Many technical analyses cast doubt on the official explanation of the collapse of three World Trade Center buildings, including those presented by an impressive new group: Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth.More difficult than discovering the truth, however, is convincing most of the public to accept the bitter truth.
Americans easily block out painful truths.Powerful societal forces keep much of the population distracted and uninterested in complex issues. Entertainment-oriented mainstream media contribute to mass ignorance.And the political establishment often buries the truth, uses propaganda and manipulates citizens.Intelligent, strong-willed people can fight all these.
But on a deeper level, many truths are blocked psychologically, because they produce too much pain.This results when truths sharply disagree with strongly held beliefs.The conflict produces cognitive dissonance that can block full acceptance of the disturbing truth.People fall victim to self-manipulation and self-delusion.Truths are dismissed and false beliefs remain embedded.
When it comes to 9/11, we face the strong belief that only Al-Qaeda caused 9/11.But analyses by many experts reveal the collapse of three WTC buildings was not caused by the two airplanes exploding into the two towers.Without getting into details that one can spend many hours examining on a number of websites, the general view is that the buildings were brought down by controlled demolition.
If correct – IF – the immediate reaction is like a cosmic big bang.It would have taken considerable effort by a number of people with expertise and access to the buildings to rig them so that they could be intentionally collapsed when the two jets hit the towers.Tough questions flood in: Who could have engineered all this?Could foreign agents accomplish such complex actions – and if they did, why not take credit for it?If Americans did it, why would they intentionally inflict inevitable mass death and devastation?Worse, they seemingly knew about the plan to fly the jets into the towers.
Post-9/11, why have the government and official investigations not come to the same controlled demolition conclusion?This might be explained if the government was involved.
Pull one string and the whole 9/11 story unravels as your imagination triggers unending questions.Can Americans support a reinvestigation and rethinking of the 9/11 event?Or would they rather avoid even more pain and preserve the official account that places all blame on Al-Qaeda?So easy to criticize those who offer different explanations as conspiracy nuts.
After all, the new truth would be so shocking that we would have to question our political and government system.Could there have been such malevolence somewhere in our government?Did a monumental conspiracy push us into attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq?Did petroleum and corporate interests shape 9/11?
Like other groups, Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth wants a new, honest and comprehensive study that considers all the evidence for controlled demolition.First, let the technical truth emerge.Then, if necessary, cope with the inevitable political, conspiracy and other questions.But let us not allow a possible painful truth block the primary task of determining once and for all what caused the collapse of the WTC towers and building no. 7.
If there were non-Muslim forces – possibly U.S. government ones – that played a major role in the WTC catastrophe, then let us have the courage to face the truth.Suppose some element of our government played a secret, awful role.If we do not uncover it, then we are vulnerable to repeat nefarious and unimaginable activity in the future – possibly to impact the 2008 presidential election.Discovering 9/11 truth would enshrine the wisdom of the old adage: the truth hurts.That means suffering the pain of revealing lies and cover-ups.Mourning over the deaths of building victims and heroic first responders would expand with new anger.And another reason to hate and oppose the Iraq war would surface.
If those that believe the official 9/11 story – especially elected officials – trust their views, then let them support a serious investigation to test the validity of the controlled demolition hypothesis.If they fear and reject doing so, then let us see that as suspicious and unacceptable.
As a former engineering professor with growing skepticism about the official WTC story, I joined Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth; you can learn about the controlled demolition findings and other similar truth-seeking efforts at www.ae911truth.org.You choose: seek the truth yourself or take the easy way and just criticize those who question the official story.
To sum up, horrific possible answers can cause us to shun a question.But clearing our minds of fears of painful truths is essential to clearing our nation of destructive lies.Otherwise, we stay stuck in a delusional democracy.
www.delusionaldemocracy.com
Joel S. Hirschhorn is the author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government (www.delusionaldemocracy.com). His current political writings have been greatly influenced by working as a senior staffer for the U.S. Congress and for the National Governors Association. He advocates a Second American Revolution, beginning with an Article V Convention to propose constitutional amendments.
November 22, 1963 was a "dry run" for the 9/11 outrage. Back then, our officials, who should have known better, buried their collective heads in their nether regions. Could our government have permitted or committed such an outrage. Not here, in the land of the free. We are not like those nasty old Europeans. Such things don't happen here. Or, do they?
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Tom Sciamanna (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 24 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 8:33:51 AM
. . . joining Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Joel. Your sober, objective voice can't help but lend further credibility to it. It's an act of bravery.
