With the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks upon us, while we remember the deaths of so many good Americans, it is time to take a look at an issue much of the media seems afraid to tackle.
If you perform a search on Yahoo on the words 9/11 conspiracy you will get no less than approximately thirty million hits. A search on Google results in over four million hits. Pages that discuss 9/11 conspiracies outnumber JFK assassination discussion pages by over ten to one on Yahoo and by more than two to one on google.
Polling reflects the idea that Americans are taking more than a casual glance at ideas that challenge the Bush administration's account of the attacks. A CNN Poll conducted in August-September 2006 showed that over 50% of Americans assign at least a moderate amount of blame for 9/11 to the Bush administration. An October 2006 NY Times/CBS poll shows that over 80% of Americans regard the official story regarding 9/11 coming from the Bush Administration as omitting information or outright lies.
Chances are if you are reading this there is at least some part of the official 9/11 account about which you are not sure you believe. You may not even have known until now how widespread those thoughts are. I've discussed and argued about the various 9/11 conspiracy theories on various sites. I will get to what I believe later, but first I think it is helpful to categorize the different conspiracy theories into three distinct categories and provide some limited commentary. Some of the theories have components in all three categories, but I think this method makes the most sense. The three categories are "Advanced Knowledge", "Carrying out or Participation in the Carrying out of the attacks" and "Use of the Attacks to Pursue and Unrelated War and Inappropriately Restrict Civil Liberties"
1. Advanced KnowledgeAdvanced knowledge is the idea that the Bush administration had at least an idea that something was going to happen. Some people believe that knowledge is much deeper.
A. One of the mildest conspiracy theories out there is that the administration had a mild inkling about the coming attacks but did nothing to stop them. This conspiracy theory stands on its own or in some people's beliefs is combined with those in the other categories. The main facts used to support this belief are that Condoleezza Rice, the then National Security Advisor, was warned by George Tenet and the CIA no less than three times before 9/11 that bin Laden and Al Qaeda were determined to strike in the US and nothing was done about it.
Think about that. The National Security Advisor's only job is to ensure the security of the United States against foreign and domestic threats. You have been warned three times by the intelligence service in your country about an organization and take no action against them. Who out there did Condi think was a greater threat? Moreover, were they such a threat that she could take no action to protect us against Al Qaeda at the same time? To anyone reading this, As National Security Advisor, wouldn't your first act upon hearing a terrorist group was determined to do something in the US be to immediately increase security in airports so that planes could not be hijacked? Isn't that something terrorists frequently do? Another fact is that by September of 2001, Bush's poll numbers had seen five straight months of decline and were approaching 50% and the theory goes that the attacks were good for the Bush administration, its popularity and its ability to carry out its agenda.
B. Some people not only believe the Bush administration had an inkling, but that they were specifically told by bin Laden and Al Qaeda about the attacks before they happened. People who believe this point to the ease with which the attacks were carried out as evidence the attackers had help from inside the US government. The theory and others also suggest that Bin Laden had contacts in the CIA dating back to his Mujahideen days when he was in Afghanistan fighting the Soviets.
2. Actual Carrying out of the Attacks
Some believe the Bush administration not only knew the attacks were going to occur, but that they took an active part in the attacks. There are many theories out there regarding this but I will discuss some of the more popular ones.
A. The administration coordinated the attacks with Al Qaeda and pre-positioned a material called "Thermite" in the towers to ensure the towers collapsed. People who believe this say that the forces present when the planes hit the tower and afterwards with the fires were not sufficient to weaken the towers' infrastructure so as to cause their collapse. The material Thermite, used in various commercial and military applications burns extraordinarily hot and would have achieved the necessary temperatures. Even if the plane collisions and resulting fires somehow did achieve the collapse of the towers, the theory goes; the collapse would not have resembled a controlled demolition as no building collapse as the result of an impact has ever done so. This theory also raises the issue of the blazing collapse of World Trade Center Building #7 (WTC #7) a building that was not hit by any planes. To this day, six years later, the collapse of WTC #7 is not well explained and very hard to understand.
The official account as written by the NIST scientists that is supposed to explain the towers' collapse does seem to contain some notable holes in regards to the temperatures/ability to cause collapse, the way the towers collapsed and WTC #7. I have tried my best to read the hundreds of pages in the NIST report and it does not seem like these issues were addressed directly enough. People who believe this part of the conspiracy theories have been calling for a reopening of the 9/11 investigation into what brought down the towers and they have requested an independent body conduct the new investigation. One problem with this theory is that both of the towers' collapses seem to have originated at the point of impact of the planes. To accept this theory, one has to believe that the Thermite was pre-positioned so well, and the pilots flying the planes had so much skill, that the planes impacted only a few feet over where the pre-positioned Thermite was to ignite and cause the collapse. This makes this theory difficult but perhaps not impossible. However, this problem leads nicely into the second theory in this category.
