The 9/11 attacks in the time of corona

Tribute in Light, commemorating the Twin Towers

Credit: NY1

Today is the 19th anniversary of the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. I've written about them here over the years, but my feelings this year have almost been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disasters afflicting our country and the world now: the almost 200,000 dead of coronavirus in the US (and over 920,000 deaths worldwide), the corrupt and near-fascist Trump regime, the ongoing protests for Black Lives Matter and against white supremacy, the rise of violent right-wing gangs, increasing antisemitism and anti-Black racism, and now the apocalyptic fires in the American west (about 10% of the population of Oregon has had to flee for their lives). Seeing the photographs of the orange sky in California really shook me. (Below photos are screenshots of San Francisco from the New York Times article linked above).

Fascists Still Want to Kill Jews - Al Qaeda bomb plot

As Shiraz Socialist says, Fascists still want to kill Jews. The Al Qaeda plot to bomb two synagogues in Chicago is unnerving - although fortunately only that, since the bombs were found on cargo planes a long way away from Chicago.

One of the targeted synagogues is a GLBT synagogue, Congregation Or Chadash. It's certainly not the biggest or most prominent synagogue in Chicago, so I wonder how or why it was picked. Did someone in Al Qaeda in Yemen used to live in Chicago? (Anwar al-Awlaki, who is one of the leaders of Al Qaeda in Yemen, is an American and used to live in the Washington area; his side-kick is Samir Khan who is also an American).

Some bizarre articles have come out about this in the Jewish press online already. Lee Smith published an odd one in Tablet whose point I really cannot figure out (it seems to be blaming President Obama for doing something bad - but since all the president has done is to work as hard as possible against this threat, I don't understand what he's done wrong). And the Yeshiva World website headlined their story "Bomb was addressed to Chicago 'Toeiva Synagogue.'" This is an ultra-Orthodox website that apparently cannot bring itself to utter the word "gay." (The word "toeiva" means "abomination"). Disgusting.

Radicalized in London?

It turns out that the terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attacked the Delta airliner on Christmas Day, was the president of the Islamic Society at University College London when he was there, according to this New York Times article: Quesions Arise on Why Terror Suspect Was Not Stopped.

There's a suggestion that he became radicalized in London:

A cousin of Mr. Abdulmutallab, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to offend the family, said in an interview on Sunday that there was no sign of radicalism in Mr. Abdulmutallab while he was growing up in Nigeria, though he was devout.
“We understand that he met some people who influenced him while in London,” where Mr. Abdulmutallab studied engineering, the cousin said. “He left London and went to Yemen where, we suspect, he mixed up with the people that put him up to this whole business.”
He added: “I think his father is embarrassed by the whole thing, because that was not the way he brought the boy up. All of us are shocked by it.”

An ordinary hero

Yesterday's attempted terrorist attack on a plane about to land in Detroit was again foiled by an ordinary person who jumped on the terrorist:

There were popping sounds, smoke and a commotion as passengers cried out in alarm and tried to see what was happening. One woman shouted, “What are you doing?” and another called out, “Fire!”

And then history repeated itself. Just as occurred before Christmas in 2001, when Richard C. Reid tried to ignite plastic explosives hidden in his shoe on a trans-Atlantic flight, fellow passengers jumped on Mr. Abdulmutallab, restraining the 23-year-old Nigerian. Jasper Schuringa, a Dutch film director seated in the same row as Mr. Abdulmutallab but on the other side of the aircraft, saw what looked like an object on fire in the suspect’s lap and “freaked,” he told CNN.

“Without any hesitation, I just jumped over all the seats,” Mr. Schuringa said, in an account that other passengers confirmed. “I was thinking, Oh, he’s trying to blow up the plane. I was trying to search his body for any explosive. I took some kind of object that was already melting and smoking, and I tried to put out the fire and when I did that I was also restraining the suspect.”