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Russ Wellen (58 articles, 1029 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 335 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 9:08:26 AM
What would be nice, is if these Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth who want a new, honest and comprehensive investigation into 9/11, if they were given some help by this corporate run reticent media. It is their duty to report the facts which they simply refuse to do. So therefore, they too are just as complicit as the perpetrators of the tragedy on 9/11.
If you recall, The History Channel had the deep voiced and former MSNBC news anchor, Lester Holt to refute any of the truths the scholars brought to the table. Sadly, Mr. Holt isn't a real news reporter, but merely a General Electric paid shill.
I would appreciate if you and others could take a look at this rather baffling Youtube video.
The solution to the investigation is not to leave it up to a governmental agency, but to ask a large Class Action Law firm to investIgate as a Taxpayers Law suit. They want to make money and will, if you find a good one, sue and win, AND THEN LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY!
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Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo (144 articles, 1 quicklinks, 95 diaries, 1216 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 11:09:33 AM
I was just whistfully saying just that very thing to a fellow 9-11 truther...A class action lawsuit...We The People vs. the United States Government...
LOVE IT!
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sherry clark (23 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 64 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 11:24:09 AM
9/11 victims and families, firemen, policemen, everyone sickened in the cleanup, everyone effected (well, it might be hard to include Iraq and Afghanistan in the lawsuit). Let's talk this up. Lawyers, what do you say?
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Mac McKinney (41 articles, 56 quicklinks, 127 diaries, 899 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 1:20:51 PM
A Class Action Lawsuit is indeed a good start. Starting first with the Firefighters, Policeman, the Ironworkers and everyone else who worked at pile after 911. They are key witnesses.
It's also encouraging knowing that over half of the citizens of New York City believe the towers were brought down by something other than the jet fuel.
There's just one problem. A lawsuit of this magnitude would take time which isn't on our side. For example, Dick Cheney's former legal counsel David Addington threatened the consequence of mass terror attacks in order to silence Department of Justice lawyer Jack Goldsmith when he questioned the legality of the warrantless wiretapping program, this according to Goldsmith's new book.
We're dealing with a ruthless, rogue administration who are merely front men of an even larger picture.
The point I'm trying to make here is that if this administration is in anyway responsible for 911, they're not going to let a lawsuit hinder their ultimate objective. And if (God forbid) we see some other attack, then all bets are off. Bush and Cheney would probably implement their directive and attempt Martial Law.
We're living in a matrix. A false reality created for us by a nefarious cabal. Up is now down, down is up. What we need is an honest media, people who care about America and who won't be afraid to report the true facts. Perhaps then we could go about with such a lawsuit and put an end to this non-stop mendacity.
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Munich (0 articles, 47 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 676 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 1:28:44 PM
But I said it before and I am saying now that the 9/11 truth is not about who did the demolition but about the inclusion of the judicial process. The proclamaation of war made it possible for Bush to avoid and push aside the professional investigation and that has to be revived. The WTC event has to be announced a crime, the professional DA investigation is to be sought and all witnesses( !) including Bush and company are to be subpoenaed. Then and only then we could consider the matter to be addressed properly. There is only one mechanism sso far in this nation which makes it possible at least to find the truth- it is a trial. We, the people must not delude ourselves- the 9/11 truth cannot be found out without reviving the judiciary responsiblity. That's more important than anything else. The rule of law was compromised on 9/11 and since then it has been compromised many times.
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Mark Sashine (44 articles, 19 quicklinks, 228 diaries, 3265 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 12:32:32 PM
I have heard the theories about the WTC over and over again and while I can't deny they make sense, they sound good, I also have a hard time swallowing them whole. And I don't think my reason is clouded by emotion. It's just that I know what it takes to keep a secret and I don't think the government, THIS government, is cabable of keeping a secret THAT big. Were the powers that coordinated the WTC disaster smart enough to work through all the thousands of little details and yet too stupid to have a plan for going into Iraq successfully?
I'm sure you've heard these questions before. And I'm not sure I don't believe you - but what do you say to someone with these kinds of questions?
Thanks!
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Lynnette DeBell (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 2:42:31 PM
The problem is that it is NOT secret. people all over the world are talking about it. The government has the power to silence people; it hires "experts" to debuk the theories, it sows doubt by bringing in opposing theories, it controls the media, it derides those asking questions "conspiracy nuts".But these questions will not go away. I imagine you are asking; Why doesn't someone come forward and say I placed the detonators thus-and-so. Maybe theyre scared. Maybe theyre dead. An awful lot of people connected to Lee Harvey Oswald died prematurely. Anyone capable of such a heinous act is capable of dealing with whistleblowers. As far as Iraq- the war is going just the way they want it to go. They have wrecked the country, which was their objective, so all the oil industry can be run by Western companies, since the Iraqis will be too demoralized and diminished to runa anything. Thats the plan.
