Respected members of this forum,

Some of you may know about this already, but it is really interesting to understand what were the real causes that made both the towers of World Trade Center collapse. Given that it really were the terrorists who flew the planes in the towers, the real causes are very much different. For those of us who dont know, the Empire State building survived being razed to the ground of the fires that errupted 914 feet above street level when a twin-engine US Army Air Corps B-25 bomber crashed into the building due to heavy fog on July 28, 1945. The reason was that the fire crew was successfully able to extinguish the fire and rescue people by using the brickwalled fire-safe stair wells that are part of the buidling safety codes. Only ten lives were lost that day.

In the case of the Twin Towers, the requirement for brick-walled stair wells was gotten rid of from the permission of the city government by lobbying of the big firm companies involved. The brick stair wells were reducing the amount of office space that could be rented. But this was only the begining. The safety codes also specify the spraying of fireproofing material on the steel structure of the building. The fireproofing makes the structure denser and heavier, which was impeding the height of the building. So, the fireproofing requirement was also cut by half from the government for this purpose. In reality, not even half of the fireproofing was done and the costs were pocketed by the big capitalist firms. Moreover, another requirement of testing buidling components in baking furnaces for fire stability was simply ignored.

If all of this was not enough, the fires in 1975 that spread from 9th to 19th floor considerably sagged the structure. The signs were all there... but
nothing was done to restore the structure and follow the codes.

The result? People were falling out of the skies as fire crew had no access to the floors above the fire. The steel structure which otherwise would have been able to withsand such fire started to sag and the building collapsed before even the whole fire crew could get out.

As they say, what goes around comes around. This country is based on capitalism and corporate greed which led to the tragic events of September 11. The US subsequently attacked Afghanistan and then Iraq. Now in Iraq they are learning the lessons what they should have learned on September 11. Bush now wants to be out of there by spring or sooner but I am still not sure exactly why?

Your thoughts are welcome.

--------------------

Na Main Aabi Na Main Khaaki
Na Main Aatish Na Main Pawn

Bulleya...
Kee Jaana Main Kon