This past March, as I took a walk around the site where the Twin Towers once stood, an obvious fact of simple physics became clear as crystal to me: Had these structures been allowed to collapse on their own, the surrounding buildings would have also been subjected to severe damage, possibly even destruction.
Additionally, a main artery into and out of Manhattan would have been engulfed in debris.
The financial center of the planet, located directly west of the Towers, was not touched.
The Federal office building across the street was left intact.
The historic little church just to the east suffered no damage.
The firehouse across the street to the south still stands.
Numerous survivors from the ranks of New York's Bravest – experienced, professional firefighters – have stated they heard what seemed like a timed series of explosions moments before each Tower fell.
Had the World Trade Center North and South Towers been allowed to freefall, virtually all surrounding structures would have been decimated by the debris.
Only a controlled demolition could have guaranteed no collateral damage.
As for Building Seven, there was absolutely no physical reason for it to implode. Yet, it came down live on worldwide television in a perfect heap.
Four years later Building Seven was resurrected anew, comprised of tens of millions of dollars worth of steel, glass and concrete.
The concrete that made up the bulk of each of these three buildings was pulverized, turned into dust rather than chunks.
Human remains were impossible to distinguish from most of the wreckage; office equipment as well as building infrastructure vanished.
At the site of the largest single criminal act ever committed in this country, virtually all evidence was packed up and shipped out to other nations (can you say 'China'?) for smelting and recycling before any forensic experts could examine it.
There remains a portion of the North Tower sticking out above ground as a testament to the awesome strength of the buildings. Several of the massive support beams, touted as the largest and strongest in the world, are visible to anyone passing by or using the subway.
The sheer magnitude of these beams is indicative that mere fire would not be capable of melting them.
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