Mr. Schuringa said he had burned his hands slightly as he grappled with Mr. Abdulmutallab, aided by other passengers, and began to shout for water. “But then the fire was getting worse, so I grabbed the suspect out of the seat,” Mr. Schuringa said. Flight attendants ran up with fire extinguishers, doused the flames and helped Mr. Schuringa walk Mr. Abdulmutallab to first class, where he was stripped, searched and locked in handcuffs.

“The whole plane was screaming — but the suspect, he didn’t say a word,” Mr. Schuringa said. He shrugged off praise for his swift action, which he said was reflexive. “When you hear a pop on the plane, you’re awake, trust me,” he said. “I just jumped. I didn’t think. I went over there and tried to save the plane.”

The accused terrorist did not act because he was from a deprived family. On the contrary, he is from an elite family in Nigeria.

Mr. Abdulmutallab grew up in a rarefied slice of Nigeria, the son of an affluent banker. He attended one of West Africa’s best schools, the British School of Lomé in Togo. After high school, he went to Britain and enrolled at the University College London to study engineering.

University College London, in a statement, said that a student named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had enrolled in mechanical engineering courses between September 2005 and June 2008. But it cautioned that it could not confirm that this was the same individual apprehended in Detroit. In London, Scotland Yard was conducting searches of apartments around the college.

His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, until recently had served as chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria, and his mother’s family is originally from Yemen, according to news accounts in Nigerian newspapers. Investigators are now examining how Mr. Abdulmutallab, at age 23, apparently rebelled against this privileged upbringing to pursue an extremist goal. It was while still in high school that Mr. Abdulmutallab began preaching to fellow students about Islam, according to a report in ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper.

ThisDay reported that more recently, Mr. Abdulmutallab had moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and told his family that he no longer wanted to associate with them.

One wonders who his contacts were at University College. As Harry's Place has often reported, a number of extremist Islamist organizations are active on British university campuses. Perhaps his radicalization began in Nigeria, but it may very well have continued during his schooling in London as well.

Pager messages on 9/11

Wikileaks has put up a long list of pager messages from 9/11/01 (not saying, of course, where they got them from). I just read through quite a few and collected the ones that seem directly linked to the terrorist attacks. It's very eerie reading them. Some are from private individuals, others from the NYPD, or from what seems to be air traffic control in the New York area. I've pasted in messages below from shortly after the first plane hit at 8:46 until after the second plane hit at 9:02. I've blotted out phone numbers and full names of private individuals.

