9/11 — Conspiracy or Blowback?

It is now time to look back and remember — well not exactly. That’s what we have been doing for what seems like forever. We are a nation that is stuck in grief and frightened of the future. GWB has used the words “nine eleven” more times than he has said, “Laura, where’s the remote.”

Now it is time for a reality check so we can finally end the denial. 9/11 was the result of blowback. They did it to us because of what we had been doing to them for decades. Sooner or later every school yard bully gets pay back. Serious and tragic as 9/11 was, the number of deaths does not even compare with the deaths that have resulted from U.S. interventions.

Author/historian William Blum states:

“Between 1945 and 2005 the United States has attempted to overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30 populist-nationalist movements struggling against intolerable regimes… In the process, the U.S. caused the end of life for several million people, and condemned many millions more to a life of agony and despair.” (Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower).

“No matter how paranoid or conspiracy-minded you are, what the government is actually doing is worse than you imagine” (ibid).

Many believe the 9/11 conspiracy theories — understandable, since it is so well known that this government is not above the killing of its own. Whether the government was the cause or not, it surely has taken full advantage of the tragedy. The main challenge to the conspiracy theorists comes from Osama Bin Laden. He explained why the attack occurred. Anybody remember his statement? He gave three reasons — the unfair treatment of the Israeli/Palestinian issue, the stationing of US troops in their holy land, and the sanctions which resulted in the deaths of a half million Iraqi children. Thank you for setting the record straight, Osama. Notice he did not say that they attacked us because of our “freedoms”. He did not say that they attacked us because of religious differences. Most of those who are informed about US foreign policy knew the reasons for the attack even before Osama made his statement.

The 9/11 Commission Report leaves a lot to be desired. It has raised the art of obfuscation to new heights. I confess — I have not read all 567 pages of the Report. After the first three pages, I ran out of NoDoz. I did watch the Congressional Hearings on C-Span. In her testimony before the Congressional Committee, Kristen Breitweiser said, “…The jigs up…” (C-Span2, Aug. 17, 2004, 10:45 a.m.). It would have been a move in the right direction if she had been referring to US actions around the world, but the context of her statement showed that she believes that the tragedy of 9/11 was a failure of Intelligence. The testimony of other family members of victims, Stephen Push and Mary Fetchet, indicated a greater willingness to recognize that 9/11 was a failure of US foreign policy and diplomacy. In Mary Fetchet’s testimony, she stated, “…Foreign policy is the core of the threat of terrorism…” Fetchet’s statement might be the single most important comment ever made about 9/11.

The most compassionate act, that any of us can do in support of the 9/11 families, is to inform others about the government’s international policies that led to 9/11. Has any member of Congress or any member of the commission mentioned the connection between US foreign policy and the 9/11 attacks? Yes, Ron Paul made the shocking 9/11-foreign policy connection during a recent Republican debate. Paul’s statement almost sent Giuliani into a seizure.

Ignoring the role that U.S. foreign policy played in causing the tragedy of 9/11 is like ignoring the elephant in the middle of the room. Authors have been predicting a 9/11 type of attack for many years. Chalmers Johnson wrote his book, Blowback, before the attack happened.

The CIA has been using the term “blowback” for decades because they knew that there would be a violent reaction to U.S. foreign policy. It was common knowledge. In view of this, how can it be that not one of our elected officials in Washington could foresee the event? There are two possibilities: none of our representatives was smart enough to think in terms of cause and effect. That is hard to believe. There is a better explanation. Some members of Congress did know. They did not know the time and place of the attack, but they had to know that an attack would be the inevitable result of U.S. foreign policy. If they didn’t know it before 9/11, they surely have to know it now, and that brings us up to today and the ongoing presidential campaign season.

Dennis Kucinich says that he is opposed to the US Mid-East policies and the war. Why are there no other candidates, with the possible exception of Ron Paul, suggesting that the time has come for a major change in U.S. foreign policy? Neither Kucinich or Paul stands much chance of winning the Primary. Both share a fatal flaw. They are members of the major political parties and that indicates an acceptance of what these two Parties have done in recent years. Any candidate who is not in agreement with the Party Platform, should run as an Independent. A vote for any Democrat or Republican signals an acceptance of the deadly policies that led to 9/11. It is time to think outside the box and look at candidates from alternative parties. It was during the Clinton administration that Madeleine Albright stated that the death of 500,000 children was worth it. It’s a toss-up when trying to decide which Party is more dangerous. Both Parties have betrayed the people in favor of the war profiteers who wander the halls of Congress.

The biggest flaw in the conspiracy theory is that it ignores the anger that has built up in the rest of the world — anger that is a direct result of U.S. actions. 9/11 was not acceptable but it was predictable and understandable — a simple application of the Law of Cause and Effect. Who caused 9/11? Well maybe it really was the government after all. Nineteen men hijacked the planes, but the ultimate cause was the policies of the government of the United States.

