9/11 Conspiracy Theories

You simply have to read this mind-boggling article to believe it. I have never given these “theories” any mind, but when nearly 40 percent of the American public says they believe them, we know some odd phenomenon is at work. And when you read the names and titles of many of those leading the movement, includng former Bush appointees and academic luminaries, and when you read about all the startling contradictions in the 911 report – well, take a look at the article, then respond.

I am not endorsing the crackspot theories. Far from it. But there is no denying that they could never have gained this much traction if the government had been more forthright about what actually happened. Again, read the article, which is the single best roundup piece I’ve seen on the subject. I was shaking my head the whole time in dismay. Sure, the conspiracy freaks are nuts, but when you take a look at the force behind their movement, you realize just how powerful
they are becoming. (The proof is all the ink they’ve garnered over the past two weeks alone.) What’s going on?

The Discussion: 10 Comments

What’s going on is not surprising. Wacko reports about every goofy thing under the sun course the internet daily and people by the tens of thousands bite. The fact that some are otherwise savvy in a subject area matters not. They are the ones who are capable of giving wings to the absurd.

In this case you only have to consider the disrepute of the government to see how such a flight of fancy gets off the ground.

September 9, 2006 @ 2:40 pm | Comment

Given the very real contradictions in the government’s accounts (and the 9/11 report) and what has happened subsequently (Iraq and the advancement of the Neocon agenda), it’s hard not>/i> to give in to some degree of paranoia.

I don’t think the government blew up the towers, I do think planes crashed in Kentucky and at the Pentagon, but I surely would like a few of these questions answered.

September 9, 2006 @ 5:11 pm | Comment

Gosh, Richard, Crackpot theories. You mean like the one that says a commercial airliner crashed into the pentagon or the one that says when a concrete floor collapses 10 feet, it breaks the steel columns into neat 30-foot (or whatever they are) sections that fly 300 feet over to Building 7, but not the ones next to it, causing a fire that produces white (not blackish from carbon and not “water vapor” white) smoke that no-one can see that melts the 2×3 feet columns supporting the structure and collapsing it neatly into its own footprint with the outer walls on top.

Moving further, that the fire on the top floors of WTC 1&2 managed to sneak down to the lower structure and heat up the 1×2 feet box (2 inch thick steel) columns in such a way that they neatly split into nice 30-foor sections with squared off cuts, leaving congealed steel on the sides where the fire had not heated up the column enough to keep the steel running.

Or the one that says a jumbo jetliner hit the north tower at 500 miles per hour, yet the building absorbed 100% of the force of the impact so that the building didn’t sway at all, yet, later just before Building 2 fell, it shuddered despite no bombs going off.

I don’t want to anger Otherlisa, so I will cut this short.

I don’t support any conspiracy theory – especially the one that promulgated the above BS. I want a true forensic examination of everything. I want to know who profited from 911 with the puts. I want to know why the US was not upset with a member of the Israeli armed forces working as a civilian in our country.

I want to know why the originally released story differed so much from what subsequently was reported (was Dan Lewin shot?).

September 9, 2006 @ 8:28 pm | Comment

I have a degree in physics, and I saw the buildings fall. (And films are freely available.)
What I saw was not the result of planes hitting the buildings. Buildings don’t collapse into themselves like that at the speed of gravity without help. Not to mention that one of the buildings (#7) did the same thing even though nothing hit it. This isn’t a ‘crackpot theory’; the government is expecting you to ignore some very basic laws of physics to believe their story.

