Dragonlich

I just thought of another scenario that seems plausible (to me):

The bad guys arranged a meeting at this location. To explain the large number of people there, and to provide a cover, they then arrange for a wedding to take place there, while they talk. The US, acting on (good/bad) intelligence attacks the meeting, killing some of the terrorists. But, because they had a good cover, the surviving bad guys produce "evidence" that this was simply an innocent wedding party. The poor men, women and children that were killed are seen all over the world, spreading anti-US feelings, especially in the Muslim world ("the evil Western zionist crusaders attacked innocent fellow Muslims").

See? We could go on and on making up scenarios explaining the whole situation, and some would even be realistic. The problem is that we will only learn about a very minute portion of the truth, and only that portion that "they" want us to hear. The "they" in this case can be both the US military, *and* the potential terrorists. The US isn't the only one that is capable of spreading dis-information - their opponents are just as good at that.