Good article about 911 by Robert Fisk which kind off expresses my own point of view (sorry Scott for bringing up the 911 conspiracy issue here, but this article is well written, IMHO, and Fisk is definitely *not* a kook)
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Each time I lecture abroad on the Middle East, there is always someone in the audience - just one - whom I call the "raver". Apologies here to all the men and women who come to my talks with bright and pertinent questions - often quite humbling ones for me as a journalist - and which show that they understand the Middle East tragedy a lot better than the journalists who report it. But the "raver" is real. He has turned up in corporeal form in Stockholm and in Oxford, in Sao Paulo and in Yerevan, in Cairo, in Los Angeles and, in female form, in Barcelona. No matter the country, there will always be a "raver".
His - or her - question goes like this. Why, if you believe you’re a free journalist, don’t you report what you really know about 9/11? Why don’t you tell the truth - that the Bush administration (or the CIA or Mossad, you name it) blew up the twin towers? Why don’t you reveal the secrets behind 9/11? The assumption in each case is that Fisk knows - that Fisk has an absolute concrete, copper-bottomed fact-filled desk containing final proof of what "all the world knows" (that usually is the phrase) - who destroyed the twin towers. Sometimes the "raver" is clearly distressed. One man in Cork screamed his question at me, and then - the moment I suggested that his version of the plot was a bit odd - left the hall, shouting abuse and kicking over chairs.
Usually, I have tried to tell the "truth"; that while there are unanswered questions about 9/11, I am the Middle East correspondent of The Independent, not the conspiracy correspondent; that I have quite enough real plots on my hands in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Iran, the Gulf, etc, to worry about imaginary ones in Manhattan. My final argument - a clincher, in my view - is that the Bush administration has screwed up everything - militarily, politically diplomatically - it has tried to do in the Middle East; so how on earth could it successfully bring off the international crimes against humanity in the United States on 11 September 2001?
Well, I still hold to that view. Any military which can claim - as the Americans did two days ago - that al-Qa’ida is on the run is not capable of carrying out anything on the scale of 9/11. "We disrupted al-Qa’ida, causing them to run," Colonel David Sutherland said of the preposterously code-named "Operation Lightning Hammer" in Iraq’s Diyala province. "Their fear of facing our forces proves the terrorists know there is no safe haven for them." And more of the same, all of it untrue.
Within hours, al-Qa’ida attacked Baquba in battalion strength and slaughtered all the local sheikhs who had thrown in their hand with the Americans. It reminds me of Vietnam, the war which George Bush watched from the skies over Texas - which may account for why he this week mixed up the end of the Vietnam war with the genocide in a different country called Cambodia, whose population was eventually rescued by the same Vietnamese whom Mr Bush’s more courageous colleagues had been fighting all along.
But - here we go. I am increasingly troubled at the inconsistencies in the official narrative of 9/11. It’s not just the obvious non sequiturs: where are the aircraft parts (engines, etc) from the attack on the Pentagon? Why have the officials involved in the United 93 flight (which crashed in Pennsylvania) been muzzled? Why did flight 93′s debris spread over miles when it was supposed to have crashed in one piece in a field? Again, I’m not talking about the crazed "research" of David Icke’s Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster - which should send any sane man back to reading the telephone directory.
I am talking about scientific issues. If it is true, for example, that kerosene burns at 820C under optimum conditions, how come the steel beams of the twin towers - whose melting point is supposed to be about 1,480C - would snap through at the same time? (They collapsed in 8.1 and 10 seconds.) What about the third tower - the so-called World Trade Centre Building 7 (or the Salmon Brothers Building) - which collapsed in 6.6 seconds in its own footprint at 5.20pm on 11 September? Why did it so neatly fall to the ground when no aircraft had hit it? The American National Institute of Standards and Technology was instructed to analyse the cause of the destruction of all three buildings. They have not yet reported on WTC 7. Two prominent American professors of mechanical engineering - very definitely not in the "raver" bracket - are now legally challenging the terms of reference of this final report on the grounds that it could be "fraudulent or deceptive".
