Publisher's Synopsis
It is now more than four years since the 9/11 attacks. But the collapsing towers, the
smouldering Pentagon, the round bland face of
Mohammed Atta still have an intense
immediacy. Most people will always remember
where they were when the news came through. If
some of the details have faded, the mantra 'the
world has changed' seems as relevant as ever.
The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 11 September 2001
had an immense impact on global history.
A retaliatory strike against the Taliban has
mutated into an open-ended campaign to
transform the Middle East. An unpopular
president with a doubtful mandate has been
able to make far-reaching changes to the
US constitution and oversee a massive
transfer of wealth to the rich.
None of this would have been possible
without the 9/11 attacks, yet the events of
the day and the period directly prior to the
attacks are filled with unanswered questions.
Why did the US government pay so little
attention to the urgent warnings from
friendly intelligence agencies about an
impending attack? Why was a range of
evidence seized by Federal agencies and
never made public? How were they
funded? Why was the FBI not able to
connect field reports of highly suspicious
behaviour at flight schools with warnings
of imminent hijackings and possible
suicide attacks?
And on the day itself, why did US air
defence break down so catastrophically?
What really happened at the WTC and at
the Pentagon? How much of the official
story bears up to detailed scrutiny?
In this the first, illustrated examination of
the 9/11 attacks since the publication of
the Kean Report, Morgan and Henshall
present a shocking and persuasive new
take on the day that became a turning
point in history.