2001-09-11 08:47:46 Someone just told me there was an explosion at
2001-09-11 08:50:25 A plane crashed thru the twin towers. Real bad..BR
2001-09-11 08:50:31 An Aloha call is starting . This is for a fire at 2WT. Please call into TeleMeeting conference center at -877-913-7943 . If Morgan Stanley has not initiated the call you will hear music until they initiate the call. Dallas Data
2001-09-11 08:50:54 BOMB DETINATED IN WORLD TRADE CTR. PLS GET BACK TO MIKE Bxxxx W/A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF YOUR AREAS AND CONTACT US IF ANYTHING IS NEEDED AT 212-xxx-xxxx.
2001-09-11 08:51:24  Frm: Santini, Olivia (NBC, MSNBC) Sub: Txt: plane crash at World Trade Center in NYC-no word on details- efforting more info now
2001-09-11 08:51:37 THE WORLD TRADE CENTER HAS JUST BLOWN UP, WE SEEN THE EXPLOSION OUTSIDE OUR WINDOWS. TERESA...
2001-09-11 08:51:37 Trade Center in NYC-no word on details- efforting more info now
2001-09-11 08:51:42 THERE WAS SOME KIND OF EXPLOSION AT WORLD TRADE CTR. MAY HAVE SOME TROUBLE GETTING TO METRO TECH. - DAVID. 212-xxx-xxxx.Austin Airport Police
2001-09-11 08:51:50 Sub: Fire!!! Frm: Rick Cxxxxx Txt: World Trade Center is on FIRE!!!! No Joke. rickc
2001-09-11 08:52:27 GO TO TWIN TOWERS PLANE CRASH IMMEDIATELY WITH KEVIN. WALTER.
2001-09-11 08:52:46 Netdesk@nbc.com||Reports of a plane crash near World Trade Center - no more details at this point. WNBC's LIVE pix - Network working on coverage.
2001-09-11 08:52:57 :swingler@xxxx S:CNN (page): T:swingler@xxxx:- World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has crashed into tower. Details to come.
2001-09-11 08:52:58 BreakingNews@CNN.COM CNN Breaking News BREAKING NEWS from CNN.com -- World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has crashed into tower. Details to come. For complete coverage of this story visit: http://www.CNN.com or AOL K
2001-09-11 08:52:59 EXPLOSION AT WORLD TRADE CENTER CNN SAYS. CAN YOU MAKE CALLS FROM HOME UNTIL I GET INTO OFFICE. PAT
2001-09-11 08:53:01 World Trade Center- report of explosion and/or fire. Will update as further info is recv'd. MTAPD Comm Ctr (1/1)
2001-09-11 08:53:16 CFP NATIONAL (1) MANHATTAN, NY *BREAKING NEWS* PLANE HAS CRASHED INTO WORLD TRADE CENTER. MORE TO FOLLOW [700p]
2001-09-11 08:53:44 World Trade Center- report of explosion and/or fire. Will update as further info is recv'd.  MTAPD Comm Ctr (1/1)
2001-09-11 08:53:44 "NYPD Ops Div" <|1 PCT WORLD TRADE CENTER|--- 1 PCT - WORLD TRADE CENTER - POSSIBLE EXPLOSION WORLD TRADE CENTER BUILDING. LEVEL 3 MOBILIZATION TO CHURCH AND VESSY.
2001-09-11 08:53:44  martint: A plane has just crashed into the side of Tower One of The World Trade Center... details to follow.
2001-09-11 08:53:44 a plane has crashed into tower. Details to come. For complete co
2001-09-11 08:53:52  "NYPD Ops Div" <|1 PCT WORLD TRADE CEN
2001-09-11 08:53:52  FYI----UPPER LEVEL OF WORLD TRADE CENTER  IS ON FIRE...HEAVY  EMGENCY UNITS O/S...  AVOID ALL AREAS  .OP#12
2001-09-11 08:53:54 1 PCT - WORLD TRADE CENTER - POSSIBLE EXPLOSION WORLD TRADE CENTER BUILDING. LEVEL 3 MOBILIZATION TO CHURCH AND VESSY.
2001-09-11 08:53:55 CRASH AT WORLD TRADE CENTER. THIS IS NOT A DRIL REMCS 9
2001-09-11 08:53:55 Netdesk@nbc.com||Reports of a plane crash near World Trade Center - no more deta
2001-09-11 08:53:57 World Trade Center- report of explosion and/or fire. Will update as further info is recv'd.  MTAPD Comm Ctr (1/1)
2001-09-11 08:53:57 martint: A plane has just crashed into the side of Tower One of The World Trade Center... details to follow.
2001-09-11 08:54:05 Netdesk@nbc.com||Reports of a plane crash near World Trade Center - no more deta
2001-09-11 08:54:07 Robert Sargent|TURN ON CNN Sat channel 202 ASAP |TURN ON CNN Sat channel 202 ASAP|81 
2001-09-11 08:54:07 amaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has crashed into tower. Details to come. For complete coverage of this story visit: http://www.C
