# Did Larry Silverstein know about 9/11? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 5, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340 "2015-07-05T20:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bombthefeds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bombthefeds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bombthefeds)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/1 "2015-07-05T20:17:23Z")
I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. Anyway, I found a pretty complete theory that ties the whole thing together. This guy seems to think most the official story is legit except building 7 and he makes some connections off that. > [@](#): > > **Did Larry Silverstein know about 9/11?** > > As stated previously, the good Illuminati do not know the full extent of the evil Illuminati’s involvement in 9/11. However, Larry Silverstein is highly suspect and almost certainly had foreknowledge of 9/11. > > This is for a few reasons: > [ol] > [li]He bought the World Trade Center complex less than 2 months before 9/11[/li][li]He normally would spend his mornings on the top floor of WTC 1 meeting his tenants, however on 9/11 he just happened to have a dermatologist appointment scheduled at the time the towers were hit[/li][li]He tried to collect double his insurance policy which would have allowed him to make a 4 billion dollar profit off his investment, but he lost this effort in court[/li][li]WTC 7 which he built and had owned since 1980, collapsed explainably in controlled demolition style[/li][li]WTC 7 was the only building outside of the World Trade Center block to collapse, and it happened to be the only building outside of this block that he owned[/li][/ol] > It is also certain that if he had foreknowledge than there were other evil Illuminati who did so as well. > > The other main suspects are: > [ul] > [li]George Bush - who sat blankly in a kindergarden classroom for 7 minutes after receiving news that the second World Trade Center tower had been hit[/li][li]Dick Cheney - who was running a war game with the air force that morning which created a lot of confusion when the military was trying to shoot down the plane that went on to hit the Pentagon and United Flight 93[/li][li]Donald Rumsfeld - who announced the day before 9/11 that over 2 trillion dollars of military spending is unaccounted for[/li][li]Louie Freeh - who was director of F.B.I. until June 2001[/li][/ul] > > Cheney and Rumsfeld belonged to an evil Illuminati intellectual circle called the Neoconservatives. They had created a master plan in the late 90′s to Americanize the Middle East by instigating the conditions that would allow for the stability of an American friendly democracy among rest of the Islamic world. Their thinking was similar to that of the Cold War international policy, which is that culture spreads and so if one country became an American friendly democracy, other neighboring countries would adopt similar forms of government. > > The country they choose as the ideal starting point for this movement was Iraq. > It should come as no surprise them that these individuals along with the rest of the Bush administration began pushing for an invasion for Iraq within months of 9/11 and spent over a year building one of the most elaborate propaganda campaigns in American history to finally launch a military campaign in early 2003. > > This however does not indicate that there was any collusion or ties between the Jihadists which carried out 9/11 and the above individuals. All that is suspected is that they had foreknowledge that they would carryout the attacks on the specific date and use their power over the military to greatly increase the chances this attacks success. It is believed that they, independent of the Jihadists, rigged WTC 7 to collapse. > Similar claims have been made regarding Franklin D. Roosevelt and the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, in that case, if the government looked the other way, it was for the good of the world as the United States needed a reason to enter WWII and had they not found that reason early enough, the outcome of that war may have been much different. > > 9/11 was not exploited for such noble purposes, and exploited it was indeed regardless of whether the claims of suspected foreknowledge are true. via [http://whatistheilluminati.tumblr.com/post/123130241714/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11](http://whatistheilluminati.tumblr.com/post/123130241714/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/2 "2015-07-05T20:18:54Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think **we can all agree** WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted.[URL=“[http://whatistheilluminati.tumblr.com/post/123130241714/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11](http://whatistheilluminati.tumblr.com/post/123130241714/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11)”] And he loses it in the first turn… ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/3 "2015-07-05T20:20:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And he loses it in the first turn… Yep. I’m surprised the user name got past the filters, too. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/4 "2015-07-05T20:28:50Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. No. We can’t. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/5 "2015-07-05T20:48:17Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. Nope. I believe the official story. WTC 7 was hit by debris when the North Tower collapsed and the sprinkler systems were inadequate to fight the resulting fires. I don’t think anyone here agrees with you. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/6 "2015-07-05T20:52:47Z")
