>>2363306even IF there was no at the very least collusion between bush admin/CIA/al qaeda, even IF al qaeda carried it out independently by exploiting gaps in US intelligence & security – there was no reason whatsover that invading iraq or afghanistan, or any state, let alone both, would be a logical conclusion, let alone inevitable. it does not and never has made any sense. the 2 countries where most involved came from were saudi and pakistan, 2 countries with deep intelligence and military ties to the US (pakistan less so in 2001 than previously but then much moreso than today).
if the US was caught off guard, the logical first step would be a full audit and review of every instance of cooperation between the US & these countries, and playing diplomatic hardball insisting on transparency and cooperation with sanctions and trade renegotiation as an ultimatem. and immediately following 9/11 there was immense internatinal sympathy and concern, there would be true international pressure, the UN would cooperated and signed off on it.
the bush admins behavior following 9/11 was at BEST psychotic, counterproductive, and delusional. it is so straightforwardly stupid, if the reasoning was genuinely a response to al-qaeda terror, that even in the absence of knowing whether it was in fact a false-flag, i cannot imagine looking at that and not seeing that at the VERY least they used it as a flimsy excuse for preexisting imperial ambitions & domestic crackdown