Journalistically, there were many odd things about 9/11. Initial reports of reporters that they heard "explosions" in the towers - which could well have been the beams cracking - are easy to dismiss. Less so the report that the body of a female air crew member was found in a Manhattan street with her hands bound. OK, so let’s claim that was just hearsay reporting at the time, just as the CIA’s list of Arab suicide-hijackers, which included three men who were - and still are - very much alive and living in the Middle East, was an initial intelligence error.
But what about the weird letter allegedly written by Mohamed Atta, the Egyptian hijacker-murderer with the spooky face, whose "Islamic" advice to his gruesome comrades - released by the CIA - mystified every Muslim friend I know in the Middle East? Atta mentioned his family - which no Muslim, however ill-taught, would be likely to include in such a prayer. He reminds his comrades-in-murder to say the first Muslim prayer of the day and then goes on to quote from it. But no Muslim would need such a reminder - let alone expect the text of the "Fajr" prayer to be included in Atta’s letter.
Let me repeat. I am not a conspiracy theorist. Spare me the ravers. Spare me the plots. But like everyone else, I would like to know the full story of 9/11, not least because it was the trigger for the whole lunatic, meretricious "war on terror" which has led us to disaster in Iraq and Afghanistan and in much of the Middle East. Bush’s happily departed adviser Karl Rove once said that "we’re an empire now - we create our own reality". True? At least tell us. It would stop people kicking over chairs.
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BTW - I want to add here that the two parts of the official 911 story which I do not believe at all are flight 93 (which probably was shot down) and Building 7 (for which I have no explanation).
And there is no doubt in my mind that the Israelis knew about the attack and either 1) did not tell the US or 2) did tell and nobody on the US side took them seriously or 3) did tell the US government which took them seriously and let it happen anyway.
The "missile in broad daylight" - at the Pentagon or at the WTC - just makes no sense to me (sorry guys).
Scott is the very best source of information to explain why Osama Bin Laden has declared war on the United States of America. The fact that he was at war with our government before 9/11 does prove he carried out the events of 9/11.
I use to dismiss the wild conspiracy theories on the basis our government is not smart enough to carry out a hoax of this scale. But then I read this one short paper checked it against what I remember from physics 101 and my own observations of the event and I know our government was not smart enough to carry out a hoax of this scale.
http://www.911blimp.net/prf_FreeFallPhysics.shtml
Unlikely it was an inside job. Aspects of the official dogma are dodgy, though. How deep does the rabbit hole really go is my question here.
Elements of our government clearly and indisputably did pull off the JFK assassination as well as the subsequent coverup that continues on an active level to this very day.
9-11 seems more complicated than the JFK thing, though, and beyond the competance our spooks.
Still, aspects of the 9-11 tale are certainly doctored, airbrushed, and spoonfed in such a way as to make the opening shots of WWIII far more palatable to a gullible public.
I agree with everything Fiskie says.
It seems to me that denying government involvement purely based on the assumption that they are not competent enough to have carried it out is not a very strong argument. Those who cling to this argument fail to address the contradiction that while our government may well be too incompetent to carry out the attacks, it is perfectly plausible that a man in a cave and four poorly trained pilots would be able to pull of the most spectacular attack on US soil with stunning efficiency.
Others have threatened the US government in the past, but that has not automatically led to such successful attacks. While OBL appears to be the most likely culprit, the animosity towards the US is not proof in itself of his involvement. Remember, OBL’s first statement after the 911 attacks was to deny any involvement. The US governement has never produced a case linking OBl to 91. Colin Powell told the media that he would present this case, but never did. The conveniently discovered video of the short, fat Bin Laden is clearly a fraud. Even the FBI states that there is no evidence linking OBL to 911.
Iraq is often held up as a perfect example of incompetence, but that is only the case if you assume that the government aims are what they have publicly declared. As for 911, it is feasible that it could have been completely outsourced. If 911 was not entirely a AQ operation, there is always the possibility that it was entirely outsourced.
