# Did the date 9-11 have some significance for the terrorists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 11, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790 "2010-12-11T16:19:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/41 "2010-12-13T10:38:37Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Well, it was election day in much of America, and these terrorists came from countries that don’t have free & open elections. And their fundamentalist ideology blindly following religious leaders rather than electing leaders. So possibly trying to taint election days was part of their intention. ? Mostly elections are run in November, not September [at least around where I live] MAinly because that gives the election committee until the 30 to count all the votes or handle any questions about the election, and then a month to organize the change over to start the new term at the new year. Even our presidential elections are like that, with the inauguration being typically the second week in January. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/42 "2010-12-13T11:26:02Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > ? Mostly elections are run in November, not September [at least around where I live] MAinly because that gives the election committee until the 30 to count all the votes or handle any questions about the election, and then a month to organize the change over to start the new term at the new year. Even our presidential elections are like that, with the inauguration being typically the second week in January. September 11, 2001 was _primary_ election day in New York City. The general election was the following November. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/43 "2010-12-13T13:37:09Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Unlikely. After all theologically speaking, the Great Satan and everyone else can only act with the will of God. Well then, what are they complaining about? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/44 "2010-12-13T16:15:22Z")
They, like most fanatics, know how the world should be even better than God does. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/45 "2010-12-13T16:47:29Z")
At the time of the attacks, I read speculation in the press that two people were scheduled to be tried for terrorism and the attacks were timed based on their court date, but I don’t see anything like that in my perusal of the [9/11 Commission Report](http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/fullreport.pdf). The report does have this to say however: > [@](#): > > Bin Ladin’s consistent priority was to launch a major attack directly against > the United States. He wanted the planes operation to proceed as soon as pos > sible. Mihdhar reportedly told his cousin during the summer of 2001 that Bin > Ladin was reputed to have remarked,“I will make it happen even if I do it by > myself.”176 > > According to KSM, Bin Ladin had been urging him to advance the date of > the attacks. In 2000, for instance, KSM remembers Bin Ladin pushing him to > launch the attacks amid the controversy after then-Israeli opposition party > leader Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. KSM claims Bin > Ladin told him it would be enough for the hijackers simply to down planes > rather than crash them into specific targets.KSM says he resisted the pressure.177 > > KSM claims to have faced similar pressure twice more in 2001.According > to him, Bin Ladin wanted the operation carried out on May 12, 2001, seven > months to the day after the Cole bombing. KSM adds that the 9/11 attacks had > originally been envisioned for May 2001. The second time he was urged to > launch the attacks early was in June or July 2001, supposedly after Bin Ladin > learned from the media that Sharon would be visiting the White House. On > both occasions KSM resisted, asserting that the hijacking teams were not ready. > Bin Ladin pressed particularly strongly for the latter date in two letters stress > ing the need to attack early.The second letter reportedly was delivered by Bin > Ladin’s son-in-law,Aws al Madani.178 > > Other evidence corroborates KSM’s account. For instance, Mihdhar told > his cousin that the attacks were to happen in May, but were postponed twice, > first to July, then to September.Moreover, one candidate hijacker remembers > a general warning being issued in the al Qaeda camps in July or early August, > just like the warnings issued two weeks before the Cole bombing and ten days > before the eventual 9/11 attacks. During the midsummer alert, al Qaeda > members dispersed with their families, security was increased, and Bin Ladin > disappeared for about 30 days, until the alert was canceled.179 That seems to indicate that the attackers were flexible about the timing of the attack, which would mean they did not attach special importance to the date. ---
**Author:** ![Themenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Themenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themenin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/46 "2010-12-13T23:10:32Z")
Genesis 11 9 of course - Babylon strikes back. OK, maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/47 "2010-12-14T00:23:12Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Right - why is that “9/11” became the reference for this tragedy, and not, say, “The Twin Towers”? After all, we don’t refer to “12/7”; it’s “Pearl Harbour.” > > You can’t predict in advance what will become the common reference to a major event. Well in the UK they talk about 7/7. I’m really struggling to find any significance in the number 77. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/48 "2010-12-14T04:35:56Z")