September 9, 2006 @ 8:51 pm | Comment

I am really willing to listen. I’ve read the reports, and then the contradictions, and then articles defending every point of view. The fact remains, if this was a conspiracy, it would mean that not a single person at any level broke the code of silence, something that is all but impossible nowadays, with rewards of lucrative book deals and TV appearances tantalizing those who might sing. Delivery men, police, soldiers, security guards, explosives technicians – not a peep from anyone. On top of that packing a skyscraper with explosives is no small task, and again, if I were to believe the conspiracists, I’d have to believe that an operation of such awesome magnitude could take place with perfect, utter seamlessness, without alerting a single soul. Knowing that the government still can’t stop people from bringing knives onto planes and can’t control the flapping jaws of its own generals and former appointees, I would have to make a profound leap of faith to believe they could pull off such a staggeringly huge operation, looked into by thousands of reporters, and not make a single mistake and not leak a single word. I’ve also seen some surprisingly serious and stupid mistakes in the pro-conspiracy materials, such as the claim that cell phones don’t work from the air. This doesn’t help their cause.

I have lots of questions, I believe we were lied to at times to cover a lot of asses, I have seen the footage of building No. 7 collapsing and am not satisfied with the explanations and the truly bizarre fact that most Americans don’t even know there WAS a building 7. But my own critical thinking skills, which may be fatally flawed, tell me the conspiracists’ explanations simply don’t cut it. I saw, many times, the footage of our president sitting dazed and frightened and confused in the Florida classroom. Had he known it was coming, would he not have been ready with some heroic action, some inspring words – would he have sat there helpless, until he was literally pulled out, looking like a terrified deer in the headlights? When told the first plane stuck, would he really have said, “Sounds to me like a lousy pilot”? It simply doesn’t add up to me.

I will entertain all points of view. But I get nervous when I hear arguments that don’t hold up to common sense. Lies were told by the FAA, and they were easy enough to uncover; the press went after them doggedly. And the motives were clear: pure and simply CYA. For all the mysteries and unanswered questions about 911, and the government’s wrretched attempts to keep it as much under wraps as possible, I simply haven’t heard a strong enough and supportable enough conspiracy theory that passes the smell test. I’m still open to it, but I have to say I haven’t seen nearly enough evidence aside from some flashy anecdotes and testimonials from people who say they studied physics. Sorry, but lots of others who have studied physics have put out detailed papers about just how possible it was, how the towers imploded into their own footprints because never before had there been a catastrophic encounter with a skyscraper along the lines of what the WTC experienced that day. Now we can argue back and forth about that, but there are plenty of other places to go to for that. But for now, I’m not convinced. Would the government really risk such a catastrophic loss of life and property, knowing that a single singing canary could expose them and put them at risk of losing their careers and going to prison and destroying America’s government? It defies my logic. As a former reporter in DC, I have to say, whenever you have a big story, there’s always canaries from the inside waiting to talk to their favorite journalist. Just as we saw with the leaks on Abu Ghraib and secret prisons and Bush’s machinations to make Saddam look like an imminent threat, so too would we have heard singing about the biggest coverup and mass murder in the history of the earth. No, it defies my reasoning.

September 9, 2006 @ 9:45 pm | Comment

Richard, I agree with your point about conspiracies that require large numbers of people remaining silent. So I’m not saying the conclusions of these people are correct, but that their basic premise, that the official story makes no sense, is sound.

September 9, 2006 @ 10:10 pm | Comment

And there, Boo, I have to say we are in at least partial agreement. Something doesn’t make sense. That’s all I know.

September 9, 2006 @ 10:30 pm | Comment

So, guys, stop sitting on your hands. Demand a full, unbiased, forensic (I want to know how the heavy steel at the bottom was cut so nice and neat!) investigation.

You sound like wives of errant husbands reminding the nosy neighbors that “He took a vow” and “he’s my husband” etc. etc.

For me, the most pointed deal is the answer to the question…

“How often has the victim demanded (in fact prevented) that the crime not be fully investigated?”

Without finding out, we won’t find out.

September 10, 2006 @ 12:55 am | Comment

The biggest conspiracy being spun is the “official” story.

September 10, 2006 @ 7:52 pm | Comment

Well, you drew a few out of the woodwork yourself, didn’t you Richard? The other side of this wonderful tool, the internet, is that along with the distributed intelligence used in fact-checking and exposing rubbish, you also get the fringe-y wierd stuff also finding its community and spreading at the speed of light!

September 11, 2006 @ 8:45 am | Comment

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