If you on the other hand, consider what Greg Palast has reported, the Iraq war was a resounding success.
- US military bases HAVE been built in Iraq.
- Saddam WAS removed from power.
- The oil is NOT flowing out of Iraq, hence keeping oil prices at an all times high, while denying any other country access to it.
- The war HAS lasted loner than WWII (hence fattening the wallets of the military industrial complex).
- Hostility towards Iran IS being successfully ratcheted up.
- The Middle East is MORE unstable today than it has ever been, hence more opportunity to fattening the wallets of the military industrial complex.
Sounds like Mission accomplished to me.
There are almost as many private military contractors in Iraq as there are US troops, yet we hear absolutely nothing about their operations, the success of those activities or what it is they are there to achieve.
I don’t buy the 911 Conspiracies, but nor do I buy the government version either. Like Fisk, I agree that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Here is a list of some of those “ravers.” you know, kooks like former CIA officers Ray McGovern and Robert Baer, 4 senators, a governor, 4 reps, and some other moonbats.
I use to work at Renaissance fairs at the Joust show and tell you the way stage magic works. Highlight event A and event C then the audience members will fill in the blank. If every one on stage focus the attention of the play on one actor holding a knife in the air and every one sees that actor throw the knife and it leave his hand and then every one on stage refocus their attention on another actor with a knife sticking out of his chest. People will swear they saw the knife flying threw the air and they ask questions like were you wearing a bullet proof vest or how did you catch that knife and make it look like you got stabbed. The truth is the first actor threw the knife strait into the dirt and the second actor had an identical dagger palmed.
If after the show when the Announcer goes to talk to the Audience you say to a person “ Oh My God did you see what happened during the fourth joust past of this last show I saw sparks. The two knights hit lance tip to lance tip that happens one in a thousand times you get sparks I saw sparks did you see sparks too.
Over 95% of the people will believe they saw sparks the trick is to explain A what they saw and B how important it was C be emotional, its stage magic.
Of course the lances are made of pine with the tip spray painted with metallic paint ( no sparks possible) and if they do hit lance tip to lance tip about a one in a thousand chance it looks like one of the knights lost control of the lance just before impact and does not look at all impressive
If the event at the Pentagon was stage magic it would be imperative to first convince America planes were indeed crashing into buildings and there fore whatever hit the Pentagon most likely was a 757 if the tree planes hit simultaneously then the film crews would not have caught the second plane and the giant fireball and hours latter America would not be expecting planes to fly out of the sky resulting in giant fireballs so when the giant fire ball erupted at the Pentagon….
This is ridiculous. 911myths, debunking911 and screwloosechange take care of all these “mysteries.”
Blind eye? Maybe. Show me. An American show? No.
The very first entry following Aditya’s link is Wesley Clark not implying a thing. Most of the rest of the quotes, you’d have to already be a kook and insist on what they “really” meant to call them truthers.
And why look to the state for answers? Read Perfect Soldiers. The Looming Tower. A Pretext for War. Written by journalists for private pay. See, they actually have an incentive to get it right.
http://www.911blimp.net/prf_FreeFallPhysics.shtml is an excellent thumbs-up / thumbs-down reality check on the Official Government Conspiracy Theory of 9/11. IOW, it reveals that the OGCT is clearly impossible, but it doesn’t tell us HOW impossible…
http://911u.org/Physics/ connects the dots on the level of unexplained/unaddressed energy surplus evident at “”Ground Zero”", by recognizing the evidence (hell, signature) of widespread molecular dissociation (you think “pulverization” caused so many nanoparticles within all that ‘dust’? HA!) @ GZ.
911myths, debunking911 and screwloosechange are all disgusting disinfo which strive to make it seem OK for people to go on hating/blaming purported alleged (fictional?) “Muslim hijackers” (you remember, “the ones” — well 2/3 of “them”, anyway — posthumously tried and convicted in the media; and what could be more un-American than that?). (Once we know that we cannot blame the phenomenal, unconventional, unexplained demise of the 3 WTC skyscrapers on airplanes, hijacked or otherwise, why are we still blaming 9/11 on “hijackers”??? Even if you insist upon clinging to the ludicrous notion that “hijacked 767s” are what hit the towers, that still doesn’t mean that any “Muslim hijackers” were involved!!!)
