EYES glued to the television screen, Professor Pan Tso-Chien watched the haunting image of smoke billowing from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 2001.

An enemy that had lost its sense of humanity had struck the United States. Al-Qaeda terrorists had deliberately rammed two aeroplanes into the World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001, killing more than 2,800 people.
He reeled in shock, just like many ordinary folk. “I thought it was a scene from a Hollywood movie,” he says.

But, he went further. He began taking mental notes of the time the crash occurred and the time it took for the towers to crumble. He also noted that the copious black smoke pouring out of the buildings was caused by fuel.

… A white board in Prof Pan’s office in NTU is filled with dates of meetings scheduled with officers of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and ministries of National Development and Home Affairs, as well as security experts from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, among others.