The provocative policies continue. The Pentagon has just released a list of 1200 targets to bomb in Iran. Was this announcement a well-planned, deliberate act designed to provoke another attack? A new 9/11 attack would further enrich the corporations that manufacture weapons. Just follow the money since the first 9/11. 9/11 is the goose that has laid the golden grenade.

Is there an ongoing conspiracy to create blowback? Maybe the conspiracy theorists have a point.

Rosemarie Jackowski is an advocacy journalist living in Vermont. Read other articles by Rosemarie.

36 comments on this article so far ...

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  1. TheOneLaw said on September 8th, 2007 at 5:40am #

    It is unfair to label to accurate analysis as ‘conspiracy theory’.

    It is, however, proper to refer to their criticisms as naive.

  2. TheOneLaw said on September 8th, 2007 at 5:41am #

    Edit: The criticisms of said ‘conspiracy theories’ is naive.

  3. BrianH said on September 8th, 2007 at 6:22am #

    What appalls me about the aggressive nature of the candidates shouting down Ron Paul on this is that the WMD were never found in Iraq so they are looking for another scape goat for the US foreign policy disaster in Iraq.. So on cue someone has to bring up 9-11 and hurrah they can all rally together and shout at Ron Paul and feel good about themselves! Such silliness that fools almost noone as evident by the Fox administered text poll after the debate which Ron Paul won by a large margin.

  4. Kevin Ryan said on September 8th, 2007 at 7:03am #

    Another good article – thanks.

    It is hard to imagine that so many can believe in blowback, but managed blowback is out of the question.

    And many know that our most powerful leaders lied repeatedly in justifying the Iraq War, despite knowing that hundreds of thousands would likely die. But knowing this, many believe those same leaders would never so blatantly lie about killing 3,000 to get it all started.

    Ultimately, this is about self-deception. That is the real value of 9/11 truth, and its power to make lasting positive change in all of our lives.

  5. Robert B. Livingston said on September 8th, 2007 at 1:49pm #

    Should we forget that the past CIA asset Osama bin Laden’s first reported response concerning 9/11 was that he didn’t do it?

  6. simuvac said on September 8th, 2007 at 7:47pm #

    “The most compassionate act, that any of us can do in support of the 9/11 families, is to inform others about the government’s international policies that led to 9/11.”

    No. The most compassionate act we can do is demand a truly independent investigation of 9/11, like 2/3 of NYC residents and the Family Steering Committee have been demanding for three years.

  7. brian said on September 8th, 2007 at 8:06pm #

    Try 911 Truth, you will then be a lot nearer the truth than the Blowback thesis.
    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8765.htm
    http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=GRI20060129&articleId=1846
    http://www.911blogger.com/

  8. Jason said on September 9th, 2007 at 7:16am #

    Previous post is correct: The blowback thesis is full of holes.
    911 truth will open your eyes: http://www.fight4truth.com/911truth.htm

  9. AJ Nasreddin said on September 9th, 2007 at 8:01am #

    Muslims and Arabs can hardly blow, muchless blowback. They are so disorganised that I am still skeptical that they had anything to do with 9/11. Sure there is a lot of anger with US policy – but Muslims and Arabs care more about policies in their own country, which they cannot do anything about, than what the US does indirectly.

    9/11 seems more calculated – a job done by W, the New American Century, and Dominionists. Global domination so American rich can stay rich.

  10. Brian Mattox said on September 9th, 2007 at 4:52pm #

    It is not an either/or issue. The events of 9-11-2001 were the result of blowback from international policy COMBINED with a conspiracy by those in power in the U.S. to allow the events of 9-11 to unfold and to insure that the tragedy was significant enough to allow the neocons to promote their otherwise stillborn agenda.

  11. Mike Zimmer said on September 9th, 2007 at 10:40pm #

    This is not an particularly insightful analysis. Although I respect Blum and know about the blowback thesis, 9/11 was far from a case of simple blowback. Start here, and inform yourselves:

    http://ae911truth.org/
    http://www.911review.com/
    http://www.journalof911studies.com/
    http://www.mediamonitors.net/mosaddeq37.html

  12. rosemarie jackowski said on September 10th, 2007 at 10:04am #

    Thanks for the comments. Keep them coming. One thing I have noticed here and also in my e-mail is a real hostility of those who believe in the conspiracy against those who either do not believe or still have doubts. Mike Zimmer makes the inaccurate assumption that some of us have not read the links he has here. My position is that I have no position on the conspiracy theory. I have yet to be convinced, not because I have been sitting back eating bonbons but because I have a few other issues with a higher priority. The main focus of my work concerns the millions of innocent civilians that we have killed in Iraq – and many other places.
    I believe that we should be working together. We share a common distrust for the US government. It is not necessary to agree on every point. Hostility against each other is counter-productive. I congratulate those who believe in the conspiracy and hope that soon you/they will convince a majority of citizens. In the meantime, I have no position on the conspiracy but I have a very strong position on the slaughter of civilians.

