| Chapter Eight of Pax Americana: The Military Industrial Complex and the War On Terror by Danny Quintana |
| Was September 11th a Conspiracy? |
The weight of the evidence from all public sources is that Bush/Cheney were lazy and incompetent not traitors who planned or allowed the
September 11th attack. There is a big difference between being lazy and incompetent and being traitors. Project for and American Century,
the Caryle Group, the Military Industrial Complex, the Energy companies are powerful lobbies and constituency political groups. This is normal
in the beltway. The American Medical Association and the National Rifle Association have their pet funding projects. There are many powerful
lobbies in Washington, defense contractors are among them. But this by itself is not enough to find a "conspiracy" as is the noise from the
extreme left and others who can't accept that the human animal is lazy and at times incompetent.
One good article is from the folks at Rotton.com. These boys and girls have a poor, very poor sense of humor. But their research is and
argument is pretty good. The other article is by one of my favorite writers, a true scholar, Alexander Cockburn. The following article is online
at:www.rotten.com/library/conspiracy/september_11_conspiracy_theories/
September 11th attack. There is a big difference between being lazy and incompetent and being traitors. Project for and American Century,
the Caryle Group, the Military Industrial Complex, the Energy companies are powerful lobbies and constituency political groups. This is normal
in the beltway. The American Medical Association and the National Rifle Association have their pet funding projects. There are many powerful
lobbies in Washington, defense contractors are among them. But this by itself is not enough to find a "conspiracy" as is the noise from the
extreme left and others who can't accept that the human animal is lazy and at times incompetent.
One good article is from the folks at Rotton.com. These boys and girls have a poor, very poor sense of humor. But their research is and
argument is pretty good. The other article is by one of my favorite writers, a true scholar, Alexander Cockburn. The following article is online
at:www.rotten.com/library/conspiracy/september_11_conspiracy_theories/
Nevertheless, some skeptical viewpoints are healthier than others. In the wake of the most spectacular terrorist attack in history, an
assortment of nuts stepped forward with their alternate histories of the event, including several that popped up within weeks of the actual
event itself.
The notion of investigative reporting as instantly gratifying speculation is fostered by the 21st century media revolution, in which bloggers are
accorded the same social status as Dan Rather. Most, if not all, of these conspiracy theories are the product of many long laborious minutes
of sweat devoted to dreaming them up. There are a few unanswered questions that may give even the sanest individual pause, but these
quibbles are nearly irrelevant compared to the magnitude of the allegations made by the loudest and looniest.
The September 11 theories break down into two simple categories: "Whodunnit?" and "How did they do it?" Within this binary question,
however, many planets of weirdness can be found orbiting.
Intelligence Run Amuck: If you live in the United States, you might be surprised at just how many people around the world believe that the
CIA was behind September 11. Although the usual suspects (David Icke and the like) began concocting the usual fairy tales within hours of
the event, the global conspiracy machine has really kicked into overdrive since.
assortment of nuts stepped forward with their alternate histories of the event, including several that popped up within weeks of the actual
event itself.
The notion of investigative reporting as instantly gratifying speculation is fostered by the 21st century media revolution, in which bloggers are
accorded the same social status as Dan Rather. Most, if not all, of these conspiracy theories are the product of many long laborious minutes
of sweat devoted to dreaming them up. There are a few unanswered questions that may give even the sanest individual pause, but these
quibbles are nearly irrelevant compared to the magnitude of the allegations made by the loudest and looniest.
The September 11 theories break down into two simple categories: "Whodunnit?" and "How did they do it?" Within this binary question,
however, many planets of weirdness can be found orbiting.
Intelligence Run Amuck: If you live in the United States, you might be surprised at just how many people around the world believe that the
CIA was behind September 11. Although the usual suspects (David Icke and the like) began concocting the usual fairy tales within hours of
the event, the global conspiracy machine has really kicked into overdrive since.
Martial law hasn't been declared (although thousands have been rounded up with no charge and
detained without legal counsel). And the elections weren't canceled (though there's the usual
debate as to the validity of their results). Um, did we say "obvious" failure? Let's move on.
The idea that the American government would allow a massive attack on its homeland for political
purposes isn't new. For decades, rumors have swirled that government was warned of the attack
on Pearl Harbor, but allowed it to take place anyway, in order to catapult the U.S. into WWII. And
it's a lot easier to cover up an ignored warning than to cover up remote controlled planes and
false-flag hoodoo.
Even within the official story, there are several examples of actual warnings that were missed, but
none of them were completely specific. The infamous Phoenix memo warned that Osama bin
Laden was training terrorists to fly airplanes. Zacarias Moussaoui's laptop computer wasn't
searched in time to uncover contact information for other members of the hijacking plot.
Ramzi Yousef's earlier plane crash plot had vanished into the dusty pages of history. Several
intercepted electronic communications warning of the attack were not translated by the National
Security Agency until the day after the attack. The CIA knew the names of two hijackers but failed
to put them on a watchlist that would have kept them out of the country.
The list of officially "missed" warnings is rather long, but none of the cited examples said anything
like "On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda will hijack four airplanes and crash them into U.S.
buildings."Or at least, that's what they want you to believe.
detained without legal counsel). And the elections weren't canceled (though there's the usual
debate as to the validity of their results). Um, did we say "obvious" failure? Let's move on.
The idea that the American government would allow a massive attack on its homeland for political
purposes isn't new. For decades, rumors have swirled that government was warned of the attack
on Pearl Harbor, but allowed it to take place anyway, in order to catapult the U.S. into WWII. And
it's a lot easier to cover up an ignored warning than to cover up remote controlled planes and
false-flag hoodoo.