What I find most disturbing is about all this is the ease with which Bush and co have let OBL off the hook, and their sanguine attitude to him still remainingat large. If Bin Laden was the culprit, then he remains a huge threat to this day, a threat to the lives of people like Bush and Cheney. These guys are the biggest and worst kind of cowards and if they were really frightened of Bin Laden, would have made sure he was taken out long ago.
Forget about answering all the unanswered questions about 9/11. I’m still wondering why replacing Saddam’s regime was so important. This was a priority thru both Bush and Clinton’s presidencies. Even though I haven’t seen the whole video yet, I see that Juan Cole was wondering the same thing when he said that we don’t know yet what is the real reason why we went to war against Iran.
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2007/08/25/juan-cole-on-history-of-western-incursions-in-the-mideast/
Like Shingo says, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
The political and circumstantial evidence surrounding this series of events indicates cover-up.
Boogeyman OBL has probably been dead for quite a while. If the boogeyman is dead, he can’t scare us anymore and is no longer useful. Gary North reported years ago that he was in ill health and was undergoing dialysis in Europe while our government tracked him. I remember how fast the Media blamed everything on OBL with Bill Richardson being interviewed the same day and blaming him. How did they know so quickly and why so quick to go on TV?
Naw, I thing this was all planned for the sake of invading Iraq, shreading the Constitution and enriching Big Oil. There would have to be internal complicity for it all to work. The Bin Laden family, Bush family and Saudi oligarchy is probably where this was all hatched which is why its been near impossible to get anyone to talk. The Israeli government was convinced to go along for the ride once the benefits of all of this were explained. Come on, Larry Silverstein buys the Twin Towers, puts a big insurance policy on it and then claims a big insurance prize? Passport of one of the hijackers on the wreckage? Who planned all of these details and managed the Media (and continues to do so)?
One of the more interesting comments in John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hitman was regarding the Twin Towers and about how they were of an obsolete nature. Sure looked like a controlled demo to me and why did Perkins include that comment in his book?
[...] with a little help from a criminally credulous or foully duplicitous media. But how about this contribution from vineyardsaker, who reveals himself to be a troofer, finding wisdom in Fisk’s latest effort at trying to [...]
Let’s face it – Israel attacked America on 9/11. There were 5 Mossad agents caught red handed high fiving each other while the first tower burned. They later said on national television they were only there to “document” the event. Why were there over 100 Israeli spies arrested in the lead up to the attacks? Why were they located in all the same cities as the hijackers, even on the same block in Hollywood Florida? Why did Chertoff, an Israeli national, let them all go? Why did an FBI agent tell Fox News that investigating Israeli involvement in 911 is career suicide? Do you think Larry Silverstein has nothing to do with Israel?
Israel is a terrorist state, founded on terrorism by terrorists – why wouldn’t they attack us on 9/11? They have made their enemies our enemies, their war is our war, our money is their money. This is what they do. False flag is their signature move – read up on the USS Liberty and the Lavon affair. They knew all about the bombing attack on US Marines in Lebanon and didn’t lift a finger to help us. Or how about the time they kidnapped 3 Palestinians from Lebanon and took them to Spain to set them up for the assassination of George HW Bush at the Madrid conference (he was holding up loan guarantees – the nerve!). How about the time they tricked America into bombing Quadaffi with faked signals? How about the time they shoved that poor old man in a wheelchair into the sea off the Achille Lauro and made it look like the Palestinians? How about the time they recruited for Al Queda in Gaza only to be arrested by Hamas? This is standard operating procedure – “By way of deception, thou shalt do war”.
Israel is transforming our beloved United States of America into their evil clone. They have figured out our system, we have been thoroughly infiltrated and they now effectively control our politicians, our government, our media and our population. War, torture, murder, hatred and ignorance – I’m just glad the founding fathers never have to see what we’ve become.