  13. siamdave said on September 10th, 2007 at 10:09am #

    – the possibility that some people in the mideast were toying with some ideas about things similar to what happened on 911, but would have been pretty much hopeless in terms of carrying off themselves, but some people inside the US gov learned of the ideas through their normal ‘intelligence’ channels and decided to ‘facilitate’ the plans, seems to cover the bases ….

  14. Mike Zimmer said on September 10th, 2007 at 11:58am #

    Rosemarie Jackowski,

    You can read my comments as hostility, but that would be a very idiosyncratic reading of them. They reflect a general despair, shared by those of us who have personally spent thousands of hours working to penetrate the fog of disinformation surround the events of September 11, 2001.

    That you and other peace activists think that the 9/11 false flag operation isn’t directly related to the millions of innocent civilians killed in Iraq is astonishing to us.

    1 – The evidence that the three towers were brought down by explosives is extraordinarily strong, in the view of many scientists, architects, engineers, pilots, demolition experts, and informed lay-people with a solid understanding of Newtonian physics.
    2 – In order to bring down the towers with explosives, complicity on the part of people in positions of responsibility is absolutely guaranteed. I can only give informed speculation as to who, but the issue won’t go away.
    3 – The whole key for obtaining leverage to stop these psychopaths in power lies in the proper exposure of the crime of September 11. Many other sober and highly intelligent, well-informed commentators can explain why this is the case more clearly than can I.

    I am at a loss to understand why so many peace activists are at in denial on this. Meanwhile, the peace movement, co-opted as it is by the DLC, continues to go nowhere. On the other hand, on a daily basis, more and more movers and shakers in the world come out and call for a new investigation on 9/11, and admit that maybe rogue elements in the government, at the very least, allowed the attacks to happen on purpose. The latest to come onside to some extent is right-wing libertarian peace activist Justin Raimondo.

    As of this morning, from the Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth site:

    161 architectural and engineering professionals and 381 other supporters including A/E students have joined us in calling on Congress for a new investigation. Everyone may join AE911Truth.org!

    Read that again: 161 architects and engineers know that the towers did not come down as advertised, are willing to come out publicly, risk scorn and ridicule and careers, and say so! This figure grows daily, whenever they encounter the evidence presented by Richard Gage, AIA. Do you seriously believe that these people are not professionally competent to understand the issue? I certainly don’t.

    See http://www.ae911truth.org/ for details.

    Regards
    Michael Zimmer
    http://www.TheProgressiveMind.info

  15. Eric said on September 10th, 2007 at 12:39pm #

    Living in Canada, I realise that although we are not blinded by a plethora of conflicting reports, we still fall victims to our own types of propaganda, for the eternal purpose of favoring the elite over the ignorant masses. I’m glad that the author is not taking any position on the matter, because there is to much passion right now to hear the truth about such a subject. In my opinion, the real question is, are we just going to play the offended virgin while we all feel deep in our bones that something is wrong, when in fact the undeniable truth about ourselves (human nature’s insasiable greed)is being unfolded? The fact of the matter is really that the elected governments, albeit running the circus for war profiteers, are also doing what is necessary to run a system they told us we wanted. And the problem is, we do believe it! We will need some back bone around here, if we decide to stop going to war for any reason, stop believing lies like environmental issues will hurt the economy, and stop buying whatever gadget thrown at us as the very essence of hapiness. Are you willing to resist the hatred, mockery and general disbelief? Then you will have won the ultimate war waging in each one of us, the ultimate issue. Just don’t expect the majority to do the same.

  16. rosemarie jackowski said on September 10th, 2007 at 2:24pm #

    Mike Zimmer…I share your despair. I have not only spent thousands of hours working to end the insanity of the USA government, but I also faced prison time. There is almost nothing more important to me than trying to save the lives of the civilians who have not yet been killed in Iraq and elsewhere. I do not criticize the conspiracy theorists, but it is a side issue. Many so called experts do not agree. There is proof of USA atrocities and that has been my focus. If someone was to come forward with absolute proof of a conspiracy, what would change? Would that stop the killing? We have absolute proof of the slaughtered children. Even that does not matter to most US voters.
    Eric…Nice comment, thanks.

  17. Mike Zimmer said on September 10th, 2007 at 3:02pm #

    Sorry Rosemarie, that I cannot make you see the 9/11 is THE linchpin issue. It is not peripheral, it is the only issue that has any chance of reversing the decades old cancer that infects the U.S. of A. To the extent that we reveal the 9/11 lies, we disempower the neocons and the corporate/financial war machine. Even impeachment will not have the same affect.

