What did he say??????????

On September 15, 2006, President George W. Bush gave a speech from the White House regarding the transfer of 14 high-value detainees from CIA custody to Guantanamo Bay. While the primary focus of the speech was about national security and legal processes for terrorist suspects, a particular phrase stood out to independent researchers and analysts. During his remarks, Bush referenced the planning and methods of the 9/11 attackers and noted that “the terrorists had explosives.” This line has been interpreted by some as an acknowledgment that explosives played a role in the destruction that occurred during the attacks.

The context of Bush’s statement was largely centered around the detailed planning carried out by the detainees—especially Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whom Bush identified as the “mastermind” behind the 9/11 attacks. Bush described how these individuals trained operatives, devised tactics, and tested security vulnerabilities. When he mentioned explosives, it was not clarified whether he was referring to the airplane hijackings themselves, a broader range of plots, or something related directly to the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings. The wording left space for interpretation, and because it was not revisited or explained further in that speech, it raised questions for those who already had doubts about the official narrative.

This particular mention gained traction among engineers, scholars, and victims’ families who had previously raised concerns about the possibility of controlled demolition, especially with regard to World Trade Center 7, which was not hit by a plane but collapsed symmetrically later that day. The inclusion of “explosives” in Bush’s official statement became a notable point in ongoing discussions about 9/11, as it marked one of the few times the term was used in that context by a sitting U.S. president. While the government’s official reports focus on structural damage and fires as causes of the collapse, Bush’s wording continues to fuel examination and reanalysis of the events from that day.