>>10184870 lb

Thermite is an incendiary used for cutter charges. It’s not an explosive. Thermite, thermate, might as well have been Marmite: a distraction.

The USGS dust analysis and the rare cancers suffered by first responders suggest some kind of nuclear event.

Vaporized human bodies and massive pyroclastic clouds of matter, likewise.

Lots of interesting, and rather convincing, discussions of 9/11 as a nuclear event are out there.

Case unproven, but it’s a distinctly plausible use of tactical nukes by rogue operators; which was to anon’s original point. From an operational planning standpoint, how could you guarantee the complete obliteration of two 110-story structures, which was evidently a main objective?