Serbia on many fronts. Serbs are angry and feel cornered. First, America supported Croatia and Bosnia in the 1992-1995 war. Then it was in Kosova in the late 1990s, which resulted in the bombing of Serbia. More recently, there was the humiliating arrest of war criminal Slobodan Milosevic, a nationalist hero.

Unlike the followers of Osama bin Laden or the usual Arab and Palestinian suspects, Israelis and Serbs generally do not fit the profile of a suspected terrorist found at US airports (i.e. dark-skinned and Middle Eastern looking). So it is easier for them to pass through several airport check points without any difficulty.

Serbs and Israelis both have the technical know-how and sophistication to carryout this high-tech terrorism which requires extraordinary knowledge. "To pull off the coordinated aerial attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Tuesday, the hijackers must have been extremely knowledgeable and capable aviators," a flight expert told CNN. It cannot be done by reading some Arabic manuals at Boston Airport as reported by Boston newspapers.

But the question is, why would Serbs take such an action now? Why were they waiting for this day?

5. The friends of Timothy McVeigh

It is possible that the right wing militias such as those that Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was part of, could be responsible. After all, these guys attacked another major federal building (the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in 1995).

The militias also have the full technical know-how and they don't fit the profile that Osama bin Laden or the Palestinians fit into for terrorism. They would have no problem boarding a plane at the airport.

Interestingly, out of the five cell phone calls that were made from the hijacked planes connected to the terrorist attacks on September 11, not one of them mentioned that it was Arabs or Middle Easterners who were hijacking. Since Arabs are the usual suspects, it seems unlikely that callers would not have mentioned the ethnicity of the perpetrators.

But Timothy McVeigh has given enough of a bad name to the anti-government militias and many have found this kind of violence to be an unfruitful course of action.

All Passengers Must be Looked into:

It is important to look into all avenues. Law enforcement officials should trace all people on board the hijacked planes to find out their connections instead of just pursuing the Middle Eastern sounding names. Were any involved with right-wing militia groups? Were any connected to Serb nationalistic activity? Did any show tendencies associated with Palestinian extremist groups? Were any of them affiliated with or working for the infamous Jewish Defense League of America?

It is only by considering all possibilities that the truth can be discovered.

Whoever is responsible must be brought to justice with the full force of the law. No cause and no agenda is worth the loss of innocent human life.

(This article refers to many groups and nations and makes generalizations. We are fully aware of the fact that good people of conscience are found among all people. We pray that these good people prevail in achieving peace for the whole of humanity and defeat the demons found within individuals and nations inspiring people to oppress others.)

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/18/2002 8:07:31 AM

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