# Have the Israelis figured it out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 13, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266 "2001-09-13T04:29:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/1 "2001-09-13T04:29:37Z")
Their intelligence in the Mideast is much better than ours… [http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking\_1.html](http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_1.html) ---
**Author:** ![hansel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@hansel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansel)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/2 "2001-09-13T04:42:06Z")
Note that the Israeli report said that the attack was too big to be the work of even a coalition of terrorists, and that “the most likely” financier was Iraq. The report is based on deduction and supposition, not evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/3 "2001-09-13T04:45:49Z")
I question the legitimacy of this newspaper’s source. ---
**Author:** ![Lightkeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lightkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/4 "2001-09-13T05:02:59Z")
This is highly unlikely. The Iraqi regime has actually been anti-fundamentalist; in fact, their war with Iran was supposedly to protect the Gulf from Iran-style Islamic revolutions. It’s highly unlikely that they would be involved since they, themselves, seem threatened by terrorist and funamentalist movements. Saddam Hussein is looking for continuing his rule, while the funamentalists are looking for a revolution to take over the governement of any country in the Middle East. It’s interesting to note that Iran also vehemently condemned the attacks and expressed willingness to “combat terrorism”. The Iranian-style Islamic government model is very diffirent from the one in Afghanistan, and actually feels threatened by any credibliity given to the latter. Just two years earlier there were border clashes after the Taleban detained a group of Irani diplomats. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/5 "2001-09-13T05:23:16Z")
Lightkeeper- What are your sources for this information? You speak as if this is absolute fact, yet you provide no resources. ---
**Author:** ![Lightkeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lightkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/6 "2001-09-13T05:37:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by leander \* > \*\*Lightkeeper- > > What are your sources for this information? You speak as if this is absolute fact, yet you provide no resources. \*\* Sorry for my negligence, leander! Bear with me, because my sources are mainly in Arabic (yes, I know Arabic). My sources have been Arabian news sites (including [http://www.Aljazeera.com](http://www.Aljazeera.com) and [http://www.alkhaleej.co.ae](http://www.alkhaleej.co.ae)). I’ll try to translate the text and post it here. ---
**Author:** ![Lightkeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lightkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/7 "2001-09-13T05:37:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by leander \* > \*\*Lightkeeper- > > What are your sources for this information? You speak as if this is absolute fact, yet you provide no resources. \*\* Sorry for my negligence, leander! Bear with me, because my sources are mainly in Arabic (yes, I know Arabic). My sources have been Arabian news sites (including [http://www.Aljazeera.com](http://www.Aljazeera.com) and [http://www.alkhaleej.co.ae](http://www.alkhaleej.co.ae)). I’ll try to translate the text and post it here. ---
**Author:** ![Lightkeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lightkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/8 "2001-09-13T05:48:58Z")
leander, here’s one: Link: [http://www.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2001/9/9-1-14.htm](http://www.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2001/9/9-1-14.htm) (Sorry, it’s in Arabic) Title: Khatami criticizes conservatives praising the Taliban … Spiritual leader Qurban Ali Darri Abadi had said during a religious sermon: “The Taliban, whom we continuously curse, have succesfully guaranteed security for their people.” Following, Khatami severely criticized Abadi … “The likes of those who have mentioned the Taliban have insulted their position and the soul of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, and their stand is unacceptible.” Khatami continued, “We did not choose the security that the Taliban had chosen, and we didn’t choose the Islam that the Taliban had chosen.” (Khatami is the Irani president, re-elected in this year’s elections). ---
**Author:** ![Hiyruu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hiyruu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiyruu)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-israelis-figured-it-out/81266/9 "2001-09-13T05:59:03Z")
Iraq is definetley a possibility. Right now BinLaden has become the metaphor of terrorism, without conclusive evidence, and arab-americans are persecuted as a result.