Even within the official story, there are several examples of actual warnings that were missed, but
none of them were completely specific. The infamous Phoenix memo warned that Osama bin
Laden was training terrorists to fly airplanes. Zacarias Moussaoui's laptop computer wasn't
searched in time to uncover contact information for other members of the hijacking plot.
Ramzi Yousef's earlier plane crash plot had vanished into the dusty pages of history. Several
intercepted electronic communications warning of the attack were not translated by the National
Security Agency until the day after the attack. The CIA knew the names of two hijackers but failed
to put them on a watchlist that would have kept them out of the country.
The list of officially "missed" warnings is rather long, but none of the cited examples said anything
like "On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda will hijack four airplanes and crash them into U.S.
buildings."Or at least, that's what they want you to believe.
The CIA theory is most popular in France. Within a month of the September 11 attack, French author
Thierry Meyssan began promulgating a theory that culminated in the book titled L'Effroyable imposture, or
the which roughly translates as "Appalling Fraud." It was called 9/11: The Big Lie in its American
edition. Meyssan, who is not a journalist no matter how hard he tries, was drawn to the case when he
noticed that the images of the jet that crashed into the Pentagon just didn't look right. It's unclear how he
reached this conclusion, since a jet had never crashed into the Pentagon before, leaving no comparative
basis for a proper evaluation. His theory was based primarily on the fact that you couldn't see the
wreckage of the plane anywhere.
Funny thing is, you couldn't see the wreckage of the planes that hit the World Trade Center towers either.
That's because they were, as the scientists like to say, "blowed up". Unperturbed by the fact that two
planes were obliterated in fiery crashes on live television the very same day, Meyssan parlayed his vision
into a book that was a bestseller in France and around the globe, and not a bad seller in the U.S. either.
According to Meyssan, who was a respected French intellectual prior to 9/11, the U.S. government
wanted people to think the Pentagon was a plane crash instead of a truck bombing or a missile attack.
He also claims the planes that hit the World Trade Center were piloted by remote control and not
hijacked. All this, he claims, was done not by al Qaeda but by the U.S. government.
In conspiracy theory parlance, this is known as a "false-flag operation" -- a type of intelligence
campaign which, according to the tinfoil hat crowd, involves pulling off a covert action and blaming it
on someone else.
Thierry Meyssan began promulgating a theory that culminated in the book titled L'Effroyable imposture, or
the which roughly translates as "Appalling Fraud." It was called 9/11: The Big Lie in its American
edition. Meyssan, who is not a journalist no matter how hard he tries, was drawn to the case when he
noticed that the images of the jet that crashed into the Pentagon just didn't look right. It's unclear how he
reached this conclusion, since a jet had never crashed into the Pentagon before, leaving no comparative
basis for a proper evaluation. His theory was based primarily on the fact that you couldn't see the
wreckage of the plane anywhere.
Funny thing is, you couldn't see the wreckage of the planes that hit the World Trade Center towers either.
That's because they were, as the scientists like to say, "blowed up". Unperturbed by the fact that two
planes were obliterated in fiery crashes on live television the very same day, Meyssan parlayed his vision
into a book that was a bestseller in France and around the globe, and not a bad seller in the U.S. either.
According to Meyssan, who was a respected French intellectual prior to 9/11, the U.S. government
wanted people to think the Pentagon was a plane crash instead of a truck bombing or a missile attack.
He also claims the planes that hit the World Trade Center were piloted by remote control and not
hijacked. All this, he claims, was done not by al Qaeda but by the U.S. government.
In conspiracy theory parlance, this is known as a "false-flag operation" -- a type of intelligence
campaign which, according to the tinfoil hat crowd, involves pulling off a covert action and blaming it
on someone else.
The only part of Meyssan's premise that is really compelling is the motive -- to
provide a rationale for the U.S. to invade Afghanistan and Iraq and steal their oil.
Everything else in Meyssan's theory contradicts the notion that the conspirators
possessed even the a shred of common sense. If the U.S. was really behind the
attack, wouldn't it make sense for them to just hijack the planes themselves?
Come on! Why in God's name would they undertake a massive plot using sci-fi
technology costing probably billions of dollars, when they could just hijack the
planes themselves for only the cost of life insurance? For that matter, if they
remote-controlled two jets to crash into the WTC, why not just do the same thing
at the Pentagon, instead of hitting it with a missile and then pretending it was a
plane?
How could the conspirators be such morons and yet execute the most
successful cover-up in human history? (OK, maybe the second most
successful.) The obvious answer is probably also the correct answer: They
can't, they didn't, and this whole line of thought is even less worthy of your
consideration than the secret of Area 51.
provide a rationale for the U.S. to invade Afghanistan and Iraq and steal their oil.
Everything else in Meyssan's theory contradicts the notion that the conspirators
possessed even the a shred of common sense. If the U.S. was really behind the
attack, wouldn't it make sense for them to just hijack the planes themselves?
Come on! Why in God's name would they undertake a massive plot using sci-fi
technology costing probably billions of dollars, when they could just hijack the
planes themselves for only the cost of life insurance? For that matter, if they
remote-controlled two jets to crash into the WTC, why not just do the same thing
at the Pentagon, instead of hitting it with a missile and then pretending it was a
plane?
How could the conspirators be such morons and yet execute the most
successful cover-up in human history? (OK, maybe the second most
successful.) The obvious answer is probably also the correct answer: They
can't, they didn't, and this whole line of thought is even less worthy of your
consideration than the secret of Area 51.
 | |  | |  |
September 11 Conspiracy Theories:
To our American readers: You would think that everyone would be able to agree on the details of
an event viewed live on television by millions of people as it happened. Fat chance. The September
11 attack was pulled off by everybody except al Qaeda, and it was accomplished using everything
except airplanes. Why? Because that would be too easy. Whether you blame the Mossad or
George W Bush, a bomb, a missile, the devil or a UFO, one thing is painfully clear: We're all a
bunch of gullible chumps who will believe just about anything we see with our own eyes. Sucker!
