Information AgeWar & Conflict
September 11 attacks
2001Turning pointContested
Al-Qaeda hijackers kill nearly 3,000 people, launching the War on Terror.
Contested history
Consensus: Nineteen al-Qaeda hijackers attacked the U.S., killing nearly 3,000 people.
Al-Qaeda planned and carried out the attacksEstablished
Documented by the 9/11 Commission; Osama bin Laden admitted responsibility.
Intelligence agencies missed warning signsEstablished
The Commission documented failures to share information.
Saudi government support for some hijackersDebated by scholars
The declassified '28 pages' and later FBI files raised questions; no official finding of Saudi government direction.
Controlled demolition of the towersDebunked
NIST and independent engineers explain the collapses through impact damage and fire.
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