9/11 happens in 1991

[clintonforever]

Suppose 9/11 happened just after Desert Storm in retaliation for US kicking Iraq out of Kuwait.

Bush 41 re-elected easily?

[Xen]

Originally Posted by clintonforever

Suppose 9/11 happened just after Desert Storm in retaliation for US kicking Iraq out of Kuwait.

Bush 41 re-elected easily?

Republicans blame it on Jimmy Carter and try to convince Americans of this undeniable truth. Will this be enough for Bush to win re-election, patriotic fervor is running high, but how is the economy doing? When it comes down to it, thats the most important question.

[Kafkaz-Azeri]

So is it Iraqi secret service? Or is it Saudis Angry that USA helped them? Either way seems unlikely.

[BlackWave]

How would it happen? I mean, Osama was focusing on Sudan around this time, so I can't imagine an exact copy of the 2001 attacks.

[Tom Veil]

Originally Posted by BlackWave

How would it happen? I mean, Osama was focusing on Sudan around this time, so I can't imagine an exact copy of the 2001 attacks.

It's actually really easy to imagine how it could happen. In OTL, the World Trade Center survived a massive bomb attack on February 26, 1993 carried out by a group that Khaled Shaikh Mohammed financed. 1991 is a bit early, but it's easy to imagine the date being moved up somewhat. It's also easy to imagine the attackers using a stronger bomb -- their van could have fit 50% more explosives -- that would have accomplished their stated goal of causing the North Tower to tip over into the South Tower.

[MarkWhittington]

Assuming that this 9/11 was inspired by the Iraqis, the still substantial allied forces in Kuwait would move very rapidly to take over Iraq, It gets a little more complicated if it's Al Qaeda, since it doesn't yet have a safe haven in Afghanistan. Look for special ops hunting down AQ operatives, including UBL, in Sudan and elsewhere.

Iran would be another candidate for that kind of thing, but one would have to imagine some kind of POD that would cause the mullahs to have both the inclination and ability to strike at the American homeland.

In any case, Bush the Elder gets reelected easily. No one is going to elect Clinton or any other possible Dem under these circumstances.

[Doraemon]

Originally Posted by Xen

Republicans blame it on Jimmy Carter and try to convince Americans of this undeniable truth. Will this be enough for Bush to win re-election, patriotic fervor is running high, but how is the economy doing? When it comes down to it, thats the most important question.

Generally, any sort of foreign attack propels any president in popularity no matter what anything else is. Remember that Bush Jr.'s popularity rating after 9/11 was over 90%.

[Joseph K.]

Originally Posted by MarkWhittington

Iran would be another candidate for that kind of thing, but one would have to imagine some kind of POD that would cause the mullahs to have both the inclination and ability to strike at the American homeland.

9/11 doesn't really require all that much "ability".

[Orville_third]

Originally Posted by MarkWhittington

Assuming that this 9/11 was inspired by the Iraqis, the still substantial allied forces in Kuwait would move very rapidly to take over Iraq, It gets a little more complicated if it's Al Qaeda, since it doesn't yet have a safe haven in Afghanistan. Look for special ops hunting down AQ operatives, including UBL, in Sudan and elsewhere.

Iran would be another candidate for that kind of thing, but one would have to imagine some kind of POD that would cause the mullahs to have both the inclination and ability to strike at the American homeland.

In any case, Bush the Elder gets reelected easily. No one is going to elect Clinton or any other possible Dem under these circumstances.

Al Quaida was pretty much obscure. OBL didn't really get on the radar of the intelligence agencies until 1993. (He was suspected of aiding the Mogadishu attacks.) He was mentioned briefly in the first WTC trial, but they didn't go into much detail.

However, if Bin Laden IS involved in this, Bush may face a big problem later. In OTL, the BCCI Scandal was going on. In the numerous strange byways surrounding BCCI, two Time reporters reported what was a minor story in comparison to the whole scandal, but which could blow up to major proportions in this TL. Back in the 1980's George W. Bush started his Arbusto Energy corporation. One of his backers was a guy named James Bath. Bath was an investor for Bin Laden's dad, as well as another guy named Khalid bin Mahfouz (Who some say is Osama's father-in-law...). So, George W. Bush's first business venture was funded in part by Bin Laden family money... (Here's an article on James Bath from later in Time... http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...155760,00.html )