To our readers around the globe:You would think that the American people would have learned a
little skepticism by now. They've seen 40 years of CIA wrongdoing, including ridiculously implausible
plots like assassinating Fidel Castro with a cigar and the Kennedy Assassinations. They've seen
unlikely government conspiracies proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, plots like Watergate and the
MKULTRA mind control experiments. For God's sake, the U.S. government has even confessed to
feeding radioactive mush to retarded children -- just to see what would happen. The real question
isn't "Why would you believe the U.S. government was behind September 11?" Rather, the question
is "Why wouldn't you?"As you may have gathered, not everyone agrees on the credibility of the
"official story" of the September 11 attacks on the United States. And why should they? Virtually
everything the U.S. government has ever done regarding the al Qaeda terrorism network is
shrouded in secrecy and full of what appears to be rampant speculation.
To our American readers: You would think that everyone would be able to agree on the details of
an event viewed live on television by millions of people as it happened. Fat chance. The September
11 attack was pulled off by everybody except al Qaeda, and it was accomplished using everything
except airplanes. Why? Because that would be too easy. Whether you blame the Mossad or
George W Bush, a bomb, a missile, the devil or a UFO, one thing is painfully clear: We're all a
bunch of gullible chumps who will believe just about anything we see with our own eyes. Sucker!
To our readers around the globe:You would think that the American people would have learned a
little skepticism by now. They've seen 40 years of CIA wrongdoing, including ridiculously implausible
plots like assassinating Fidel Castro with a cigar and the Kennedy Assassinations. They've seen
unlikely government conspiracies proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, plots like Watergate and the
MKULTRA mind control experiments. For God's sake, the U.S. government has even confessed to
feeding radioactive mush to retarded children -- just to see what would happen. The real question
isn't "Why would you believe the U.S. government was behind September 11?" Rather, the question
is "Why wouldn't you?"As you may have gathered, not everyone agrees on the credibility of the
"official story" of the September 11 attacks on the United States. And why should they? Virtually
everything the U.S. government has ever done regarding the al Qaeda terrorism network is
shrouded in secrecy and full of what appears to be rampant speculation.
The Usual Suspects: While Meyssan's rantings are pretty far beyond the pale of reason, the
general idea that the attacks were sponsored by the CIA or the Israeli intelligence service, the
Mossad, is extraordinarily widespread, particularly in the Arab world. Variations on this idea
have been published in Egypt's government-run newspapers and aired on Arab television all
over the region. Even the king of Saudi Arabia has hinted as much, recently blaming a spate
of al Qaeda-linked terrorist attacks on "Zionists."One variation on Meyssan's theories also
embraces the logic-challenged notion of remote controlled planes, but argues they were
controlled by the Mossad instead of the CIA, in order to goad the U.S. into attacking Israel's
enemies. Although this theory still suffers from being terminally elaborate, the Mossad is at
least a slightly better suspect than the CIA, which couldn't even kill Castro, let alone 3,000
people in a synchronized attack on live TV.
The main problem with all this speculation is that it's based on the idea that al Qaeda was not
responsible for the attacks. This flies in the face of a mountain of evidence. Even if we grant
that evidence presented after the fact by U.S. government officials is automatically suspect,
there is ample documentation to support al Qaeda's role in the attacks.
The most obvious example: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed admitted to planning the attacks in an
interview with Arab media. al Qaeda documents reported by al Jazeera also confessed the
attack. Hundreds of al Qaeda-linked propaganda pieces celebrate the attacks. The hijackers
left suicide videos which were subsequently circulated by al Qaeda-linked Web sites around
the world.
general idea that the attacks were sponsored by the CIA or the Israeli intelligence service, the
Mossad, is extraordinarily widespread, particularly in the Arab world. Variations on this idea
have been published in Egypt's government-run newspapers and aired on Arab television all
over the region. Even the king of Saudi Arabia has hinted as much, recently blaming a spate
of al Qaeda-linked terrorist attacks on "Zionists."One variation on Meyssan's theories also
embraces the logic-challenged notion of remote controlled planes, but argues they were
controlled by the Mossad instead of the CIA, in order to goad the U.S. into attacking Israel's
enemies. Although this theory still suffers from being terminally elaborate, the Mossad is at
least a slightly better suspect than the CIA, which couldn't even kill Castro, let alone 3,000
people in a synchronized attack on live TV.
The main problem with all this speculation is that it's based on the idea that al Qaeda was not
responsible for the attacks. This flies in the face of a mountain of evidence. Even if we grant
that evidence presented after the fact by U.S. government officials is automatically suspect,
there is ample documentation to support al Qaeda's role in the attacks.
The most obvious example: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed admitted to planning the attacks in an
interview with Arab media. al Qaeda documents reported by al Jazeera also confessed the
attack. Hundreds of al Qaeda-linked propaganda pieces celebrate the attacks. The hijackers
left suicide videos which were subsequently circulated by al Qaeda-linked Web sites around
the world.
Furthermore, the historical record clearly indicates that al Qaeda had long been planning exactly this
kind of attack, including copious material in the public record long before 9/11 ever happened. Ramzi
Yousef was planning to crash airliners into U.S. landmarks, including the Pentagon and the World
Trade Center, and that plot was reported years before 9/11 ever happened. al Qaeda-linked
terrorists were looking at ways to crash airplanes into U.S. buildings as early as 1993, when the FBI
and the Egyptian government were clued into a plot to steal an airplane and crash it into the U.S.
embassy. And while you can't always trust what the government tells you, the sheer volume of U.S.
documentation released after the 9/11 attacks is staggering. In addition to the extremely improbable
scenarios under which the CIA or the Mossad would actually have executed the attacks, an entire
agency of the U.S. government would be needed just to handle the hundreds of thousands of pages
of document forgeries now in circulation supporting most elements of the official story.