2001-09-11 08:54:10 World Trade Center- report of explosion and/or fire. Will update as further info
2001-09-11 08:54:12 Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 8:53:27 AM > To: ABCTV DL BREAKING NEWS > Subject: WTC > Auto forwarded by a Rule > Plane into the World Trade Center. Video on RS 024 in
2001-09-11 08:54:27 LARRY, CALL BRIAN 516-xxx-xxxx. WANT TO KNOW IF OUR MEN ARE OKAY, SAW A PLANE HIT BLDG.
2001-09-11 08:54:29 PLANE CRASHES INTO WORLD TRADE CTR. -ROSE
2001-09-11 08:54:29 ED-PEOPLE VISITING AIRPORT MIGHT WANT TO USE ALTERNATE ROUTES
2001-09-11 08:54:33 WE NEED TO HAVE YOU HEAD TO WORLD TRADE CTR. PLEASE CALL LAURA EXT 6121.
2001-09-11 08:54:33 CNN World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane hascrashed into tower. Details to co
2001-09-11 08:54:35 SCONFIRMED PLANE CRASH INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER MULTI UNITS RESPONDING
01-09-11 08:54:46 NYPD and emergency units at World Trade center, RE; airplane crash. Small Jet.
2001-09-11 08:54:48 A/E: DISPATCHERS THAT ARE AVAIL PLZ ADVISE ON A/E. [700p]
2001-09-11 08:55:31 MAJOR FIRE AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. JEFF Dxxxxxx AT 609-xxx-xxxx
2001-09-11 08:55:33 EXPLOSION AT WORLD TRADE CENTER. STAY AWAY. CALL JOE Q AT 908-xxx-xxxx
2001-09-11 08:55:33 CALL HOME CONCERNING WTC EXPLOSION.
2001-09-11 08:55:35 if you don't have radio on, small plane has hit world trade center. -- andy
2001-09-11 08:55:35 EMERGENCY. CALL HOME NOW.
2001-09-11 08:55:37 AN AIRCRAFT OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN HAS HIT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN NY...CNN HAS LIVE PICTURES...JOE T/OCC
2001-09-11 08:55:42 A SMALL PLANE CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CTR IN N.Y. JUST NOW. CALL ME, LOVE YOUR WIFE.
2001-09-11 08:55:46 THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION AT THE WORLD TRADE CTR. CALL HOME FOR DETAILS
2001-09-11 08:55:46 (1/1) FIRE AT TRADE CENTER TOWER #2 POSSIBLE AIRCRAFT CRASH AS THE CAUSE. INFO TO FOLLOW AS OBTAINED. - JERRY EWR Ops x6025
2001-09-11 08:55:55 THEY SAY THAT A PLANE JUST HIT THE TWIN TOWERS IN NY. IT'S ON 11 NOW
2001-09-11 08:55:55 PLANE HIT NORTH TOWER. KEV.
2001-09-11 08:56:12 ALAN REISS IS AT THE POLICE DESK. THE TOP OF THE WORLD TRADE BLDG HAS BEEN DESTROYED. (MESSAGE NOT VERIFIED. CALL DISCONNECTED).
2001-09-11 08:56:22 Frm: janderson@xxxxx Txt: per WTOP, an airplane just crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC... -Jack
2001-09-11 08:56:24 PAGE UPDATE NEWS BULLETIN: NEW YORK: A COMMERCIAL PLANE CRASHES INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWER.
2001-09-11 08:56:33 Dave, just an update. A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. We have no further info. Ben Strong-National US&R Program (82
2001-09-11 08:56:35 it was a plane – lou
2001-09-11 08:56:37 From: Gxxxx, Kate (Exchange)- holy shit! a plane just hit the top of the world trade center!
2001-09-11 08:56:46 Trade Center has had a plane fly into the top floors. Live film footage on TV. FYI only
2001-09-11 08:56:54 FSOEWR@emc.fedex.com|Plane crash|Just a FYI...A plane crashed into the World Trade Center right Now... No details but it is on the NEWS...Thanks/Joyce
2001-09-11 08:56:59 "Aida Davidson" |tragedy|A plane has crashed into the world trade center in NY City. Huge mess and
2001-09-11 08:57:25 Frm: 2013295709@xxxxxx Txt: There are reports of a plane crash or some type of explosion at the World Trade Center , fire and smoke on many floors. Not sure how this will affect paging. Maria Ritz..
2001-09-11 08:57:33 World Trade Center...some type of explosion just moments ago. I am listening to CNN, could have been an aircraft. Keep you posted. me
2001-09-11 08:57:35 CALL ME AND LET ME KNOW YOU ARE SAFE. xxx-xxxx
2001-09-11 08:57:39 All - Plane crashed into WTC, our staff at 5 WTC is presently recorded safe details to follow. ?s call 1000