    The disagreement amongst “experts” comes in large part from government shills and those who have not examined the work of the Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice http://stj911.org/, the Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Pilots for 9/11 Truth. Read Griffin on Debunking 9/11 Debunking for instance. Read Barry Zwicker. By the way, if you are amongst those who consider James Meigs, Michael Chertoff, and others on the staff of Popular Mechanics staff as “experts”, I believe that you have been conned. I hope that this is not the case.

    Regards
    Michael Zimmer
    http://www.TheProgressiveMind.info

  18. brian said on September 10th, 2007 at 7:22pm #

    You are right, Mike. 91 IS a lynchpin issue. The anomalies in the official conspiracy theory are so obvious as to make that theory so unstable that then simpliest of facts makes it collapse.

  19. Max Gordon said on September 11th, 2007 at 3:45am #

    Great article, Rosemarie. And nice to read comments that are intelligent and well thought out. I believe both sides of the question (blowback v. conspiracy) have merit, and both are extremely important. One exception I must take however, is to Rosemarie’s statement that anyone running on the ticket of the two main parties has ‘bought into’ the problem and therefore cannot hope to change anything.
    Our political system is broken in that no candidate running from a third party can possibly hope to win. There is simply too much entrenched power in the system that exists today. Too much money, too many vested interests. We may not like it, but that’s the way it is. As I see it, that is the reason that Ron Paul decided to run as a Republican. In 1988, he was the Libertarian candidate. There’ve been and will be other fine people running as third party candidates, but they’re up against politcal machines of such magnitude that they don’t stand a chance. The majority of the populace will vote either Democrat or Republican, whether we like it or not. Knowing that we don’t have enough time to fix the ‘system’ before the 2008 election, the only hope for a change in foreign policy (and perhaps also a reopening of the investigation into the events of September 11) is to elect a candidate from within the ranks of one of those two parties. Take your pick: Dennis Kucinich, or Ron Paul! Personally, I think Kucinich (aside from his stance on the war in Iraq) really has bought into the ‘system,’ while I think that Paul would sincerely like to drastically change the direction of the country in terms of foreign policy and many other ways that would benefit this great nation and save us from ourselves. But that’s my personal take on it.

  20. cprise said on September 11th, 2007 at 6:04am #

    I share Zimmer’s misgivings about the article and its presentation of the issue. After reading Norouzi’s excellent and exhaustive treatment here of the Iran misquoting media circus, this piece of flummery was a bit disappointing.

    There isn’t even proof that 19 men hijacked those planes, and the piloting that took place isn’t humanly possible at top speed with a jumbo jet.

    For a respectful dialog, I suggest Jackowski acquire a taste for reviewing cold forensic analysis and actually have something to say about the evidence; also avoid trying to feed us misplaced fears of international terrorism (domestic strife is far more threatening).

    Adding to the climate of fearing ‘other’ will only cause Americans’ support for imperialist policies to intensify. Deep cultural change is necessary, of the sort that would have automatically concerned us with the loss of Iraqi lives from the start instead of dwelling on relatively low soldier casualties for years. People here generally have a low opinion of humankind where the only saving grace is one’s own familiar in-group(s); the greatest potential for dehumanization of others exists when the very fact of their common humanity is feared (or at best ignored). Myths of implacable enemies cannot be seared into our collective consciousness without an essential underlying misanthropy indulged by conservatives and liberals alike.

  21. rosemarie jackowski said on September 11th, 2007 at 8:02am #

    cprise…a respectful dialog is important. I am not a forensic analyst. Ad hominem attacks are counter-productive. I agree that adding to the climate of fear of the “other” is not helpful. My article clearly holds the policies of the USA responsible. If you don’t believe that “Blowback” is part of the equation, I respect your view but I do not agree with it. Do you really believe that all of those who have been victims of usa policies in other counties for many decades would not react? Have you read the works of William Blum? (In the past on blogs and in person I have encouraged anti-war groups to be supportive of the 9/11 theorists. I believe that we have a common goal. )

    MAX…Thanks for the comment. My problem with Ron Paul is that he is too much of a capitalist . He seems to favor corporations over the people. 18,000 people die every year in the usa from lack of health care. That is like having a 9/11 every 60 days. Why does Ron Paul not support universal access to health care?

    Brian…I agree that 9/11 is a lynchpin, but only one of many. One issue that I have with 9/11 conspiracy theorists is that they often seem to place a higher value on usa lives than the lives of those in other countries. Estimates of the number of killed Iraqis go up to 3 million since we started bombing in 1991. George Bush has stated in his speeches that the usa had not killed any Iraqis before 9/11. Are the conspiracy theorists in agreement with that GWB statement?

  22. mike zimmer said on September 11th, 2007 at 9:20am #

    Rosemarie,
    I share your misgivings about Ron Paul. However, his stand on involvement in war is unequivocal. He has to be better than the right or left wing warmongers. Kucinich or Gravel would probably be better. all three have been marginalized by the mainstream media and their own parties, and have not a snowball’s chance as far as I can see.