In addition, the mythical conspirators seem to have carefully planted a series of whistleblowers who
would inexplicably pop up to blame the government for its mind-blowing but strictly bureaucratic
failures to prevent the attack. Just for verisimilitude? It boggles the mind.
The conspiracy theorists do have one explanation which makes all of the above problems go away:
Everyone in the media is working for the Mossad. Including this author.
kind of attack, including copious material in the public record long before 9/11 ever happened. Ramzi
Yousef was planning to crash airliners into U.S. landmarks, including the Pentagon and the World
Trade Center, and that plot was reported years before 9/11 ever happened. al Qaeda-linked
terrorists were looking at ways to crash airplanes into U.S. buildings as early as 1993, when the FBI
and the Egyptian government were clued into a plot to steal an airplane and crash it into the U.S.
embassy. And while you can't always trust what the government tells you, the sheer volume of U.S.
documentation released after the 9/11 attacks is staggering. In addition to the extremely improbable
scenarios under which the CIA or the Mossad would actually have executed the attacks, an entire
agency of the U.S. government would be needed just to handle the hundreds of thousands of pages
of document forgeries now in circulation supporting most elements of the official story.
In addition, the mythical conspirators seem to have carefully planted a series of whistleblowers who
would inexplicably pop up to blame the government for its mind-blowing but strictly bureaucratic
failures to prevent the attack. Just for verisimilitude? It boggles the mind.
The conspiracy theorists do have one explanation which makes all of the above problems go away:
Everyone in the media is working for the Mossad. Including this author.
OK, Fine. But Still...Of course, a 9/11 conspiracy doesn't have to involve remote
control planes, false flags and Jewish spies infiltrating Rotten.com. There are a
number of more modest proposals in circulation. Many conspiracy theorists
argue that the U.S. had advanced warning of the attack, but allowed it to
proceed anyway. Let's just get one thing straight right up front: This is a much
easier case to make.
That doesn't mean it's right, of course. But you don't have to skip your
medication in order to wonder. A favorite among Americans on the far right and
far left, this theory usually proposes that the U.S. allowed the 9/11 attacks to
take place so that the Bush administration could revoke the constitution, declare
martial law, conquer the Middle East and cancel the elections.
A problem with this plan, so far, is its obvious failure. After all, the Constitution
hasn't been revoked (just severely diluted). And the Middle East hasn't been
successfully conquered (though not for lack of trying).
control planes, false flags and Jewish spies infiltrating Rotten.com. There are a
number of more modest proposals in circulation. Many conspiracy theorists
argue that the U.S. had advanced warning of the attack, but allowed it to
proceed anyway. Let's just get one thing straight right up front: This is a much
easier case to make.
That doesn't mean it's right, of course. But you don't have to skip your
medication in order to wonder. A favorite among Americans on the far right and
far left, this theory usually proposes that the U.S. allowed the 9/11 attacks to
take place so that the Bush administration could revoke the constitution, declare
martial law, conquer the Middle East and cancel the elections.
A problem with this plan, so far, is its obvious failure. After all, the Constitution
hasn't been revoked (just severely diluted). And the Middle East hasn't been
successfully conquered (though not for lack of trying).
Some Credible Conspiracies: There are a number of stories in circulation about specific warnings prior to 9/11, as well as numerous
questions about how and why things blew up or fell down the way they did. Some have been covered in the mainstream press, others are
perennial e-mail forwards. The most credible claims include:Sibel Edmonds, an FBI translator hired after 9/11, was appalled to discover that a
giant stack of documents the FBI possessed prior to September 11 indicated very clearly that a major attack was coming, and that it involved
airplanes. Edmonds was subsequently told to work slower -- because she was making her colleagues in the department look bad. She was
then fired for reporting a security breach by one of her colleagues. Sadly, this story is completely true and was confirmed by the Justice
Department, which then retroactively classified its confirmations so that Edmonds couldn't use them in a civil suit over her termination.
In July 2001, a moderate Taliban minister warned the U.S. that al Qaeda was planning a "massive attack." Shortly thereafter, Egyptian
intelligence warned the CIA that al Qaeda had recently sent 20 operatives to the United States, and that some of them had trained as pilots.
San Francisco Mayor Wille Brown received a call from someone identified only as his "airport security" on September 10, 2001, warning him in
a nonspecific manner about air travel, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Some follow-up articles, reported by random
non-journalists on the Internet, claim that the call came from Condoleezza Rice, but those reports are apparently based on nothing. (Editor's
Note: Please don't e-mail us to tell us what those reports are based on. Really.)
Many people have questioned the collapse of WTC7, an adjacent building in the World Trade Center complex that housed a CIA station,
among other things. Most of these theories are accompanied by the usual kinds of specious analysis that the building "couldn't possibly" have
collapsed due to the apparently insignificant stresses caused by the total collapse of the world's two tallest buildings just a few hundred yards
away. Some have proposed that the building was bombed, others cite police transmissions that seem to indicate the building was
demolished by emergency crews. These unresolved questions are more credible than the Pentagon missile theory, but no solid evidence has
yet emerged to prove foul play.
The official lore of September 11 has it that United Flight 93 crashed after the passengers stormed the cockpit in an effort to retake control of
the plane from its hijackers. (Whether they made it into the cockpit is not clear.) But there have been persistent and credible suggestions that
the flight may have been shot down by the U.S. military. In the confusion of 9/11, there were several points at which internal government
communications indicated there may have been a shootdown, and Flight 93 was apparently headed for the White House. Vice President Dick
Cheney ordered the military to shoot down any hijacked planes approaching the White House, and in a conversation with Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld a few minutes later, official transcripts quote Cheney as saying, "It's my understanding they've already taken a couple of
aircraft out." Rumsfeld responded that he could not confirm that statement. The official story is "there was no shootdown," but a reasonable
person can wonder.