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Guajolotl (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 132 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 8:15:16 PM
Yes, secrets - big secrets - can and have been kept for decades. The biggest secret of all is the one that we're not alone in the universe, and that an extraterrestrial entity has been engaging earth for at least the last 60 years and probably much longer.
We all have been lied to , manipulated, and controlled in ways we can not imagine, and many, many people have been in on these deceptions.
These secrets can be held indefinitely because the consequences of spilling the beans is so severe, that any insider faces grave danger if their "security oaths" are broken. They not only go after you, but after your family. People have been eliminated for getting too close to some truths.
Thinking that secrets can't be kept is one of the worst reasons for embracing the official version of 9-11.
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Bill Cain (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 258 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 8:19:28 PM
Watergate should have taught us a lesson. Watergate was very demoralizing and washed away many myths about how we walk the moral highground and are above that kind of "Nixon thing."
It proved were not above it; our politicians were not above and still are not above it.
It's been a long time since Watergate and we've forgotten its lessons, and some people like Bush and all the Bushites never learned the lessons.
So, our opinions of our own country and our own politicians became a bit tarnished and we became a lot skeptical. Skepticism is okay. It keep us wary and watching.
Lately we haven't been wary or watchful enough, especially the press. If the press isn't, it's harder for us to be.
When Hirschhorn says it's investigation time OUT LOUD, and hopefully without too much fear of being called a left wing, unAmerican, raving whacko, then it's past time for an investigation.
I don't know about anyone else, but I've written more than one scenario in my mind about how explosives could have been placed in the World Trade Center, starting with the repair crews who fixed it after the first attack.
Whatever the outcome; whatever dirt is dug up, we'll be all the better for it.
Let the investigations begin!
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Sandy Sand (130 articles, 0 quicklinks, 153 diaries, 1174 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 3:33:26 PM
It's time for a legitimate investigation of this heinous day when the entire fascist time warp into which America was sucked began. Hell, to listen to the reich wing payroll pundits, the red state knuckledraggers and the raptureheads this was a glorious day when everything changed.
Bullshit I say, 9/11 was an 'inside job' with a big assed asterisk.
The blaming of the government itself or the Bush administration as a whole for 9/11 is a bad argument and will find you sitting in the corner in a tin foil dunce cap very quickly. Think not of the government as a whole but of rogue factions,secret teams and top secret intelligence networks that transcend loyalty to any country. 9/11 in my opinion was a black ops, false flag job all the way but the question that needs to be asked is not who or how but WHY!
This whole thing is much deeper than it is being portrayed as, there is a very long history of global criminality and the pursuit of capitalism, empire and hegemony and any serious researcher knows that the story of 9/11 started a long time prior to the days that those planes hit the buildings.
I would strongly recommend taking a look at the shadow government that Cheney and Rummy were so involved in during the Reagan years, also Iran Contra, BCCI, Team B, Rex 84, PNAC and Edward Luttwak's playbook for a coup de'tat.
This whole thing is HUGE and in my opinion the attacks weren't the greatest crime of that particular day but rather the usurping of the entire U.S. government by a rogue network using 9/11 as cover.
What else can explain it? Are you telling me that a guy in a cave on dialysis and 19 losers could defeat our entire air defense system, the intelligence apparatus and do so through intimate knowledge of war games and hijack drills that were being run simultaneously on the very same day? Hell maybe Bruce Willis can train a bunch of roughnecks to become astronauts and blow up the asteroid but this entire story stinks to high heaven.
At the very least we had incompetence and moles that had penetrated intelligence and at the worst it was a coup de'tat by a hignly organized, highly ideological, multi-national rogue group of criminals intent at overthrowing the legitimate (and I use that word very loosely considering the 2000 stolen election) government of the United States in order to pursue a foreign policy of regional domination in the Middle East while concurrently destroying America from within.
Read your history folks, stuff like this is the norm rather than the exception. The only thing that has changed are the names and the technology.
Just my two cents
EE
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Ed Encho (6 articles, 8 quicklinks, 54 diaries, 347 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 6:28:07 PM
If true the events of 9/11 with respect to the Twin Towers would have been an elaborate and involved operation with a very successful conclusion. Can anyone name me one such competent action by this administration?