    I do hope that you are aware of Project Mockingbird and Cointelpro programs conducted in the past by the U.S. of A. government. I do hope that you are aware of the history of CIA covert support for drug running, as revealed by the late Gary Webb. Are you aware of “Project Northwoods”? If not, you are going into battle missing crucial pieces of armor. I would be amazed if you did not know about the Chilean coup sponsored by the CIA. The list goes on.

    If you don’t understand, at a deep level, the notions of disinformation, honey pots, false flags, poisoning the well, the big lie, agents provocateurs, and related concepts, you can make no sense of politics, either historically or in the current context. I do hope that you have more than a passing familiarity with such ideas. It is crucial that all activists do have this understanding. Otherwise, they get suckered time and again.

    Rosemarie wrote: “One issue that I have with 9/11 conspiracy theorists is that they often seem to place a higher value on usa lives than the lives of those in other countries.”

    Based on what you write here, I suspect you know little about the membership of 9/11 Truth. We are a mixed bag; some are right wing libertarians, some are liberals, many, such as myself, are humanists and socialists.

    A noisy few are either mentally unbalanced or agents of disinformation. They are marginal, but damaging. The same thing, Cointelpro, occurred during the Vietnam war protests.

    Many, many are scholars with very impressive credentials. Are you aware of the the scholarship of Dr. David Ray Griffin? Are you aware of the solid credential of Dr. Steven Jones? Are you familiar with the scholarship of Dr. Peter Dale Scott? Are you aware of the left-wing anti-war work of Dr. John McMurtry? How about Dr. Michael Keefer? Have you ever looked at the biography of humanist Barry Zwicker? Are you aware that the vast majority of major players and supporting players in the movement are anti-war in both weak and strong senses? Are you aware of the depth of talent in the movement? Why would you assume that those working on 9/11 Truth are unaware of the history of U.S. of A. imperialism? I assure you, this idea of yours that truth activists only care about deaths in the U.S. of A. is unsupportable. Why would you even make such a statement?

    Sorry if my words sound harsh, but your claims on the lack of concern about foreign deaths shown by 9/11 truth activists are very annoying, and to me indicate that you posses a superficial acquaintance with the movement at best. My apologies if I am wrong.

    By the way, the government line is also a conspiracy theory, but the weakest one around. It is not supported by any forensic evidence that has withstood scrutiny. If you want to be effective in your peace activism, get on board with 9/11 Truth – research the issues, meet with the mainstream scholars in the movement, read their works carefully, with an open mind. Read this collection, published by the prestigious publishing house Elsevier: 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol. 1 (Paperback) by David Ray Griffin (Editor), Peter Dale Scott (Editor). You will certainly see a concern for all victims of imperialism, expressed by numerous authors.

    Regards
    Michael Zimmer
    http://www.TheProgressiveMind.info

  23. rosemarie jackowski said on September 11th, 2007 at 10:30am #

    Mike… I have not voted for a Democrat or Republican candidate for president for many years. I consider both Parties to be anti-people and pro-war/pro-corporations. In most years I have written in Nader.

    YES, I am familiar with the experts that you name. I have read many of their works and have seen some of them discussing your position at length on C-span. They are impressive. I have referred to Operation Northwoods in some of my articles. I remember the Maine (as they say in Maine) and I also have read about the alternative explanations. I take it as a given that the government of the usa is capable of almost anything – certainly capable of killing its own.

    I believe that you would attract more to your side, if you showed a willingness to understand the affect that our foreign policy has had on those in other countries. It appears that you (and others in the 9/11 movement) place a greater value on the lives of those in this country. To many of us, that is offensive. I refuse to participate in “Anti-war Protests” unless they give equal respect to the Iraqi dead. Many will refuse to join your movement because of the same reason. It appears that you place a greater importance on the 3000 dead of “ours” than the millions of their dead.

    Much of your movement is proving that our government lies to the people. Howard Zinn has been saying that for many years. Your efforts to expose the 9/11 lie are admirable. Some of us have chosen to concentrate our efforts on other government lies.

  24. lastdregs said on September 11th, 2007 at 5:03pm #

    i agree with the author and many others that share the view that a combination of blowback and perhaps some degree of conspiracy was to blame for 9/11. ” some degree of conspiracy” because while many of the theories seem very plausible and filled with truth, there is a certain amount of unknown involved in them for the obvious reason that there are many things that remain secret. what is not secret is that the government has a horrible foreign policy record coupled with the historical certainty that there have been attacks on american targets as retribution for said foreign policy. to allow or enable or create a blowback event to occur so it can be spun and used to perpetuate criminal policies is nothing new. aggressive conspiracy-only ideology, to me, is weak-right on par with “they hate us for our freedumbs” ideology that is currently running the country. rarely are things so black and white.