Steven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.
Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of the 500+ liberal pundits who, each month, are published in what has become one of the top five Liberal/progressive media sites in the US.
Gov Account vs Propaganda Inside Job Account vs REAL Account
Many know the OGCT (Official Government Conspiracy Theory) to be nothing but pure nonsense; a fairytale believed by those not acquainted with the true facts.
However, many have been tricked by well placed "alternate theory" propaganda designed to distract us from the real evidence. One example of this propaganda, "molten metal at Ground Zero", has been shown to be pure fabrication, designed to distract us from other issues.
Lenin, the first Communist dictator after the takeover of Russia in 1917, is widely credited with the following quotation, "The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves."
Obviously the perpetrators of 9/11 took lessons.
The so-called "9/11 truth movement" is being controlled by the 9/11 perpetrators, or those affiliated with the 9/11 perpetrators. People have been planted to control the direction of the truth movement and to discourage them from looking at TV-FAKERY and DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS. Many of these plants have direct affiliations with DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON technologies. (i.e. Steven Jones - former Los Alamos researcher; Bob Bowman - former director of the Star Wars program.)
People must learn of the REAL evidence for 9/11. This evidence, obviously not publicized in any media outlet, is admissible in a Court of Law.
Trial attorney Jerry Leaphart is representing two individuals:
Dr Morgan Reynolds, former Chief Economist from the US Department of Labor, filed a complaint which was unsealed by the US District Court, Southern New York, alleging private contractors defrauded the government by supplying bogus analysis of aluminum airplanes gliding into steel/concrete buildings. Reynolds also filed a Request for Correction regarding the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) report on the World Trade Center destruction. Leaphart is now notifying the Defendants in the case.(See here for full info and Court PDF file.)
Dr Judy Wood, former Professor of Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University, filed a Request For Correction with NIST demonstrating evidence for directed energy weapon usage at the World Trade Center on 9/11, and has been in contact with government officials. (See here for PDF docs.)
"What I can tell you and the listeners, Kevin, is this. There is more admissible evidence associated with the theory that the World Trade Center was destroyed by directed energy weapons than there is admissible evidence for any single other theory out there that has been promulgated."
Dr Wood has already lost several people. Her 9/11 research student Michael Zebuhr from Clemson was murdered, as well as some of her instructors at Virginia Tech.
One must actually look at the evidence for themselves to determine what actually happened. One must sort through it all to determine what is, and what is not, propaganda.
The following are a few examples of how former Los Alamos researcher Steven Jonesdiscouraged people from looking at the evidence for directed energy weapons:
Jones: The current "pet theory" that I have challenged is one now supported by you and (not surprisingly) Wood and Reynolds - the idea that "space beams" or "energy beams" were directed at the Towers to bring them down.
Jones: We won’t spend much time on ray-beams from space knocking down the Towers!
Ron Paul would get to the bottom of these descrepencies regarding 911, the war on Iraq and the criminal allegations involving our Goverments comlicity in the attacks and subsequent dismantling of our civil liberties. You have to atleast listen to what he has to say. He is a breath of fresh air in a Minnesota airport restroom .. LOL
by
Logical Response (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 16 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 10:31:34 AM
Yes, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich say that they favor an impartial re-investigation, but when are they actually going to talk about it when vast numbers of TV viewers are tuned in?
Someone HAS to start this long-overdue dialogue in the mainstream, and take the big risk - especially on live TV. Otherwise, it will continue to be a non-issue, and like other important Truths, continue to languish in conspiratorial purgatory.
by
Bill Cain (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 269 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 11:12:06 AM
One either has to believe in the laws of physics relative to conservation of momentum or trust that the official narrative of the 911 atrocity is true. They are mutually exclusive.
Objects or buildings that fall at a free-fall rate fall with no resistance. Discounting air resistance, this is the case with WTC1, 2 and especially building 7. The widely trumpeted "pancake collapse theory" would introduce significant resistance as upper floors would have to crash through many tens of stories of undamaged structure. The actual rate of the collapse of these three structures as corroborated by unspinnable video evidence, exposes the fallacious nature of the official explanation. A free-fall rate of collapse is only possible if all structural integrity is eliminated just ahead of the collapse wave. This set of parameters can only be accounted for by the controlled demolition of these buildings.