Somewhat Less Credible Conspiracies: After these examples, the stories get hairier and the documentation gets dicier. Among the fringe
claims of pre-9/11 warnings: David Schippers (the lawyer who impeached Bill Clinton) claimed to the press that FBI agents told him they knew
an attack was coming on lower Manhattan, and that they knew the names of the hijackers in advance. Schippers additionally claimed he tried
to call Attorney General John Ashcroft a month before the attack to warn him. The mainstream media has not confirmed any of these claims. It
may be unfair to lump Schippers in with the following claims, but after he explains the above story, he tends to launch into an uber-terrorist
conspiracy rant that undercuts the credibility of his relatively simple claim of forewarning.
Delmart "Mike" Vreeland was sitting in a Canadian prison in mid-August 2001 when, for reasons unknown, he passed guards a piece of
paper. It sat in a locker until after September 11. Vreeland, a con man charged with credit fraud, had written a page full of mostly incoherent
notes which fortuitously included the words "Pentagon," "White House" and "World Trade Center" (as well as "Sears Tower," "World Bank,"
"Royal Bank" and others). After 9/11, Vreeland claimed he was a U.S. intelligence agent who had learned of the attack in Russia. He also
claimed to have invented the Star Wars missile defense system... You know, the one that doesn't technically exist. As it turned out, Vreeland
has a mile-long rap sheet for various frauds and scams. While parts of his story still raise significant questions, you wouldn't want to buy a
bridge from the guy.
Needless to say, the Illuminati trackers are all over this story. According to some theories, the September 11 attack was part of an evil mind
control plot to implant the number "11" into the minds of Americans. In addition to the date, one of the flights was numbered 11 and the towers
themselves looked like one giant eleven. This number-planting somehow leads invariably to creating an Illuminati army of zombie minions, or
something like that. You will be shocked, shocked to hear that the mainstream media has once again been unable to verify the existence of
this plot.
Don't think the UFO lobby is sitting this one out either. The September 11 attack is just the first wave in a conspiracy to destabilize American
society in order to prepare people's minds for the arrival of extraterrestrial visitors. These theories are often accompanied by "mathematical
proofs" that a jetliner could not possibly destroy the World Trade Center. The UFO lobby has itself benefitted from the 9/11 attack, because
everyone is paying a lot more attention to what's in the skies these days.
questions about how and why things blew up or fell down the way they did. Some have been covered in the mainstream press, others are
perennial e-mail forwards. The most credible claims include:Sibel Edmonds, an FBI translator hired after 9/11, was appalled to discover that a
giant stack of documents the FBI possessed prior to September 11 indicated very clearly that a major attack was coming, and that it involved
airplanes. Edmonds was subsequently told to work slower -- because she was making her colleagues in the department look bad. She was
then fired for reporting a security breach by one of her colleagues. Sadly, this story is completely true and was confirmed by the Justice
Department, which then retroactively classified its confirmations so that Edmonds couldn't use them in a civil suit over her termination.
In July 2001, a moderate Taliban minister warned the U.S. that al Qaeda was planning a "massive attack." Shortly thereafter, Egyptian
intelligence warned the CIA that al Qaeda had recently sent 20 operatives to the United States, and that some of them had trained as pilots.
San Francisco Mayor Wille Brown received a call from someone identified only as his "airport security" on September 10, 2001, warning him in
a nonspecific manner about air travel, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Some follow-up articles, reported by random
non-journalists on the Internet, claim that the call came from Condoleezza Rice, but those reports are apparently based on nothing. (Editor's
Note: Please don't e-mail us to tell us what those reports are based on. Really.)
Many people have questioned the collapse of WTC7, an adjacent building in the World Trade Center complex that housed a CIA station,
among other things. Most of these theories are accompanied by the usual kinds of specious analysis that the building "couldn't possibly" have
collapsed due to the apparently insignificant stresses caused by the total collapse of the world's two tallest buildings just a few hundred yards
away. Some have proposed that the building was bombed, others cite police transmissions that seem to indicate the building was
demolished by emergency crews. These unresolved questions are more credible than the Pentagon missile theory, but no solid evidence has
yet emerged to prove foul play.
The official lore of September 11 has it that United Flight 93 crashed after the passengers stormed the cockpit in an effort to retake control of
the plane from its hijackers. (Whether they made it into the cockpit is not clear.) But there have been persistent and credible suggestions that
the flight may have been shot down by the U.S. military. In the confusion of 9/11, there were several points at which internal government
communications indicated there may have been a shootdown, and Flight 93 was apparently headed for the White House. Vice President Dick
Cheney ordered the military to shoot down any hijacked planes approaching the White House, and in a conversation with Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld a few minutes later, official transcripts quote Cheney as saying, "It's my understanding they've already taken a couple of
aircraft out." Rumsfeld responded that he could not confirm that statement. The official story is "there was no shootdown," but a reasonable
person can wonder.
Somewhat Less Credible Conspiracies: After these examples, the stories get hairier and the documentation gets dicier. Among the fringe
claims of pre-9/11 warnings: David Schippers (the lawyer who impeached Bill Clinton) claimed to the press that FBI agents told him they knew
an attack was coming on lower Manhattan, and that they knew the names of the hijackers in advance. Schippers additionally claimed he tried
to call Attorney General John Ashcroft a month before the attack to warn him. The mainstream media has not confirmed any of these claims. It
may be unfair to lump Schippers in with the following claims, but after he explains the above story, he tends to launch into an uber-terrorist
conspiracy rant that undercuts the credibility of his relatively simple claim of forewarning.