  25. Brian Mattox said on September 11th, 2007 at 5:12pm #

    When the 9-11 movement finally gathers the steam required to bring the criminals of that even that exist within our own society to justice, it will change everything.

    The entire ruling elite is complicit in the cover-up — including Republicans, Democrats and the mainstream media. When these criminals are found guilty, it will serve to expose the entire war in the Middle East as well as the “war on terror” as complete frauds. The revealing of the reality that massive death and destruction was inflicted upon the world as a way to forward U.S. hegemony can only have a positive effect upon the world — especially if a significant number of elite members within our own society are found guilty of crimes against humanity and subsequently executed.

    Anyone who seriously wants to bring an end to the attrocities caused by an imperialist power should focus upon bringing the criminals of 9-11 to justice.

  26. rosemarie jackowski said on September 11th, 2007 at 5:34pm #

    lastdregs…Thanks for the comment.
    Brian…I wish that you were right. I believe that there is plenty of absolute proof of many atrocities and war crimes committed by this country. The truth and the facts are not enough to bring about change. Think about it. 98% of the voters in this country vote for the Democratic/Republican candidates. That’s because 98% of the people believe the government lies and are satisfied with things the way they are. If someone had absolute proof of the 9/11 conspiracy, it would make the 3rd page below the fold and might make the evening news after some Hollywood gossip story. Another flaw in your argument, is that you believe that Justice would come – HOW, through the Court system? The Judicial system is non-functional.
    After you expose the “truth” and all of the government lies – then what? Then we’re back to where we started from. The “rulers” have all the power. They control the media. They have weapons and nuclear bombs. They have control of the minds of the masses. The reason the the government uses propaganda is because it works.
    The window of opportunity closed a long time ago. I am not sure when but I think that maybe it was back when the CIA and the Black Budget was authorized.

  27. brian said on September 11th, 2007 at 5:53pm #

    ‘There isn’t even proof that 19 men hijacked those planes, and the piloting that took place isn’t humanly possible at top speed with a jumbo jet.’

    Yes, there is no evidence the 19 allegedhijackers were even on the planes, esp as several turned up alive the next day. Nor are there any security camera videos of the men at the airports they left from.
    http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/hijackers.html
    Theres also the anomaly of th Dancing Israelis:

    ‘A Mossad surveillance team made quite a public spectacle of themselves on 9-11.

    The New York Times reported Thursday that a group of five men had set up video cameras aimed at the Twin Towers prior to the attack on Tuesday, and were seen congratulating one another afterwards. (1)

    Police received several calls from angry New Jersey residents claiming “middle-eastern” men with a white van were videotaping the disaster with shouts of joy and mockery. (2)

    “They were like happy, you know … They didn’t look shocked to me” said a witness. (3)
    etc
    http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/fiveisraelis.html
    The official 9-11 conspiracy theory suffers from a dearth of evidence and is riddled by these anomalies.

  28. Brian Mattox said on September 11th, 2007 at 6:24pm #

    The amount of existing proof that our government participated in the 9-11 conspiracy is already more than enough to convict and as arrests were made, even more proof would come to the fore.

    The U.S. ruling elite may appear to be all powerful, but their power rests on a very narrow beam and becomes increasingly tenuous as their lies are exposed and their guilt revealed. The U.S. ruling elite could be brought down in a heartbeat by a major public revolt over their participation in the crimes of 9-11.

    History is not absent the demise of such criminal ruling elites. Many appeared all-powerful just prior to their overthrow. To believe that a criminal ruling elite can hold power in the face of massive public opposition is to believe that the history of revolutions-past is false and never happened. And yet we know King George III was booted out of America, Czar Nicholas II was removed from power and executed as was King Louis XVI. Those are only the best-known cases.

    The adoption of your position that basically seeks to mop up after the ongoing crimes of a ruling elite, while continuing to yield to that ruling elite, is to seal the fate of the future victims of the empire. While you may be helping today’s victims, you are doing no favor for tomorrow’s victims.

  29. mike zimmer said on September 11th, 2007 at 11:36pm #

    Rosemarie,

    What astonishing claims you make:

    “I believe that you would attract more to your side, if you showed a willingness to understand the affect that our foreign policy has had on those in other countries. It appears that you (and others in the 9/11 movement) place a greater value on the lives of those in this country. To many of us, that is offensive. I refuse to participate in “Anti-war Protests” unless they give equal respect to the Iraqi dead. Many will refuse to join your movement because of the same reason. It appears that you place a greater importance on the 3000 dead of “ours” than the millions of their dead.”

