It is probably one of the most horrendous and heart-wrenching scene ever to be caught on video. No matter how desensitized we may have become because of news on the on-going struggles in Iraq and other events considered to be aftermaths of this scene, watching it unfold once more before our very eyes will never fail to elicit a tear drop from at least some of us.

Who could ever forget the fall of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001? Who would ever forget these scenes of thick smoke coming from the upper levels of the North Tower, of people jumping to their deaths, of a second airplane diving and crashing into the South Tower, of the eventual collapse of these two skyscrapers that have once been landmarks in the New York City skyline?

The collapse of the World Trade Center never fails to strike an emotional note in most of us. Some of us have family members, friends and loved ones who died in that tragedy. Some of us are still coping with the mind-blowing loss that tragedy brought. Many of us, who have not lost anyone precious to them when the Twin Towers fell, are simply bewildered and horrified, with our sense of what is right rattled by the very reality that the Twin Towers has indeed fallen.

Why did the Twin Towers fall? The official account held to by the government of the United States is that 19 terrorists deployed by the al-Qaeda terrorist group have infiltrated United States soil and got into four commercial airplanes on that fateful day, two from United Airlines and two from American Airlines. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed on the North Tower, followed by the United Airlines flight 175 on the South Tower. The other American Airlines aircraft, Flight 77, dived for the Pentagon and caused five floors of the edifice to collapse, while the other United Airlines plane, Flight 93, fell in Pennsylvania, allegedly on its way to Washington, D.C.

That is the official account. However, there are many parties that find this explanation thoroughly unpalatable. Not surprisingly, many conspiracy theories have sprung up, offering alterative scenarios as to what really happened to the Twin Towers. These conspiracy theorists have claimed that al-Qaeda is not to blame for the fall of the World Trade Center, but rather it was an elaborately engineered plan set up by the United States government to win public support in their envisioned War on Terror.

What evidence do these conspiracy theorists have at hand? Many claim that there were intelligence reports submitted to the government relaying of a plan to strike at the World Trade Center months before it actually happened. These reports were purportedly ignored. Another piece of evidence that conspiracy theorists have pointed to is the behavior displayed by President George W. Bush when he found out about the explosions at the World Trade Center. He was too calm, they said, and the calmness is a mark of a supposed fact that he knew about the attack beforehand. Another body of evidence is the pockets of dust and explosions on the body of the Twin Towers below the impact point, suggesting that explosives have been planted beforehand to make these buildings collapse.

Regardless of how colorful conspiracy theories may sound, one cannot deny that most of these theories only use circumstantial evidence at best. Nonetheless, one cannot deny the need for people to come up with conspiracy theories, if only to deal with the loss and horror we all faced on that fateful day dated September 11, 2001.