2001-09-11 08:58:05 PAGE FROM auyeuj: Ben, An American Airline plane crashed into one of the World Trade Tower. It is now stuck in the building and also over 100 people are estimated to have perished. There is smoked around one of the tower.
2001-09-11 08:58:05 Arch World Trade Center- report of explosion and/or fire. Will update as further info is recv'd. MTAPD Comm Ctr (1/1)
2001-09-11 08:58:13 showing 10 stories from top of bldg...news helo says plane may have gone all the way through –Jack
2001-09-11 08:58:16 World Trade Center- report of explosion and/or fire. Will update as further info is recv'd. MTAPD Comm Ctr (1/1)
2001-09-11 08:58:31 flashnet@intelcenter.com|FlashNet Event|NYC, US: Plane crashes into World Trade Center Tower
2001-09-11 08:58:33 1968237@skytel.c|Mike Doug here. r u watching breaking news about plane crashing into wtc ny?
2001-09-11 08:58:33 PLS GIVE ME A CALL AS SOON AS YOU COME OUT OF THE TRAIN. -PRITI AT xxx-xxxx. URGENT.
2001-09-11 08:58:33 HUSBAND-THEY BELIEVE A PLANE HIT THE TOP OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN NEW YORK. IT'S REALLY BAD. LOV
2001-09-11 08:58:33 Initial reports indictate that AAL11, B767, after initial hijacking on flight from BOS-LAX, has crashed into the side of the World Trade Center in NY. ATCSCC/bl
2001-09-11 08:58:38 AGTTEAST@emc.fedex.com||A 737 AIRCRAFT JUST HIT A TOWER OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER...GARY 212-xxx-xxxx
2001-09-11 08:58:42 A PLANE JUST HIT 1 WORLD TRADE CTR. OSCAR
2001-09-11 08:58:42 Hi Jim there was a plane that crashed into the world trade center this morning!
2001-09-11 08:58:42 A PLANE CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CTR. GET TO A TV SO YOU CAN SEE THIS OR CALL ME. JULIE.
2001-09-11 08:58:44 MIKE, A PLANE IN JUST CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER.
2001-09-11 08:58:48 Skytel call Mark as soon as possible this is an emergency DO NOT GET ON THE PATH TRAIN...THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IS ON FIRE
2001-09-11 08:58:53 HEADS UP. PLANE CRASHED INTO WORLD TRADE CENTER. -ALLISON.
2001-09-11 08:59:03 bschork@xxxxx ||FYI: A plane crashed into the World Trade Center and the building is on fire.
2001-09-11 08:59:37  (1 of 2) BROADCAST: A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. Be prepared
2001-09-11 08:59:38 BREAKING NEWS, PLANE CRASHED INTO WORLD TRADE CENTER, CALL ME LATER. LOVE NANCY.
2001-09-11 08:59:40 A plane just crashed into the side of the World Trade Center on the 80th floor & it's still inside! I just saw live photos o
2001-09-11 08:59:42 a plane crashed into the WTC avoid the area if possible...stay safe...most important...I will take care of anything for you...just don't take chances. mw
2001-09-11 08:59:50 9/11/01 7:58:21 AM A plane has crashed into the WTC.. Looks like 2WTC not sure at this time.. We're monitoring TCAM, etc... Riep Dallas Data Center Operations
2001-09-11 08:59:59 OVER SOD POSSIBLE PLANE CRASH IN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER LEVEL 3 MOBILIZATION IN MANHATTAN. NFI 8:57:14 AM
2001-09-11 08:59:59 (1/1) CONFIRMED PLANE CRASH AT 2 WORLD TRADE CENTER. EMRP, 38ST, HAZMAT RESPONDING. // CC 595-6777
2001-09-11 09:00:05 9/11/2001 9:00:08 AM 0849 HRS. PLANE CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TRAINS ARE BY PASSING THE STATION 'N' 'R'
2001-09-11 09:00:05 (1/1) CONFIRMED PLANE CRASH AT 2 WORLD TRADE CENTER. EMRP, 38ST, HAZMAT RESPONDING. // CC 595-6777
2001-09-11 09:00:10 22-TURN ON THE NEW YORK RADIO STATION. A PLANE CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CTR. CALL SANDY AT WORK LATER.
2001-09-11 09:00:25 From: Ayanlar, Orhan (Exchange)- 737 crashes into world trade center.
2001-09-11 09:00:39 fyi..top of world trade center hit by plane...major damage and fire on upper floors.
2001-09-11 09:00:39 HI IT'S NANCY CALL ME 646 xxx-xxxx I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU'RE OK BECAUSE OF THE PLANE THAT HIT THE TWIN TOWERS. CALL ME PLEASE.
