Feelings of anger and retaliation are just some of the sentiments being expressed by American citizens in response to the plane crashes into New York's  World Trade Center and the Pentagon earlier today. As the World Trade center crumpled, many questions surfaced, particularly as to who was responsible.

Several pro-Islamic and pro-Palestinian groups immediately denied any involvement in Tuesday's attack.
Among them were Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

From the beginning, suspicions pointed to Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden, who reportedly had issued numerous threats that he would be attacking American interests. An Arab journalist reported from the London based al-Qudsal-Arabi newspaper that Bin Laden warned three weeks ago that he would attack America in an unprecedented fashion. By Tuesday evening, MSNBC's website was carrying a story, citing a high-level US intelligence official, that named Bin Laden as the prime suspect.

Such brazen and massive acts of destruction would require a substantial amount of financial resources and planning. From the number of followers at his disposal, to his enormous finances, many think bin Laden might possess the means carry out such an attack. A multi-millionaire, Laden is also a legend in the Arab world. He organized thousands of followers in his early years who joined him in his fight against the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1980. Bin Laden has trained fighters worldwide for Middle Eastern conflicts. He has issued fatwas (decrees) in the past declaring war on the U.S. and Israel.

Bin Laden also is highly respected among the Taliban, Afghanistan's ruling party. The Taliban's leaders, however, were quick to condemn Tuesday's attack. Afghanistans ambassador to Pakistan issued a statement to the U.S. in which he expressed that, "Afghanistan feels your pain." He hoped for justice from courts in the matter, and expressed sorrow for the children of America. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat also condemned the attacks after an anonymous call from an Abu Dhabi television station claimed the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine was responsible. A spokesman for the DFLP quickly denied the caller's claim, according to a story posted on the Reuters website.

©2001 by Idris Ali and Javier Abreu

Idris Ali is a senior journalism major at The College of New Jersey. Javier Abreu is a junior journalism major at The College of New Jersey.

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