Maybe the “truth” is that the Port Authority planned to blow up 7 for the insurance money, and picked a really, really, really bad day to try it. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/7 "2015-07-05T21:18:17Z")
I do love the fact that the super secret conspiratorial illuminati are now divided into subgroups. The conspiracy of the evil illuminati is now nested inside the conspiracy of the good illuminati who are unaware of what’s really happening. An uber-powerful, shadowy conspiracy is not enough by itself to explain reality There’s a conspiracy inside their group that’s co-opted the others. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/8 "2015-07-05T21:53:38Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > I do love the fact that the super secret conspiratorial illuminati are now divided into subgroups. The conspiracy of the evil illuminati is now nested inside the conspiracy of the good illuminati who are unaware of what’s really happening. An uber-powerful, shadowy conspiracy is not enough by itself to explain reality There’s a conspiracy inside their group that’s co-opted the others. That’s kind of implicit in the whole notion, actually. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/9 "2015-07-05T22:24:34Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. No, as all others point out, we do not agree with you. [http://debunking911.com/pull.htm](http://debunking911.com/pull.htm) > [@](#): > > That report should explain the cause and mechanics of the collapse in great detail. Early on the afternoon of September 11th 2001, following the collapse of WTC 1 & 2, I feared a collapse of WTC 7 (as did many on my staff). > > The reasons are as follows: > > 1 - Although prior to that day high-rise structures had never collapsed, The collapse of WTC 1 & 2 showed that certain high-rise structures subjected to damage from impact and from fire will collapse. > > 1. The collapse of WTC 1 damaged portions of the lower floors of WTC 7. > > 2. WTC 7, we knew, was built on a small number of large columns providing an open Atrium on the lower levels. > > 3. numerous fires on many floors of WTC 7 burned without sufficient water supply to attack them. > > For these reasons I made the decision (without consulting the owner, the mayor or anyone else - as ranking fire officer, that decision was my responsibility) to clear a collapse zone surrounding the building and to stop all activity within that zone. Approximately three hours after that order was given, WTC 7 collapsed. > > Conspiracy theories abound and I believe firmly that all of them are without merit. > > Regards, Dan Nigro > Chief of Department FDNY (retired) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/10 "2015-07-05T22:25:45Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. I think you’ve misread the character of this message board. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/11 "2015-07-05T22:34:53Z")
> [@](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. 😛 Nope…we can’t. I don’t believe that the WTC 7 collapse was suspicious, and I don’t believe that the ‘official story’ ‘leaves something to be wanted’ except I wish Loose Change/Truther and 9/11 CT types would stop bringing it up only to be slapped down and run away. > [@](#): > > Anyway, I found a pretty complete theory that ties the whole thing together. This guy seems to think most the official story is legit except building 7 and he makes some connections off that. Same old same old, though I have to admit that this part is pretty amusing: > [@](#): > > Cheney and Rumsfeld belonged to an evil Illuminati intellectual circle called the Neoconservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/12 "2015-07-05T22:41:10Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And he loses it in the first turn… That’s as far as I got too. Better luck next time, OP. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/13 "2015-07-05T22:43:28Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I’m surprised the user name got past the filters, too. But without it, we wouldn’t have all this delicious irony! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/14 "2015-07-05T22:55:00Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. Since no one else has pointed this out yet… No, we can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/15 "2015-07-05T23:02:22Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. Why is it so hard for you to accept the idea that fires that burn for hours and are completely unfought will result in structural failure of a steel framed building? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/16 "2015-07-05T23:44:13Z")