2001-09-11 09:00:46 tefarber@att.com|MAJOR OUTAGE|World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has crashed into tower. MARSH AND NYMEX IMPACTED
2001-09-11 09:00:54 CALL THE OFFICE OR COME DOWN TO THE OFFICE ASAP. WORLD TRADE CENTER ON FIRE. MESSAGE AS PER JEFF Sxxxx. SCOTT Kxxxxxx
2001-09-11 09:00:55 Airplane just crashed into the side of the World Trade Center -
2001-09-11 09:00:59 800-214-4071 Airplane Crashed into WTC1 pleasde call MRO
2001-09-11 09:01:01 Frm: Netdesk Sub: Txt: Black smoke pours from the top flours of NYC's World Trade Center tower. Initial reports that a plane crashed into the tower.
2001-09-11 09:01:31 HEY GIRL BEFORE YOU LEAVE TURN ON YOUR TV OR RADI0 FOR UPDATE REGUARDING A PLANE CRASHING INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN NEW YORK CYA WHEN YOU GET HERE MARKUS
2001-09-11 09:01:44 MR Rosenblut just called. He said there was and airplane crash at World Trade Center. It might affect us. He called
2001-09-11 09:01:44 800-214-4071 Airplane Crashed into WTC1 pleasde call MRO (16
2001-09-11 09:01:53 Plane crash into World Trade Center. All MTA PD midnight units being held over. MTAPD Comm Ctr (1/1)
2001-09-11 09:01:53 FYI: Avoid downtown - a plane just ran into one of the World Trade towers!!! It
2001-09-11 09:02:03 [NFC] [09/11/01-09:01:29] FYI - World Trade Center is in on fire, It appears
2001-09-11 09:02:31  Netdesk@nbc.com||NYC FIRE DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS A SMALL PLANE CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER THIS MORNING. BLACK SMOKE CONTINUES TO POUR FROM THE BUILDING. This is the north tower(with the antenna).
2001-09-11 09:02:31 BREAKING NEWS: PER OPB, IT APPEARS AA 757 HIJACKED AND RUN INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. THIS IS NOT A JOKE AND JUST BREAKING NEWS> RICK-Rick
2001-09-11 09:02:40 small plane crashed into the world trade center towers no request has been made for NJ EMS response DO NOT CALL REMCS unless emergency. From: REMCS Supv.
2001-09-11 09:03:03 From: HICKLEE - Info - An airplane just crashed into the top of the World Trade Center. Wonder what their DR plan is ?
2001-09-11 09:03:12 Frm: Mazzocchi Robert - GPB Sub: A 737 just hit the Txt: World Trade Center
2001-09-11 09:03:31 A commuter airplane has crashed into 85th floor of World Trade Center..Alicia
2001-09-11 09:03:46 PLEASE GIVE ARIEL A CALL 212-xxx-xxxx RE: CASUALTIES AT THE WORLD TRADR CTR AIRPLANE CRASH.
2001-09-11 09:04:01 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL HAS NOT GIVEN US ANY CONCRETE INFO.....INDICATED PSBL HI-JACK COM ACFT. JOE TURNER OCC DUTY DIRECTOR / 5-0000
2001-09-11 09:04:03 Netdesk@nbc.com||HUGE explosion just rocked the World Trade Center....the second tower is now on fire.
2001-09-11 09:04:20 another explosion in wtc!!!
2001-09-11 09:04:20 PLS CALL THE DESK ASAP. NEED YOU TO GO DOWN TO THE TRADE CENTER. CALL LAURA BEFORE YOU MOVE, 4114
2001-09-11 09:04:25 GPMS page from (bouvery): (Plane Crash) Finance Desk are contacting brokers (we deal with) at WTC for further confirmation of impact - support are on standy for increased calls - Danny
2001-09-11 09:04:25 :NASDGW1 is down, all internet users affected. Case Number:19501874
2001-09-11 09:04:25 martint: The fuselage of the plane at 1WTC has just caused a second explosion.
2001-09-11 09:04:37  Jennifer.Cxx@xxxxx||Small plane has crashed into top floors of one of WTC towers. A second plane has just hit the other tower.
2001-09-11 09:04:37 patty.txxxx@xxxx|Did you hear about the world trade center?|
2001-09-11 09:04:37 acaesar@xxxxxx||Hi. 2 planes have crashed into the World Trade Center NYC. (
2001-09-11 09:04:39 YOUR SISTER JOE SAW THE NEWS AND WANT TO KNOW IF YOU ARE OKAY. PLEASE CALL ME AT WORK AND LEAVE A MESSAGE IF I AM NOT AT MY DESK. 1 800 xxx xxxx EXTENSION 6184
2001-09-11 09:04:55 There may be two planes that crashed into them (sabatoge!!)JAN