I find it impossible to believe that this Gang of Clowns could have done such a thing with such success. I have only perused a few of the websites pertaining to the theory that this was a staged event, but, Mr. Hirschhorn, as an engineer you are aware the the Towers, having been constructed on Port Authority land, were exempt from NYC building codes, were constructed in such a way as to enable the "pancaking effect" that brought them down. Are you not?
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 6:41:54 PM
Passing all of the laws and presidential directive necessary to achieve martial law and dictatorship (elimination of constitutional rights).
Effectively building their permanent mega bases in Iraq and controlling the populace through implemented Straussian 'controlled chaos'.
Effectively manipulating the government in Lebanon through black ops and assassinations.
Effectively using torture as state policy with hardly a ripple in the public.
Just about absolute control of the main stream media. And the Sheep.
Continuing implementation of the NAU and very effective theft of most monetary resources, preparatory for introduction of the Amero. Destruction of the middle class.
Effective geopolitical strategy to encircle the relevant areas in western Asia
and hell, the list goes on and on and on. Want more?
In any case, the argument about the administration's ineffectiveness is patently absurd. False. And clearly contrary to evidence.
The only good news is the emergence of Russia as an authentic power and the creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Association. All coming together to face the global hegemon.
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richard (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 664 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 7:57:03 PM
about the building codes clearly flies in the face of abundant evidence regarding the strengh and resiliance of the Towers. Well documented. You should know if you are presenting false information clothed in the guise of query.
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richard (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 664 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 8:00:06 PM
You allow your passion to overrule your intellect, sorry to
say. If you bothered to dig into the subject, as I have, you might find, to your infinite surprise that you are dead wrong about the way those towers were constructed. They were indeed in violation of building codes using a newish method without rerquired amounts of vertical support. Picture a stack of pancakes, welded not I beamed and you will have a (picturesque if not engineeringly accurate) picture.
Hurling charges based, not upon your own research, but upon your own beliefs really doesnt do much for my opinion of you.......Beliefs are nothing without hard facts. Spend some time with a decent search engine before calling others names. Or better yet, ignore my posts, I have little patience with such as you.
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 8:15:45 AM
They may be clowns, Ardee, but they have enough tricks to have stolen the circus and run it their way for six plus years now. Clowns should not be underestimated.
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Mac McKinney (41 articles, 56 quicklinks, 127 diaries, 899 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 10:50:32 PM
The pancake theory was an obvious impossibility, has been completely debunked, and even NIST backed away from it. You've been propaganda-ized. Wipe the slate clean and spend some time researching it.
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Co6aka (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 68 comments)
on Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 2:30:41 AM
that is exactly the way those towers were constructed, Ive seen the engineering drawings. I am sorry that Mr. Hirschhorn has seemingly run away from this after raising the issue and claiming expertise in it....
I spent many an evening dining at the fine restaurant atop one tower, have noted, many times the expansive feel one got from the new construction, and have read two reports stating the exemption the building received from the NYC codes due to its construction on Port Authority land.
I am sorry if facts get in the way of your desire to pin this on anyone but bin Laden, but I am not debunking your claim of conspiracy only pointing out the obvious facts you overlook or deny (some with angst apparently). Sometimes things are really what they appear to be....
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 9:10:46 AM
"The detailed architectural drawings make clear what official reports have apparently attempted to hide: that the Twin Towers had massive core columns, and those columns ran most of the height of each Tower before transitioning to columns with smaller cross-sections."
"Fine" restaurant??? LoL! WotW wasn't exactly the pinnacle of fine dining. I ate there once (before I saw the kitchen) and it was so "fine" I never went back. Besides, the view from the roof of WTC1 was better and I was getting paid to be there, instead of getting Salmonella and fleeced. OK, granted, WotW was better than Mickey-D's and the view of the massive core columns was astounding.
Aah yes, Osama Bin Forgotten. "IF... I did it." Sorry if facts get in your way, but he's never been charged with the crime of 9/11. Seems the FBI and DoJ haven't been able to put together an endictment. But you have. Cool!
FBI Wanted Poster, just like the one hanging in your local post office. No mention of 9/11.
FBI SAYS it has “No hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11” Maybe that's just because their investigation was called off due to the Anthrax attack Bin Laden also orchestrated, right?
And after they defused the bombs that didn't go off in the Pentagon, and hiding all the ones that had been planted in The White House and moved them all to Iraq, this theory fits in neatly with the Murrah Building and the Kennedy cover-up, it fits nicely together. And, ... the aliens who landed in New Mexico, and the fact that we really didn't land on the moon! All coverups.