Delmart "Mike" Vreeland was sitting in a Canadian prison in mid-August 2001 when, for reasons unknown, he passed guards a piece of
paper. It sat in a locker until after September 11. Vreeland, a con man charged with credit fraud, had written a page full of mostly incoherent
notes which fortuitously included the words "Pentagon," "White House" and "World Trade Center" (as well as "Sears Tower," "World Bank,"
"Royal Bank" and others). After 9/11, Vreeland claimed he was a U.S. intelligence agent who had learned of the attack in Russia. He also
claimed to have invented the Star Wars missile defense system... You know, the one that doesn't technically exist. As it turned out, Vreeland
has a mile-long rap sheet for various frauds and scams. While parts of his story still raise significant questions, you wouldn't want to buy a
bridge from the guy.
Needless to say, the Illuminati trackers are all over this story. According to some theories, the September 11 attack was part of an evil mind
control plot to implant the number "11" into the minds of Americans. In addition to the date, one of the flights was numbered 11 and the towers
themselves looked like one giant eleven. This number-planting somehow leads invariably to creating an Illuminati army of zombie minions, or
something like that. You will be shocked, shocked to hear that the mainstream media has once again been unable to verify the existence of
this plot.
Don't think the UFO lobby is sitting this one out either. The September 11 attack is just the first wave in a conspiracy to destabilize American
society in order to prepare people's minds for the arrival of extraterrestrial visitors. These theories are often accompanied by "mathematical
proofs" that a jetliner could not possibly destroy the World Trade Center. The UFO lobby has itself benefitted from the 9/11 attack, because
everyone is paying a lot more attention to what's in the skies these days.
No survey of kooky 9/11 conspiracy theories would be complete without a visit to the weird
wonderland inhabited by David Icke, conspiracy theorist extraordinaire. Like many others, Icke
theorizes that September 11 was a massive global conspiracy designed to kick off the long-
awaited New World Order on behalf of the aforementioned Illuminati, whose members include
Dubya, his dad, Clinton and Saddam Hussein, among many, many others.
According to Icke:Bin Laden, deeply misguided as he may be, is no more responsible for what
happened this week than I am. His name was introduced with the most obvious co-ordination
immediately after the disaster unfolded in the same way that the background to Lee Harvey
Oswald was being circulated BEFORE President Kennedy was even dead.
The idea that this guy from the mountains of Afghanistan with far more mouth than substance
could be the "Mr. Big" of this enormous operation is utterly insulting to anyone of even basic
intelligence. So what explanation would not be utterly insulting to anyone of even basic
intelligence?...the agenda from the death and destruction in New York and Washington [was]
co-ordinated by forces within U.S. borders. Those responsible are possessed by non-human
entities and have no regard for human life any more than most humans have regard for the death
and suffering of cattle.See? I think we can all agree you'd have to be some kind of idiot to think
that September 11 had anything to do with al Qaeda. 1
wonderland inhabited by David Icke, conspiracy theorist extraordinaire. Like many others, Icke
theorizes that September 11 was a massive global conspiracy designed to kick off the long-
awaited New World Order on behalf of the aforementioned Illuminati, whose members include
Dubya, his dad, Clinton and Saddam Hussein, among many, many others.
According to Icke:Bin Laden, deeply misguided as he may be, is no more responsible for what
happened this week than I am. His name was introduced with the most obvious co-ordination
immediately after the disaster unfolded in the same way that the background to Lee Harvey
Oswald was being circulated BEFORE President Kennedy was even dead.
The idea that this guy from the mountains of Afghanistan with far more mouth than substance
could be the "Mr. Big" of this enormous operation is utterly insulting to anyone of even basic
intelligence. So what explanation would not be utterly insulting to anyone of even basic
intelligence?...the agenda from the death and destruction in New York and Washington [was]
co-ordinated by forces within U.S. borders. Those responsible are possessed by non-human
entities and have no regard for human life any more than most humans have regard for the death
and suffering of cattle.See? I think we can all agree you'd have to be some kind of idiot to think
that September 11 had anything to do with al Qaeda. 1
It is common when a horrific event occurs to make assumptions that it was a "government conspiracy". When I was a young defense attorney
in Federal Court I would be appointed tax protesters who had been convinced that they did not have to file taxes and the 16th amendment
was "unconstitutional". We went of the gold standard because of a "conspiracy" by the Jews and others to take over the world... When I sued
the US government on behalf of an Indian tribe because in 1968 the US Army had a "oops" and accidentally killed thousands of animals,
primarily sheep with nerve agent VX, and buried approximately 1,200 of them on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation, some of the people
my law office interviewed were convinced there was a "government conspiracy" to cover up what happened and why it happened. When I
represented a scientist during the first space shuttle disaster, there was the usual talk of the space shuttle Challenger disaster had been
covered up. There was a "conspiracy" to hide the truth from the American people. During the Salt Lake Winter Olympic scandal, I represented
one of the escorts who helped "persuade" the Olympic bid committee to choose Mormon Mecca as the place for winter games. There was alot
of talk of a "conspiracy" to get the Olympics and a "conspiracy" to cover up the scandal.
The fact of life is humans are a flawed animal with a tendency to lie when they get in trouble. The inability of people to take responsibility for
their own mistakes is a human trait. A "conspiracy" requires intelligent people to work together for a common goal and those involved would
keep quiet. Drug conspiracies are common and those involved stay quiet because they know they are violating the law and do not want to get
caught. But the idea that in large events where there was an accident like the space shuttle disaster or outright murder like with President
Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, September 11th attack, that the American government was involved in the planning and
execution gives second rate people more credibility then they deserve. Most politicians are first rate losers who unable to succeed in other
areas of life, seek the purple to give them some self esteem and applause where otherwise they would have none. A drug dealer plans
carefully to avoid detection. A killer/terrorist wants the maximum amount of attention and they want the public to know who they are and why
they killed people. American politicians do not have the brain power to plan a simple energy policy or mass transit system, much less a
"September 11th conspiracy" that would benefit defense contractors who are only one of many Washington lobbies.