Al Qaeda behind Mumbai attacks?

Post begun Wednesday, November 26 (read down for updates): I spent the day pleasantly, hanging out with my family and getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow. My father and I went over to Newton to buy the kosher Thanksgiving turkey (yum!). I plucked the remaining feathers tonight (kosher birds for some reason always have a few remaining feathers that have to be removed). I read most of a book that I bought at the SBL a couple of days ago - Amy-Jill Levine's A Misunderstood Jew, which is very interesting and well-written.

And then - at least a hundred people killed in terrorist attacks in Mumbai/Bombay today. One of the bloggers at TNR points out how these attacks were different from earlier ones in the city. They were aimed not at Hindus (which we would expect if this were part of ongoing Muslim-Hindu violence), but at foreigners - Americans, Britons, and Israelis (the Chabad House in Mumbai was attacked and some people were killed there - the local Chabad rabbi and his family have disappeared - this is at a place called Nariman House).

He speculates about the culprit in Bombay:

But these Bombay attacks are different. The targets are not obviously Hindu at all--they are the main tourist locations in the city, and they were after Americans, British and Israelis. They went after a building called Nariman House, where several Israeli and Jewish families live. It was international, not domestic considerations which seems to be have been driving them. Also they seem very well-resourced. Apparently they came into the city on boats, used hand grenades and automatic weapons. It suggest some sort of Al Qaeda connection.

The New York Times has very good coverage - one of their blogs has been updating all day. They pointed to an interesting phenomenon - how much the attacks are being reported by new social media such as Wikipedia (which has a page up on the attacks) and by Twitter - Mumbai.

Update: I'm watching CNN-IBN right now via the CNN site. They're live-streaming the CNN India affiliate. This technology continues to astonish me. The terrorists have not yet all been captured or killed. There is an ongoing hostage situation at the Nariman House, with a number of people being held hostage there. At another hotel (Oberoi), there are still terrorists holding hostages, and government forces are now attacking them. There are also terrorists holed up in the Taj Hotel, which is on fire. There was another hostage situation at Cama Hospital. Some high anti-terrorist officials have been killed (one of the attacks was on a police station).

