Impossible to identify the terrorists from DNA

Claim

“Where did they get the original dna of a bunch of middle-eastern Islamic madmen?”⁰

Background

Radio host Charles Goyette, KFNX Radio, Arizona, stated:

“I want to know, even if we presume you’re correct that they recovered the dna of the 19 hijackers from the rubble, where did they get their original dna with which to match it? Where did they get the original dna of a bunch of middle-eastern Islamic madmen? Where did they get the dna? Had they submitted dna before they, uh…I mean, where the hell did they get it? You’re not even talking sensibly with me.”⁰

Allegedly, it should be implausible that any human tissue or bone material would survive the massive destruction. It would also be impossible to compare surviving DNA with DNA from the terrorists, since they had not given DNA samples to the authorities before the terror attack. Furthermore, the claim suggests that there weren’t any hijackers on board the four planes, which means that the planes must have been remotely controlled or that the planes must have been flown into their targets by the airline pilots.

Facts

There were found far more remains of passengers and terrorists on board the planes than the claim indicates. The procedure is quite simple: Relatives to the passengers and crew were asked to hand over DNA material from the victims, e.g. toothbrushes, combs, and clothes. This material was compared to the human remains. It is correct that the terrorists did not give their DNA to the authorities before the terror attack. However, the FBI was able to locate where they had been in the time leading up to the attack and could thus collect DNA evidence. The terrorists did not try to hide their DNA tracks, since they had no intention of surviving the attack^{1, 2}. It would then be a simple task to compare the DNA found at the scene of the crime that did not match any of the passengers and crew members with the DNA found where the terrorists had been. Using the passenger manifests, the FBI could then identify the hijackers³.

Logic

The claim is not merely technically and factually false, it also means that the hijackers would still be alive. But if they were, it is quite implausible that they haven’t appeared, in some way, to expose the hoax and present the Americans, their mortal enemies, as crooks and liars. The claim also means that DNA from suspects, collated from places before the crimes were committed, cannot be considered evidence of the identity of the suspects. This means that DNA cannot be used at all in criminal investigations and legal procedures. Thus, all convictions that were even partly dependent of DNA must be deemed invalid. In Denmark, this means that murderers like Peter Lundin⁴, Marcel Lychau Hansen^5, and Lars Lee Leif Anborg-Nielsen⁶ must be released from prison. Apart from legal use, DNA cannot be used, as science has otherwise concluded, for gene splicing or to establish the evolution of humans or other life forms⁷.

Conclusion

The claim is therefore:

• False
• Undocumented

Sources

0. 9/11 Facts and Myths: Charles Goyette interviews Davin Coburn, editor / researcher of PM’s original 9/11 conspiracy slam
1. “For the World Trade Center site, with a much larger area to search and an initially undetermined number of victims, the F.B.I. identified the 10 terrorists’ dna profiles from personal items, Mr. Kolko said, which included recovered luggage and cigarette butts left in a rental car. The unnamed dna profiles of those terrorists were then supplied to the medical examiner’s office. But, since the dna profiles were unnamed by the bureau, the office could not say which hijackers have been identified, just that 4 of the 10 have been so far. Three of them were identified as hijackers within two years of the 2001 attack. But the fourth set of remains was not found until September 2007, when the discovery of numerous bone fragments at a building near the World Trade Center site prompted a reinvestigation of the entire site.” 7 Years Later, 9/11 Hijackers’ Remains Are in Limbo, New York Times, 20. september 2008
2. “Forensic experts in New York say they have identified body parts of two of the 10 hijackers who flew planes into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the New York Medical Examiner’s Office, said the identifications had been made using dna samples provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI had collected the dna from tiny traces of skin on the steering wheels of vehicles hired by the hijackers and from hair samples recovered from their hotel rooms.” Remains of 9/11 hijackers identified, BBC 28. februar 2003
3. “Among the human remains painstakingly sorted from the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crash sites of Sept. 11 are those of nine of the hijackers. The FBI has held them for months, and no one seems to know what should be done with them. It’s a politically and emotionally charged question for the government, which eventually must decide how to dispose of some of the most despised men in American history.” Remains Of 9 Sept. 11 Hijackers Held, CBS News, 17. august, 2002
4. Peter Lundin, Wikipedia
5. Marcel Lychau Hansen, Wikipedia
6. Lars Lee Leif Anborg-Nielsen, Wikipedia
7. dna, Wikipedia

Q & A