Abstract.
The attacks of September 11th 2001 raised many questions,
not least being who was ultimately responsible for the tragedy.
This
text suggests that a less conventional view of that grim day
and its aftermath may provide a more coherent explanation. JG
Ballard’s The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Considered As A Downhill Motor Race and Alfred Jarry’s
The Crucifixion Considered As An Uphill Bicycle Race may
give readers a useful lead.
in Laden was the starter.
Unable to travel easily, he organised both of his visiting teams
by remote control.
As befitting the inauguration of the first aerial relay race
over the eastern seaboard of the United States, Bin Laden chose
the twin towers of the World Trade Centre as the main relay points
of the race. His American Airlines team took an early lead, its
first aircraft making contact with the north tower at 0846. Unfortunately,
Bin Laden neglected to advertise the race beforehand. This oversight
caused the local crowd to initially believe that the 0846 contact
was an accident.
Bin Laden’s United Airlines team got off to a bad start.
Its first aircraft trailed the American Airlines team by over
fifteen minutes, only picking up speed towards the end. However,
once the aircraft made contact with the south tower, the crowd—realising
that the race was properly underway—became extremely
vocal and patriotic, despite the increasingly poor visibility.
The south tower completed its relay in record time, crossing
the chequered square at 1005. The north tower was a distant second,
not crossing until 1029.
The second aircraft in the American Airlines team made contact
with the Pentagon at 0940, but only a relatively small section
of this building was able to cross the chequered square.
Race officials later declared the Pentagon relay to be void.
The second aircraft in the United Airlines team reported unforeseen
technical problems at 0958 and had to make an unscheduled pit
stop, thus failing to obtain any race points. Its intended relay
destination remains unknown.
In the final analysis, Bin Laden’s American Airlines team
narrowly won the race on points.
The home team was organised by Bush, its president. He was apparently
given no advance notification of the race, which meant that his
plane was on the ground when the race commenced. Unable to personally
participate in the race, Bush instructed a number of representatives
to be sent aloft, but the race was over by the time they arrived
at the course.
Bush retired to the country for the remainder of the race and
the subsequent counting, only visiting the course later that
day to give an upbeat concession speech.
The race had three staring grids: Boston, Newark and Washington,
where all bets were placed on the visiting teams. The complex
course included the states of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia. This
course is considered to be one of the most hazardous in aerial
relay racing, second only to the Kamikaze-Pacific, discontinued
in 1945.
Commentators remain puzzled over several aspects of the race,
one being the nationality of the visiting teams. Bush maintained
that they were from Iraq, despite the race attendance sheet confirming
them as Saudi Arabian. Saudi Arabians are long-standing friends
of the home team, which makes their lack of courtesy in this
event all the more curious.
Some commentators theorize that Bush secretly declined Bin Laden’s
race invitation, having been unnerved by his very close race
with Gore in the Florida 2000. Others suggest that Bush inadvertently
slighted Bin Laden in some way; certainly, Bin Laden’s
apparent failure to notify the race officials of his plans led
Bush to claim that the race was illegal. Most commentators however
believe that Bush simply ignored Bin Laden’s invitation
because he wanted to conserve his energies for a more strenuous
overseas race—but that is another story.
[END]
© 2005 Dan McNeil - Contributor's
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