As for the other claims from the OP: > **[9/11](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/9-11_conspiracy_theories)** > > On September 11, 2001, the Islamist terrorist organization al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, executed a plan in which a group of nineteen men,\[note 1\] mainly from Saudi Arabia, hijacked four passenger airplanes to crash two into the Twin Towers of... > [@](#): > > Larry Silverstein was not in the Twin Towers on 9/11 > > _Larry Silverstein (the new leaseholder for the WTC) had been going to the Twin Towers “Windows on the World” restaurant (there were no survivors on this level) to dine and meet with his new tenants; he had been doing this straight since July 26, 2001. But on 9/11 he didn’t go because he claimed his wife made a dermatologist appointment for him.[1] Many truthers also point out that in the interview which he is asked where he was on 9/11 he appears to be showing signs of lying.[2]_ > > Rebuttal: It is very likely he was indeed simply going to a dermatologist appointment. Out of the thousands of people who worked at the site during the day, many dozens at any one time would have been on holiday, off sick or simply slacking on September 11th (a good half dozen well-known celebrities were involved in and avoided a potential end in the attacks[3]). That one of these happened to be the owner isn’t remarkable. There are plenty of important traders who did die in the attack — by the logic that one escaped suggests a conspiracy, the fact that many died should discredit it, right? > > Also going against the idea of advanced-knowledge is that Neil D. Levin, the head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (which presumably would be “in on” any conspiracy), was killed on 9/11-while dining in Windows on the World, no less.[4] If there was advance knowledge, why was Silverstein informed while Levin wasn’t? > > Silverstein’s insurance “scam” > \* > It’s been repeatedly reported that Larry Silverstein had insured the Twin Towers a year earlier, and it is more than “coincidental” that this insurance covered terrorist attacks. Further, Silverstein had numerous legal disputes that aimed to increase the payout by arguing that there were two separate attacks. To a first approximation, this was successful and Silverstein managed to claim approximately $4.6 billion.\* > > Rebuttal: What conspiracy theorists don’t mention about this is that the total cost of the towers was significantly in excess of this — the insurance value was way below what it should have been. Most of the legal wrangling after the fact was also due to the insurance contracts being incomplete. The total cost of the attack would be in the region of $7 billion or more, leaving a considerable cost once the relatively measly insurance payout was claimed. With too low an insurance value and less-than-solid contracts, literally none of the insurance-based activities seem to point to the actions of people who knew exactly what was going to happen in advance. If it was an insurance scam, it was the worst ever.[5] > > We’ve already noted that the World Trade Center had already been bombed once before in 1993, and that several major terror plots against U.S. landmarks had been uncovered since then. In light of this, an anti-terrorism insurance policy would appear to be an entirely logical purchase. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/17 "2015-07-05T23:44:22Z")
What always surprises me about the Evil Illuminati is how powerful and efficient they are at manipulating events with such precision on a massive, often global scale (e.g. destroying one or more buildings by demolition without anybody noticing or talking about it to allow for the invasion of two countries) but somehow are stymied by the Internet blogger. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/18 "2015-07-06T00:01:06Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > This guy seems to think most the official story is legit except building 7 and he makes some connections off that. So let me get this straight. This guy believes most of the official story is true: that a terrorist organization hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. But he thinks that Tower 7 was blown up separately in an insurance scam. That coincidentally happened to have gone off on the same day that an unrelated terrorist attack was made on the rest of the WTC complex. And the guy that was behind this multi-billion dollar insurance scam pulled this whole thing off without a hitch except for one detail - he neglected to sign an insurance policy that would pay him for the building’s destruction. You call this “a pretty complete theory that ties the whole thing together”? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/19 "2015-07-06T00:02:06Z")
> [@bombthefeds](#): > > I think we can all agree WTC 7 was suspicious and the official story leaves something to be wanted. There is no official story. There are two competing accounts: [ol][li]The report of a scientific investigation, which is what you are discounting.[/li][li]Pure and utter BS posted by you and others who have absolutely no idea of how science, physics, reality, or anything else really works.[/ol][/li] > [@](#): > > Anyway, I found a pretty complete theory that ties the whole thing together. This guy seems to think most the official story is legit except building 7 and he makes some connections off that. > > via [http://whatistheilluminati.tumblr.com/post/123130241714/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11](http://whatistheilluminati.tumblr.com/post/123130241714/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11) And, of course, you launch into what can best be described as hallucinations. Why is it you CTers always–and I mean always without fail–launch into anti-Semitic stuff? Just grow a pair and say you hate Jews. Silverstein’s Jewish so he must be at fault, right? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340/20 "2015-07-06T02:23:13Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Why is it you CTers always–and I mean always without fail–launch into anti-Semitic stuff? Because it’s **traditional.** Be patient, **Monty** – the Jews are centuries ahead of you in this regard, but the Mormons’ time will come! 🙂 Is not the recent history of the Romney campaign enough to give you hope?! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-larry-silverstein-know-about-9-11/724340.md?page=2)