    Read some of the major bloggers in the 9/11 Truth movement. How in the world you can believe that they do not concern themselves with the dead in foreign lands is beyond me. It is blatantly false, even to the point of being maliciously false. Even right wing Libertarian Michael Rivero routinely posts on torture in Iraq, and expresses his disgust at all of the war crime committed by the U.S. Read Kurt Nimo – same thing. Read Mike Zimmer – same thing. Read any 9/11 Truth site that is not purely focussed on the crime itself. All routinely decry the carnage that has resulted from U.S. of A. actions in Iraq and elsewhere. Almost all are looking for ways to avert the threatened attack on Iran.

    That you do not know this make me wonder how accurate your claims are to have investigated 9/11 Truth.

    There are a some that are specialized in investigating various aspects, and since that is their focus, they discuss evidence, forensics and strategies. Moving from that to the observation to the view that they care only for citizens U.S. of A. is a non sequitur . I cannot name one that is not motivated by the disgust of U.S. of A. foreign policy, and its catastrophic effect on the peoples of the world, as well as the growing fascism in the U.S. . I have met none, nada, in the 9/11 Truth movement who are not appalled by torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, the massacre at Fallujah, unprovoked aggression, and all of the other war crimes.

    By the way, I am not from the U.S., and I think both of your parties are for the most part composed of opportunists, corrupt war mongers and corporatists. So why bring in your red herring about support for Democrats or Republicans? I don’t know many in the 9/11 Truth movement who think that there is a dime’s worth of difference between them.

    Regards,
    Michael Zimmer

  30. rosemarie jackowski said on September 12th, 2007 at 11:20am #

    Thanks all, for elevating the discussion here. It is good to see respect for all participants.
    Brian…you say that there is already enough proof to convict. If that is true why is there NO Conviction, NO Indictment, and NO Trial. In my view, even IF there was absolute proof, it might not matter. You are placing too much confidence in the Judicial process. As others have said (to paraphrase), “If the Court system worked, they wouldn’t let us use it.” Here’s just one of the many roadblocks – the whole issue of Expert Witnesses, which your case would require. Expert witness are otherwise known as “Liars for Hire”. I have written articles about that problem in the Courts. It is unlikely that your side could match the amount of money that the “Defendants” in this case would have. In usa courts it is usual for the side with the most money to win. Are efforts going forward to get a Trial? Do you believe that it would be a fair process that would result in truth and justice? If so, why do you have faith in that branch of the same government that you are trying to expose? Do you have a Plan B that would not require Court action?

    Mike Zimmer…I know that there is a broad spectrum of beliefs in any group. And yes, many of you do object to usa foreign policy. The problem is that it usually looks like an afterthought. Believe me – we are on the same side.

  31. mike zimmer said on September 12th, 2007 at 1:58pm #

    Rosemarie,

    You wrote:

    “And yes, many of you do object to usa foreign policy. The problem is that it usually looks like an afterthought. ”

    I can only say to look at the collection I recommended previously, published by the prestigious publishing house Elsevier:

    “9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol. 1 (Paperback) by David Ray Griffin (Editor), Peter Dale Scott (Editor).

    You will certainly see a concern for all victims of imperialism, expressed by numerous authors.”
    or try this one:
    “Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action (Paperback) by David Ray Griffin (Author) “

    or this left-wing site: http://www.globalresearch.ca/

    or this important left-wing Canadian Philosophy Professor and 9/11 Truth activist: http://www.uoguelph.ca/philosophy/faculty/jmcmurtry.shtml

    David Ray Griffin is scarcely unique in terms of his humanitarian concerns for the peoples of the world. Please, dig a little deeper; the world will benefit if you more clearly understand the issues raised by the serious and informed 9/11 Truth activists.

    However, you raise legitimate questions here:

    “Brian…you say that there is already enough proof to convict. If that is true why is there NO Conviction, NO Indictment, and NO Trial. In my view, even IF there was absolute proof, it might not matter. You are placing too much confidence in the Judicial process. As others have said (to paraphrase), “If the Court system worked, they wouldn’t let us use it.” Here’s just one of the many roadblocks – the whole issue of Expert Witnesses, which your case would require. Expert witness are otherwise known as “Liars for Hire”. I have written articles about that problem in the Courts. It is unlikely that your side could match the amount of money that the “Defendants” in this case would have. In usa courts it is usual for the side with the most money to win. Are efforts going forward to get a Trial? Do you believe that it would be a fair process that would result in truth and justice? If so, why do you have faith in that branch of the same government that you are trying to expose? Do you have a Plan B that would not require Court action?”

    These are serious questions, and deserve a serious response. Others have addressed many of them, in diverse articles. You clearly understand some of the issues (not meaning to be patronizing). I am not going to address them here, since they clearly deserve an article in their own right. It could be an important article, if handled correctly. I am going to run these questions by others whose opinions I respect. Maybe I can talk someone else into doing the heavy lifting.