…The guys got a point…ex-FBI Agents Coleen Rawley and the late John O’Neil had them too…But to no avail…In which case I would, without malice, go so far as to offer The Christian Zionists, Likudniks, The Israel Lives crowd, Rev. Hagee, neo-Conservatives, AIPAC Members, JINSA, PNAC and all pro-Israel Forces etc.etc. now in control of the US this much counsel: Be careful what you wish, and even pray for, because it just might come true. Worse? In regard to the above objective comment?…I do believe Andy should’ve used the past tense for “is”…Bottom line. His contention is fully accurate but for the exception of it being ex-post facto.
…In other words friends and neighbors? It’s all over but the shoutin’
Show me where Mossad was running those Hijackers. I don’t see it.
…You’re right, Mossad wasn’t running the Sept 11th Hi-Jackers. Not anymore than C in C Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest J. King, was running Adm. Nagumo’s Carrier Task Force embarked for Pearl Harbor…He, along with our valiant friends in Mossad just knew that both fuckin’ attacks were respectively imminent—And didn’t bother to tell anybody. Results? Roosevelt addressing Congress with the words “Today, December 7,1941, a date which will live in infamy…” As well as Thomas Friedman leaning across the table, and declaring to a fawning Charlie Rose “…Welcome to the front lines.”—Thank you Tom, thank you AIPAC…
Bottom line? It is Andy’s last contention—with no “s” to pluralize following the “n”—that is both seminal and accurate.
Let’s face it, as a false-flag operation, 9/11 was as red-white-and-blue as the flag itself. The same military-industrial complex about which Eisenhower warned us, and which benefited most from 9/11 is, along with corrupt elements within the government+military, probably the only entity capable of carrying out such a deceptive deadly high-tech attack.
Looking for what shadowy outsider enemies (cave-dwelling or otherwise) to blame for what was clearly a domestic military operation smacks of disinfo/coverup — even if you found accessory outsiders to blame, what good would it do considering that our own govt’s sold us out by doing nothing about them?
On 9/11, Americans were clearly attacked and betrayed by Americans. Americans were the only ones who had an affirmative obligation to protect 3000 now-dead Americans on 9/11, and none of them have ever been held accountable, though some have been promoted and even decorated. And Americans in positions of power and authority and responsibility have kept the horrible truths about 9/11 hidden from us. As long as we keep looking outside America for who to blame for 3000 deaths on 9/11, we’re barking up the wrong tree.
For proper bloback for 9/11 (and the subsequent coverup), sadly and reluctantly, we must BLAME AMERICANS FIRST!
Instead of speculating on what people “might” do, or about what “might” have happened, you should read my five-part series on Flight 93. It answers a lot of the questions raised — or speculated upon — in this blog.
People that scoff at the whole mossad connection about 911 might be more convinced if compelling evidence was presented as in a court of law that the mossad really was monitoring the hijackers where they lived in Florida, and lived a few doors down from them as they were taking their flight lessons and going to the gym to prepare for 911. Just as Churchill said he never slept better than on Dec8 1941, when the US was in the foxhole with England, so Israel would logically want the US, red faced with righteous anger, to enter into a global war against the strategic enemies of Israel. I would like to see more focus on the primary sources that Mossad was shadowing the terrorist, and needed to do nothing more than issue vague and non actionable warnings to the US, so as to let 911 unfold. I think Iraq was a move to position US troops on the ground to be a tripwire for regional war when the US attacks Iran. They will take casualties, and again, the red faced angry US Joe Citizen will permit any kind of action to avenge any losses in Iraq due to the impending US attack on Iran. With those losses, who would dare object, even to a draft. If there were demonstrations, the media would not cover them. Even peaceniks, Charles Linburg types, could not longer take a public anti war stance. Thats what they want- regional unlimited war, under cover of which they could “secure the realm” and crush Iran and Syria. Back to Mossad in Florida, lets highlight the evidence, fairly but forcefully, and maybe we could get somewhere with the man on the street about what 911 was all about.