The overwhelming weight of the evidence is that Bush/Cheney were asleep at guard duty and failed to properly protect the country. They
were incompetent. But incompetency does not make one a traitor. Wanting to have a massive increase in defense spending because it will
help you remain in office does not make you a "conspirator". It is just usual government institutional conflict of interest. But buying a vote with
a defense contract for Lockheed Martin or Boeing does not amount to being a traitor or a conspirator.
The truth appears to be that Al Qaeda was a small criminal group who got in a lucky sucker punch while an unsuspecting America was going
about their daily lives. This was not like December 7th, 1941 where the clouds of war were everywhere and it was obvious America was going
to go to war with Japan over who got to screw over and dominate the Pacific rim and Asia. America was at peace during the Clinton years
because his administration fought very hard to contain and roll back the Al Qaeda criminal network.
The idea that Bush/Cheney could have planned or at least allowed September 11th to have occurred so their friends from the defense
industry and the truly nut cases from the extreme right wing could benefit financially is to give these two cowards superhuman skills. Bush and
Cheney refused to serve in Vietnam. Both were drunks when they were young men. One was a child of privilege and another a political hack
that wormed his way to positions of power. As Alexander Cockburn correctly observes: "One characteristic of the nuts is that they have a
devout, albeit preposterous belief in American efficiency, thus many of them start with the racist premise that “Arabs in caves” weren’t capable
of the mission. They believe that military systems work the way Pentagon press flacks and aerospace salesmen say they should work."2
America would have increased defense spending and had a vicious disastrous war with Iraq with or without September 11th and even if the
US Supreme Court had not appointed Junior as president. There are defense contractors and/or military installations or bases in every single
congressional district in America. Bush not being or being president and a "war on terror" or no war on terror, an illegal invasion of Iraq or no
invasion changes this single fact of political life.
If Hill Air Force Base were to close, Utah would lose 17,000 direct jobs and at least 25,000 or more indirect jobs. In every community of
America there is a defense contractor or a military base. If not Iraq, then Lebanon or Panama or Kosovo or Afghanistan. There is not a
"conspiracy" where there is a secret meeting between various defense contractors, congressmen, and military generals where all of this
massive defense buildup is "planned". The defense contractor community competes with each other for contracts. Congressmen have many
lobbies offering money for political favors and generals are stuck with weapons systems they often don't want and fights they would rather
avoid.
If we want to look for a villain look in the mirror. We chose to use Middle East oil. We chose to vote for politicians who we clearly know vote to
increase defense spending on weapons systems like missile defense or aircraft carrier battle groups or to keep military bases open that we
know do not help the nation. Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda need America as an "enemy" otherwise they become irrelevant. America needs Al
Qaeda to justify massive defense expenditures otherwise we would have to completely restructure our entire economy and not use oil as the
fuel for our industrial military machine. If Al Qaeda did not exist and if we did not have a "war on terror" then we would have to invent an
"enemy" or change our wasteful way of life. If America was just another nation like Italy, or India or Argentina or Russia, we would not have a
defense budget that is larger then the next 22 nations combined. We have the most powerful military in human history. We do not have high
speed trains, national health insurance, a healthy society, peaceful communities and happy citizens. We are the guilty ones. In our massive
homes, gas hogs of vehicles, unhealthy bodies and ungrateful children, we have conspired with our short term interests of gluttony and waste
to use our military might to prop up our energy and entertainment, conspicuous consumption consumer way of life. The "conspiracy" of
September 11th is we elect politicians who will vote for higher defense budgets regardless of the environment or the suffering of others on our
small planet.
If you can name one piece of legislation that was passed by even one of your elected officials, then there is hope for Washington's politicians
after all. The reason "conspiracies" fail is most human endeavors fail. People fail at business, at relationships, in sports and in life. Should we
really expect the attempts at "conspiracy" to be any more successful then other activities of humans? Most people are broke, and the great
majority of politicians are losers. If Cheney was not vice president, he would just be a tired old man with two convictions for drunk driving that
flunked out of college. He is an opportunist and the defense contractors took advantage of the suffering of the tragedy of September 11th.
But neither he or Bush are traitors. The Congressmen and Senators who voted for these defense budgets are not traitors. They are just inept
politicians without a plan for America's future. Even if September 11th would not have happened, America would still be spending more money
on "national security" then the next 22 nations combined.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
1. See www.rotten.com/library/conspiracy/september_11_conspiracy_theories/
2. Alexander Cockburn is simply one of the best writers of the modern era. His excellent analysis of the
irrational rants of conspiracy theorists is found at: "9/11 Conspiracy Nuts" Counterpunch, September 9/10,
2006 online: www.counterpunch.org/cockburn09092006.html
in Federal Court I would be appointed tax protesters who had been convinced that they did not have to file taxes and the 16th amendment
was "unconstitutional". We went of the gold standard because of a "conspiracy" by the Jews and others to take over the world... When I sued
the US government on behalf of an Indian tribe because in 1968 the US Army had a "oops" and accidentally killed thousands of animals,
primarily sheep with nerve agent VX, and buried approximately 1,200 of them on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation, some of the people
my law office interviewed were convinced there was a "government conspiracy" to cover up what happened and why it happened. When I
represented a scientist during the first space shuttle disaster, there was the usual talk of the space shuttle Challenger disaster had been
covered up. There was a "conspiracy" to hide the truth from the American people. During the Salt Lake Winter Olympic scandal, I represented
one of the escorts who helped "persuade" the Olympic bid committee to choose Mormon Mecca as the place for winter games. There was alot
of talk of a "conspiracy" to get the Olympics and a "conspiracy" to cover up the scandal.