    Regards
    Mike Zimmer
    http://www.TheProgressiveMind.info

  32. medicis said on September 13th, 2007 at 3:55pm #

    Unfortunately, a vast bulk of Americans care not one whit about the now nearly 1 million dead Iraqi mothers, kids, dads. Truth be told, they really don’t care about the 3500 dead American soldiers and have no clue that there are probably 10 to 15 thousand dead soldiers who didn’t have the good fortune to actually die on Iraqi soil. And the thousands upon thousands seriously wounded. They don’t worry about torture – a good portion actually rationalize it.

    I frankly do not believe the message of anti-war (and allied issues) has even a small chance of changing anything. This is not to say that I do not keep on trying with respect to these issues. But. The issue that has had the greatest growing impact over the last few years is 911 truth. Perhaps that is because once a person receives sufficient information to actually overcome the cognitive dissonance inherent in questioning basic, well entrenched false beliefs about America, they are then primed to begin to learn much of what else is going on as they fall down the rabbit hole.

    Of course there is a limit. Many cannot manage the dissoance and actually question their own programming. Many more have no interest at all so thorougly are they ensorcelled by the consensus trance. But interestingly, I have encountered more and more anomolies to that notion. For example, earlier this week my car died in my son’s high school parking lot after I’d dropped him off. Two hours later, the tow truck arrived. On the ride back into town, the driver (a native of this southern Bible belt town) after we both expressed our unhappiness with the government, began talking To me about 9/11 truth! AND the wrongness of the wars.

    If one had just noticed him drive by in his tow truck you might think… another Yahoo…. but in his case, a yahoo who is figuring it out. And he stated that if he had not been exposed to 9/11 truth, he would not have begun to figure it out. Several other similar examples occurred in just the last couple of months. 9/11 truth has the capability of beginning individual enlightenment because many American Do care about treason. And they hate the government sufficiently that they will begin to consider our government capable of hideous behaviors including attacking its own citizens for financial and geopolitical gain. And then they come to realize that we have allowed a great evil to be loosed upon the world. And they are getting angry.

    So, however we can sway minds, we must. Whatever works well, we must use. Whatever appears to be a lynchpin argument for the person(s) we are speaking with, that is the argument we must capitalize upon. The whole point is persuasion…. however it occurs.

  33. rosemarie jackowski said on September 14th, 2007 at 12:00pm #

    medicis…I agree with what you say. The anti-war message does not have much chance of changing anything. Also exposing the 9/11 conspiracy will not change anything unless it results in some action. Just getting the facts out is not enough because as you say, the vast bulk of Americans do not care.

    Mike Zimmer…I like your last comment. I hope that I encouraged you to press on and move forward. If I can ever help, just let me know.

  34. Maher Osseiran said on September 14th, 2007 at 12:52pm #

    Blowback is simplistic and in a way self defeating.

    For some of us who have kept a mental log of all major terrorism attacks since 1973, we were almost shaking three months prior to 9/11 and saying, what is that idiot in the White House doing or not doing, the atmosphere is ripe for a major terrorism attack.

    Terrorists do not operate in a vacuum, as we all know, 9/11 was in the works for a good amount of time before it was executed; terrorists wait for the right atmosphere, the maximum potential audience, before they execute their operation and Bush gave them that.

    Bush was doing nothing to advance peace in the middle east, he was actually standing on the side of Sharon and Israel in their dismantling of the Oslo Accord.

    Anyway, 9/11 is not blowback because there is evidence the U.S. had advanced knowledge of it, and very likely aided Al-Qaeda in executing it.

    Many try to prove it through the attacks on WTC and Pentagon, but the government hauled away the evidence very quickly in order to prevent any forensic reconstruction, ergo, leaving us with theories that can be brushed away as conspiracy theories.

    So, what is the evidence that proves Bush administration complicity? it is incidents that took place in a small village in Afghanistan on September 26, 2001 and November 2, 2001 that inadvertently provide us with the proof that the Bush administration is complicit.

    The following is the link to an article “The Hijacking of a Terrorism Plot!”
    http://muckrakerreport.com/id487.html

    As the writer of that article, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

    Best to all,
    Maher Osseiran

  35. Zan Overall said on August 25th, 2008 at 9:26am #

    The author quotes OBL explaining why he attacked us on September 11. This
    is a bogus quote. The only accurate comment from OBL came in an interview
    with Pakistani journalists shortly after the event. He DENIED knowledge of or
    participation in the attack, said the US should look with itself as to who was guilty and added that the US government is totally in the hands of the Jews.
    …….Some good points in the article re our infamous international conduct
    but it misses the point: MUSLIMS DID NOT DO 9/11!

  36. Arindam said on September 20th, 2008 at 11:00am #

    So will they get away with it?

    The death of 3,000 people in a false-flag operation, that is then used to justify imperial assaults on Afghanistan and Iraq.

    It looks like it.

    The USA as the land of the free and the home of the brave – what a joke!

    ‘None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.’ – J. W. Goethe