ashurbanipal

I think that absolutely Bin Laden and Al Qaeda don't particularly like America. I think Bin Laden was offered a chance by conspirators on the inside to perpetrate a massive terrorist attack, and he took it. Interestingly, the conspirators and Bin Laden both want the same thing but believe in two diametrically opposed results. Both want war in the Middle East. Bin Laden thinks it will galvanize the Muslim world against both America and Israel. The conspirators think we'll end up owning the Middle East, which is the only way to continue to control the world. Both sides think they'll win that war. It remains to be seen who comes closer to being correct.

So the answer, IMO, is much more complex than most people think. Did Al Qaeda commit 911? Yes, they did--and Bin Laden probably believes he was the mastermind, the one who carefully manipulated a few insiders to carry out his jihad. Did conspirators carry out 911? Yes, they did--and they probably believe they've played Bin Laden for the scapegoat while they were the prime movers of the crime. In truth, they're both half-right. From Bin Laden's point of view, he takes too much credit for what happened; 911 could never have been done without inside help. We've lost a bunch of freedom and our society has greatly changed, but it hasn't all been the demoralizing time Bin Laden thought it would be.

On the other hand, the conspirators were probably not counting on how much currency this would purchase Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. A formerly splintered terrorist world is now united, and Al Qaeda is growing stronger. It may actually be possible for them to carry out a terrorist attack in America without inside help now, and that scares the living bejesus out of anyone who set Bin Laden loose. Nor were they counting on so many people questioning the official version of 911. Not that we've had that much impact, but I'm sure they'd rather everyone believe their version.

One thing I caution anyone thinking about conspiracies to not do is attribute unreasonable power to the conspirators. It's never the case that conspiracies are carried out by large groups of people, or that those people are in control of everything. They always risk getting caught or failing in their objectives.

Before anyone jumps my case, I admit that this is complete speculation on my part. However, given that there was an inside conspiracy, I think this scenario makes the most sense.