The fact of life is humans are a flawed animal with a tendency to lie when they get in trouble. The inability of people to take responsibility for
their own mistakes is a human trait. A "conspiracy" requires intelligent people to work together for a common goal and those involved would
keep quiet. Drug conspiracies are common and those involved stay quiet because they know they are violating the law and do not want to get
caught. But the idea that in large events where there was an accident like the space shuttle disaster or outright murder like with President
Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, September 11th attack, that the American government was involved in the planning and
execution gives second rate people more credibility then they deserve. Most politicians are first rate losers who unable to succeed in other
areas of life, seek the purple to give them some self esteem and applause where otherwise they would have none. A drug dealer plans
carefully to avoid detection. A killer/terrorist wants the maximum amount of attention and they want the public to know who they are and why
they killed people. American politicians do not have the brain power to plan a simple energy policy or mass transit system, much less a
"September 11th conspiracy" that would benefit defense contractors who are only one of many Washington lobbies.
The overwhelming weight of the evidence is that Bush/Cheney were asleep at guard duty and failed to properly protect the country. They
were incompetent. But incompetency does not make one a traitor. Wanting to have a massive increase in defense spending because it will
help you remain in office does not make you a "conspirator". It is just usual government institutional conflict of interest. But buying a vote with
a defense contract for Lockheed Martin or Boeing does not amount to being a traitor or a conspirator.
The truth appears to be that Al Qaeda was a small criminal group who got in a lucky sucker punch while an unsuspecting America was going
about their daily lives. This was not like December 7th, 1941 where the clouds of war were everywhere and it was obvious America was going
to go to war with Japan over who got to screw over and dominate the Pacific rim and Asia. America was at peace during the Clinton years
because his administration fought very hard to contain and roll back the Al Qaeda criminal network.
The idea that Bush/Cheney could have planned or at least allowed September 11th to have occurred so their friends from the defense
industry and the truly nut cases from the extreme right wing could benefit financially is to give these two cowards superhuman skills. Bush and
Cheney refused to serve in Vietnam. Both were drunks when they were young men. One was a child of privilege and another a political hack
that wormed his way to positions of power. As Alexander Cockburn correctly observes: "One characteristic of the nuts is that they have a
devout, albeit preposterous belief in American efficiency, thus many of them start with the racist premise that “Arabs in caves” weren’t capable
of the mission. They believe that military systems work the way Pentagon press flacks and aerospace salesmen say they should work."2
America would have increased defense spending and had a vicious disastrous war with Iraq with or without September 11th and even if the
US Supreme Court had not appointed Junior as president. There are defense contractors and/or military installations or bases in every single
congressional district in America. Bush not being or being president and a "war on terror" or no war on terror, an illegal invasion of Iraq or no
invasion changes this single fact of political life.
If Hill Air Force Base were to close, Utah would lose 17,000 direct jobs and at least 25,000 or more indirect jobs. In every community of
America there is a defense contractor or a military base. If not Iraq, then Lebanon or Panama or Kosovo or Afghanistan. There is not a
"conspiracy" where there is a secret meeting between various defense contractors, congressmen, and military generals where all of this
massive defense buildup is "planned". The defense contractor community competes with each other for contracts. Congressmen have many
lobbies offering money for political favors and generals are stuck with weapons systems they often don't want and fights they would rather
avoid.
If we want to look for a villain look in the mirror. We chose to use Middle East oil. We chose to vote for politicians who we clearly know vote to
increase defense spending on weapons systems like missile defense or aircraft carrier battle groups or to keep military bases open that we
know do not help the nation. Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda need America as an "enemy" otherwise they become irrelevant. America needs Al
Qaeda to justify massive defense expenditures otherwise we would have to completely restructure our entire economy and not use oil as the
fuel for our industrial military machine. If Al Qaeda did not exist and if we did not have a "war on terror" then we would have to invent an
"enemy" or change our wasteful way of life. If America was just another nation like Italy, or India or Argentina or Russia, we would not have a
defense budget that is larger then the next 22 nations combined. We have the most powerful military in human history. We do not have high
speed trains, national health insurance, a healthy society, peaceful communities and happy citizens. We are the guilty ones. In our massive
homes, gas hogs of vehicles, unhealthy bodies and ungrateful children, we have conspired with our short term interests of gluttony and waste
to use our military might to prop up our energy and entertainment, conspicuous consumption consumer way of life. The "conspiracy" of
September 11th is we elect politicians who will vote for higher defense budgets regardless of the environment or the suffering of others on our
small planet.
If you can name one piece of legislation that was passed by even one of your elected officials, then there is hope for Washington's politicians
after all. The reason "conspiracies" fail is most human endeavors fail. People fail at business, at relationships, in sports and in life. Should we
really expect the attempts at "conspiracy" to be any more successful then other activities of humans? Most people are broke, and the great
majority of politicians are losers. If Cheney was not vice president, he would just be a tired old man with two convictions for drunk driving that
flunked out of college. He is an opportunist and the defense contractors took advantage of the suffering of the tragedy of September 11th.
But neither he or Bush are traitors. The Congressmen and Senators who voted for these defense budgets are not traitors. They are just inept
politicians without a plan for America's future. Even if September 11th would not have happened, America would still be spending more money
on "national security" then the next 22 nations combined.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
1. See www.rotten.com/library/conspiracy/september_11_conspiracy_theories/
2. Alexander Cockburn is simply one of the best writers of the modern era. His excellent analysis of the
irrational rants of conspiracy theorists is found at: "9/11 Conspiracy Nuts" Counterpunch, September 9/10,
2006 online: www.counterpunch.org/cockburn09092006.html