Every American has to decide whether to trust this government and corporate controlled news media or whether to apply some critical thinking skills in the evaluation of widely disseminated information concerning the 911 atrocity. Since my government has a long history of protecting me from the truth "for my own good", I'll stick with Newton and Galileo.
A thorough treatment of this topic, including a peer reviewed academic treatise, can be considered at www.stj911.org/.
by
brisa (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 9 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 11:24:12 AM
This article dismisses the thermite theory in one sentence.
You say, "One problem with this theory (the thermite theory) is that both of the towers' collapses seem to have originated at the point of impact of the planes. To accept this theory, one has to believe that the Thermite was pre-positioned so well, and the pilots flying the planes had so much skill, that the planes impacted only a few feet over where the pre-positioned Thermite was to ignite and cause the collapse."
The above is a quotation from your comments to give context. I am picking up this part of the quotation for questioning:"both of the towers' collapses seem to have originated at the point of impact of the planes".
I have read a great deal about 9/11 including Doctor Jones paper on the thermite theory. I have never seen mentioned that the towers' collapses originated at the point of compact of the airplanes. This is a key point because with this one sentence you dismiss the whole thermite theory-- a theory that is a very key component in debunking or at least questioning the official story. What documentation do you have to support your statement?
by
Christie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 147 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 7:30:53 PM
51% of folks in the US want a new 9/11 investigation focused on Bush and Cheney role in it, and over two thirds say the 9/11 Commission should have investigated the collapse of Building 7.
Here is the full paragraph from Zogby on the critical issue of building no.7:
WTC 7 housed the mayor's emergency bunker and offices of the SEC, IRS, CIA and Secret Service and was not hit by any planes but still completely collapsed into its own footprint nearly eight hours after the Twin Tower attacks. FEMA did not explain this collapse, the 911 Commission ignored it, and the promised official study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is now 2 years overdue.
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Joel S. Hirschhorn (116 articles, 22 quicklinks, 51 diaries, 462 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 11:38:45 AM
One of the most compelling reasons for dissent is six of the nineteen hijackers listed by the 9/11 Commision have been confirmed to be still alive by various media organizations. The Saudi embassy in D.C. even reported three of them, Mohand al-Sherhri, Salem al-Hazmi, and Abdulaziz al-Omari, still living in Saudi Arabia.
Regardless of how, or if, the Bush Administration played a role, the results have been the same. The wars continue and the money is flowing towards the NPAC, a Neo-Con pet project, goal of a larger, better funded military.
David Ray Griffen has written two very well organized and supported books on this issue. He steers away from theories like DEW and mini-nukes, which are, quite frankly, ridiculus and without a larger academic supporting community. The books are worth the effort, and at least a basis for new, independent investigations.
Lastly, there is strong evidence for thermite, or thermate. Find Jerry Lobdill's paper at journalof911studies.com. The element of placement and timing, as mentioned above, seem irrelevant as charges could have been placed throughout all three buildings.
by
David Lohnes (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 12:44:17 PM
Yes; I believe there was a conspiracy. My first inkling of this came like a slap or a koan -- observing the behaviour of Bush when he was made aware of the calamity.
My "evidence" is not from my poor understanding of physics (though I am thoroughly gratified to have read all the evidence put forth by you who do have backgrounds in physics and engineering). My conviction is from my intuitive and feeling capacities.
Even after disregarding the blatant stupidity of Bush -- factoring in that he is atrociously dull-headed -- I find his reaction to the news that arrived during his visit to a kindergarten (I can't resist commenting that he must have felt quite at home) to be incomprehensible.
I don't think he sat there so dumbly because he was paralyzed by the enormity of the event. I believe he sat there waiting.....for the events to play out to their conclusion; perhaps the news arrived inappropriately soon for whatever had been planned for him to do, to proceed as planned. I am convinced, just by watching his pudding face, that this news was not a surprise to him. He could not feign surprise and shock, so he just sat there and continued to sit there for far too long with an expression that did not match the situation.
And then after having read of hard-science evidence such as has been posted here and other places, I feel my instinctive take has been borne out. The physics of these collapsing buildings is fascinating, in a horrifying and macabre way.
There are far, far too many anomalies here. I add mine -- they cannot be proven -- to postulations that I hope can be.
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Jami (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 1:13:58 PM
With the mountain of evidence now available to debunk the so-called "official" story of 9/11 I find it uninmaginable that any reasonable person can not doubt that elements within our own government were involved with the attack.
What I find the hardest thing to do is getting many of my friends to even consider this fact. I have a shelf of DVD's and articles that cast doubt on the events of 9/11 and the responce I get most of the time when I ask them to view this evidence is "I don't want to know", or "If that's true, we're really screwed" and they simply don't want to face the truth because I assume it will destroy their core belief that our nation would never do something like this, or if they were made aware they'd HAVE to act and most simply don't want to be bothered with disrupting their comfort zone.