Now, a live interview with L. H. Advani (leader of the parliamentary opposition in India). First he spoke in English, now in Hindi I would guess. Advani said that this terrorist attack must have been planned for months.

Now reporting - terrorists came into Mumbai by boat, hijacked police vans.

Update: CNN-IBN is reporting that three people have managed to escape from Nariman House, two Israelis (mother and child), one Indian. Two or three of the floors of the house are rented by Israelis, others rented by Indians.

Another update (November 28): Nariman House has been stormed and there has been fighting there for over 12 hours. 5 bodies were found, and Haaretz has identified two of them as belonging to Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivkia. "The couple ran the Chabad's local headquarters, which was one of 10 sites attacked. The Holtzberg's toddler son, Moshe, was smuggled out of the center by an employee, and is now with his grandparents. Representatives from the Israeli embassy and ZAKA rescue service personnel began the process of identifying the victims of the terrorist attack on the Chabad center in Mumbai."

(By the way, the Wall Street Journal for today has some very interesting articles on the businesses likely to be affected by the attacks - the articles really detail well for the uninformed, like myself, how much Mumbai is an international commercial center).

I've been reading a number of websites discussing who might have launched these attacks - the group that claimed responsibility for these attacks, calling itself "Deccan Mujahadeen," a group called the Indian Mujahadeen, who have claimed responsibility for earlier terrorist attacks this year in India; a couple of Pakistan based terrorist groups that were organized about twenty years ago to fight against the Indian presence in Kashmir (Laskhar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed) - or a combination of the above. Most of the sites I've read argue that Deccan Mujahadeen is just a name, not an actual group.

But if the terrorists are just an Indian group, or a mixed group of Pakistani/Indian terrorists, organized with local aims (to destabilize the Indian government; to disrupt peace talks between India and Pakistan; to highlight the complaints of Indian Muslims), then why aim at foreigners? Previous attacks have targeted Indians. It's the international connection that makes me think of Al Qaeda involvement. The attack on the Jewish center especially makes me think of Al Qaeda. As someone commented on Harry's Place - if the goal was to strike at Israel or Israelis, then the Israeli consulate would have been a target, or an El Al office. But instead a specific Jewish center was chosen.

I think that people have largely forgotten that after the 9/11/01 attacks, there were a number of Al Qaeda attacks directly targeting Jews in various countries. The one I specifically remember is an attack on the synagogue on the island of Djerba, Tunisia, which actually killed a large group of visiting tourists. Another occurred on November 15, 2003, in Istanbul - attacking two synagogues, Bet Israel and Neve Shalom.

But another question is - why the Chabad center in particular? There are Jews living in Mumbai, both Baghdadis and Bene Israel. Their synagogues were not attacked.

Chabad is an international organization, with its headquarters in Brooklyn. It's much better known than the Bene Israel or Baghdadi Jewish communities. I suspect that it was chosen, instead of those two Indian Jewish groups, because it was so well known and has an international presence. Attacking Chabad could be seen as an attack on Jews everywhere. This would be another reason to suspect Al Qaeda involvement.

Who could be behind the Mumbai attacks and why?

An interesting Reuters article on who could be behind the Mumbai attacks and why?. One interesting point made in the article:

The Mumbai attacks appear to have been carefully coordinated, well-planned and involved a large number of attackers. A high level of sophistication has also been a hallmark of previous attacks by the Indian Mujahideen.

The Mumbai attacks also focused clearly on tourist targets, including two luxury hotels and a famous cafe....

The tactics -- a military-style assault on soft targets, singling out foreigners, and taking hostages -- are rare and do not fit the usual methods of militant attacks on civilian areas.

However, similar attacks have been carried out before, notably the May 2004 attacks in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar. Gunmen attacked two oil industry installations and a foreign workers' housing complex in the city, taking more than 50 hostages and killing 22 of them. The attackers asked hostages whether they were Christian or Muslim before deciding whom to kill.