I read that the hijackers went through lots of meetingsand some spent a lot of time in America. The Al Qeada organizers were just trying to get it done as soon as they could convince the hijackers to do it. For obvious reasons, the hijackers were a bit reluctant. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/49 "2010-12-14T04:59:09Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The Al Qeada organizers were just trying to get it done as soon as they could convince the hijackers to do it. For obvious reasons, the hijackers were a bit reluctant. They wanted to wait until Blues Brothers 2000 (deluxe edition) was released on DVD? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/50 "2010-12-14T19:30:43Z")
The hijackers had to know that our emergency telehone number is 911. It may just be a coincidence, but it had to occur to them. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/51 "2010-12-14T20:21:40Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The hijackers had to know that our emergency telehone number is 911. It may just be a coincidence, but it had to occur to them. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/52 "2010-12-14T20:38:09Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > They wanted to wait until Blues Brothers 2000 (deluxe edition) was released on DVD? After seeing that, I suspect that they would have been even _more_ willing to hijack the planes. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/53 "2010-12-14T21:38:51Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I was working at a newspaper, and in the chaos that ensued in our scrambling to put out an extra edition, something that hadn’t happened since Kennedy’s assassination, many of us were assigned to alternate jobs, union rules be damned (as they should have been). I was seated near one of the newsroom secretaries who became increasingly hysterical as she kept answering calls from the public and telling them that it was true, not a “War of the Worlds”-type hoax, and after an hour or so she had an epic freakout, shrieking “It’s Nine-Eleven! Don’t you get it? They did it today because it’s Nine-Eleven! It’s an Emergency! It’s an Emergency! Because it’s Nine-Eleven!” She was sent home. I hear this from time to time and it makes no sense to me. Nobody I know has ever said “nine-eleven” for 911, before or after 11-Sep-2001 - it’s pronounced nine-one-one, just like you call four-one-one for information. “Nine-eleven” sounds like a date, a time or maybe a cash register total plus tax that annoyingly results in you getting four pennies back. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/54 "2010-12-15T01:26:20Z")
Just want to throw this out there: according to the hejira/Islamic calendar, 9/11/2001 was 6/22/1422. It’s just as likely they chose the date based on the Islamic calendar as the Gregorian calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/55 "2010-12-15T14:17:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The hijackers had to know that our emergency telehone number is 911. It may just be a coincidence, but it had to occur to them. > [@amanset](#): > > Why? Because it would be impossible for anyone living in this country longer than a year (or a week) not to. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/56 "2010-12-16T00:38:55Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Because it would be impossible for anyone living in this country longer than a year (or a week) not to. Not that they didn’t know what the number is, but why did it have to occur to them about the date? It may have, but I just cannot agree with ‘had to’, which is pretty much where people are disagreeing here. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/57 "2010-12-16T01:01:14Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > That doesn’t really roll off the tongue. It sounds better in Arabic. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/58 "2010-12-16T09:51:22Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Because it would be impossible for anyone living in this country longer than a year (or a week) not to. I’ve lived in the US for five years and I don’t think of dates in any of my languages as “9-11”; it’s September 11 or 11 de Septiembre or 11 de Septembre. The order thing is one of the reasons I don’t like dates given as two numbers, but mostly it’s that I’m only used to seeing all-numbers when it’s a complete date (and my current employers uses the 8 figures format, and after 8 months it still looks funky; the old Spanish standard for full dates in figures was dd-mm-yyyy, the one used in this company is yyyymmdd and people get it wrong all over the place). Call me Mz Impossible! ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/59 "2010-12-16T10:55:39Z")
Aren’t there any Dopers who are also Al Queda members who could clear this question up for us? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790/60 "2010-12-16T16:40:18Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > the one used in this company is yyyymmdd Blame computers for that (sorta, anyway). That format is the only way to get file names to sort by date when your sorting is set to “sort by name”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-date-9-11-have-some-significance-for-the-terrorists/563790.md?page=4)