I don't know if the truth will ever be fully exposed or if anyone will be held accountable. But I do know this, either way, truth known or not, 9/11 will destroy whatever the Founding Fathers meant this country to be.
9/11 DID change everything and none of it for the good.
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Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 1171 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 2:20:18 PM
Of course restricting 9/11 to US operatives, and to the "Bush adminsitration", when we know that nearly 200 Israelis were arrested (how many escaped?), is a bit of dishonest presentation. Your "theories" lack a comprehensive knowledge of known facts about the attacks.
Adding garbage theories like "no planes" and "DEW" completely reduces the value of this article.
I've been trying to educate people about solid verifiable facts for 5 years now. See:
Concerning the WHO when it comes to explosives and/or thermate in the World Trade Center, we need to look to the person with control of the site, one Mr. Larry Silverstein, good friends with Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon at the time. We should also note that "demolition/ordnance specialist" was the expertise of at least one of the arrested Israelis, and that explosives and the materials for manufacturing them were reportedly found at the Urban Moving Systems warehouse in NJ. A van full of explosives was even stopped on the George Washington Bridge, to be mentioned once by CBS news, and then disappeared down the memory hole.
Well, Jeezus Christmas on a cracker. If the owner of Urban Moving Systems was Egyptian or Lebanese, I think we would have heard about it to no end in the controlled press. But, no. The owner, a Mr.Dominik Otto Suter, "fled to Israel shortly before he was to be re-questioned by the FBI."
"The Israelis were later linked to an Israeli-owned office moving company called Urban Moving Systems headquartered in Weehawken, New Jersey at 3 West 18th Street. Another Urban Moving office was located on West 50th Street in Manhattan. Urban Moving’s owner, Dominik Otto Suter, fled to Israel shortly before he was to be re-questioned by the FBI." -Wayne Madsen, The Israeli Art Students and Movers Story
Source for the info on Suter is:
Footnote 4. "Neil Mackay, “Five Israelis were seen filming from the van on the right as jet liners ploughed into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Were they part of a massive spy ring which shadowed the 911 hijackers and knew that al-Qaeda planned a devastating terrorist attack on the USA?”Sunday Herald, November 2, 2003"
My main point is that this is bigger than the Bush administration. The prepration took years. "Al Qaeda" operatives -- or patsies? -- were protected under the Clinton regime, protected by the CIA units that were supposed to be stopping terrorism against the US.
September 11th may have been bad news to the immediate victims, but it wasn't bad for a lot of very powerful interests. One among them are the Israelis. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had the unbridled joy on 9/11, when asked about the effects of the attacks on US/Israeli relations: "It's very good." Realizing his faux pas, he restated the sentiment in diplomatic language: "Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy." (Wikipedia)
by
johndoraemi (17 articles, 12 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 170 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 3:39:29 PM
Also, be aware that the origins of many of these theories
where Jews/The Mossad/Zionists are claimed to have been behind the attacks have been directly traced to members of the American Nazi Party, the Aryan Nations and other Anti-Semitic groups like the Identity movement.
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Steven Leser (189 articles, 35 quicklinks, 32 diaries, 1291 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 4:19:12 PM
a large part of it can be traced to a FOX news report.
If you are going to say they are debunked you had best provide your sources. Eh?
But I don't know why anyone would defend the Mossad or the government of Israel... particularly the Likud. Now understand this. Half of my family is Jewish. I am not anti-Semitic. That is a vile bigotry. But the behaviors of governments and of secret services is very much on the table. All one has to do is read Finklelstein, Pappeand Chossudosky et . al. , and you will know you cannot trust the governements, and secret agencies.... whether ours in the U.S. or the CIA or those of other states. And ultimately, the bulk of the information, the proof has to do with many countries, many atrocities. The U.S. has been very busy. For a damn long time.
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richard (0 articles, 4 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 708 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 7:57:09 PM
to realize it was a conspiracy. Just watch, with the volume turned off, the news footage of the fall of the 3 buildings, all quite close to each other, and all within hours of each other ...
_INTO_THEIR_OWN_FOOTPRINTS_.
Then consider the probability of such SYMMETRY manifesting in 3 collapses via fire and even via plane crashes. Then, consider what pre-planting of explosives (or equipment) is necessary to get that to happen, and, voila, it is clear that multiple evildoers had to be involved.
Ergo, Conspiracy.
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lenngray (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 38 comments)
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 3:42:08 PM
