linked - Investigating the Terror

thousand feet (Rahman trial, OIG interviews), and between 11,000 and
16,000 feet per second (letter to the OIG).
We observe that Williams' adjustment from 14,000 (report) to 14,000-
15,500 feet per second (Salameh trial) coincided with his Salameh
testimony that the VOD of urea nitrate was 14,000-15,500 feet per second.
His change from 14,000-15,500 (Salameh trial) to 12,000-16,000 feet per
second (Rahman trial) occurred after Williams discovered that the VOD of
the urea nitrate made at Eglin was 12,100 feet per second. His change to
11,000-16,000 feet per second (August 1996 letter) occurred after we
pointed out to him that the Encyclopedia gave the VOD range of urea
nitrate as about 11,155 to 15,420 feet per second. The circumstances of
the four estimates imply that Williams changed his VOD opinion for the
main charge in order to maintain a match with the VOD of urea nitrate.
We conclude that Williams' inconsistencies severely undercut the
credibility of his VOD opinion for the main charge.
(b) Justification for Opinion
(I) World Trade Center
Williams testified in the Salameh trial that he considered several
observations to determine the VOD of the Trade Center bomb:
On the brief two and a half hour walk-through I had the
opportunity to inspect a lot of witness vehicles [] , concrete, steelreinforcing
rod, steel beams, and other fragments of material in
and around the seat of the explosion.
By looking at some of the pieces of steel, for example, that very
large piece of steel that was thrown back into the tower room,
and where it broke off, recognizing that that part was actually
about 12 feet or so away from the seat of the blast, the specific
unique breaking of the steel particle and different distances
away from the seat of the explosion, I witnessed different types