9/11 Conspiracies
Americans are unsure about 9/11
- “…the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor."
- Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Force and Resources in the 21st Century
If we are to rely on poll data, many Americans believe they would and could. In a Scripps Howard poll of 1,010 adults conducted in August 2006, researchers concluded that 36 percent of Americans consider it either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that government officials either allowed the 9/11 attacks to be carried out or perpetrated the attacks themselves. The poll also found that 16 percent of Americans found it “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that the world trade center collapsed due to hidden explosives inside. Twelve percent surveyed suspected that the pentagon was struck by a missile.
Propagating Conspiracy Theories
Initially, Dylan Avery, 22, and Korey Rowe, 23, intended to write a screenplay about their fictional discovery that 9/11 was an inside-job. While conducting research, the team decided that the evidence for conspiracy was overwhelming. Loose Change, a documentary created by the theorists, has developed into a phenomenon since its initial release in 2005. Loose Change is one of the most watched films on the internet, viewed by over 10 million in the last year. The 80 minute film, narrated by Avery, contends that world trade center 1, 2, and 7 were destroyed by means of controlled demolition, that the pentagon was struck by a missile, and that flight 93 never crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Although the filmmakers are vague about the perpetrators of these conspiracies, the involvement of the federal government is implied.
Loose Change, the first edition of which cost $2,000 to produce ($6,000 for the second edition), is very watchable. The stylish soundtrack and intense narration accompany clips from television coverage of September 11, used by the filmmakers without authorization. The film appeals to anti-establishment and nonconformist sensibilities. Skepticism is certainly warranted and there is something empowering about considering the possibilities. Of course the film has been criticized. Among the critics is Popular Mechanics magazine, which published a book debunking 9/11 conspiracies. Editors of Popular Mechanics recently debated Dylan Avery and Loose Change’s chief researcher on Democracy Now. Another critic is Screw Loose Change, a website dedicated to combating the film. The site features links to numerous other websites dedicated to the debunking of 9/11 myths and conspiracies.
Opponents of conspiracy theories and the theorists themselves are using the same methods to get their messages across. Loose Change is one among many documentaries available online without purchase. A Google video search for “9/11” uncovers a litany of documentaries supporting conspiracy; Loose Change’s compelling production is not matched by many of the other available videos.
Prior to the publication of the Scripps Howard poll results, the mainstream media had ignored questioners of the official story. Suddenly mainstream publications are covering the conspiracy. The Scholars for 9/11 Truth is a group of over 300 academics from various fields who endorse the 9/11 conspiracy. They have created The Journal of 9/11 Studies, a collection of articles posted online. These professors have been the subject of controversy lately, many question their competence. However, the Scholars are credentialed and articulate, and they have written a series of books; among them, The 9/11 Commission report: Omissions and Distortions by David Ray Griffin, 9/11 Synthetic Terror Made in the U.S.A. by Webster Griffin Tarpley, and The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray Griffin and Richard Falk (numerous books dedicated to debunking conspiracies have also been published). The Scholar’s web site (www.scholarsfor911truth.org) contains analysis supporting the conspiracy theory and links to relevant sites and films (including Loose Change).
The Problem with 9/11 Conspiracies
Some details related to the incidents on September 11, 2001 will never be fully understood. Using a great deal of circumstantial and anecdotal evidence, theorists are pointing to minor inconsistencies in the official story. That so many have embraced the conspiracy illustrates the American people’s (particularly young people) distrust of the government.
That the 9/11 Scholars are convinced says something for the scholarship of members. Armed with the know-it-all-ism for which academics are infamous, David Ray Griffin concludes The Destruction of the World Trade Center: Why the Official Account Cannot Be True by asserting that “it is, in any case, already possible to know, beyond a reasonable doubt, one very important thing: the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job, orchestrated by domestic terrorists. Foreign terrorists could not have gotten access to the buildings to plant the explosives…the evidence for this conclusion has thus far been largely ignored by the mainstream press, perhaps under the guise of obeying President Bush’s advice not to tolerate “outrageous conspiracy theories.” We have seen, however, that it is the Bush administration’s conspiracy theory that is the outrageous one, because it is violently contradicted by numerous facts, including some basic laws of physics.” Not all 9/11 Scholars and non-scholar conspiracy theorists are convinced. Loose Change producer Korey Rowe told Newsweek “the goal of the movie was just really to get out there and show that there are alternate stories to what the mainstream media and the government will tell you.”
Numerous 9/11-myth debunkers have published books or made their points via other sorts of media. However, engaging in a point by point dissection of the 9/11 conspiracy theory would probably do little to convince most believers. The government’s track-record indicates nothing to suggest that such an efficient mission could be carried out without leaving any evidence. Of course, 9/11 conspiracy theorists contend that evidence is plentiful, but the mainstream media is ignoring it; the media, theorists contend, is incompetent and/or complicit. The media is often incompetent and complicit; however, it is unbelievable that the worldwide media would remain silent if the evidence was so convincing.
“That 19 hijackers are going to completely bypass security and crash four commercial airliners in a span of two hours, with no interruption from the military forces, in the most guarded airspace in the United States and the world? That, to me, is a conspiracy theory.” Korey Rowe is, of course, right. The official story documents a conspiracy. Conspiracies are often associated with fiction but almost every independence movement, assassination, and coup d’état was carried out by conspirators. Intelligence agencies have been particularly conspiracy prone. During the Cold War conspiracies were constantly being perpetrated throughout the Third World and today American intelligence agencies operate in countries like Somalia and Iran.
The Bush administration often invites skepticism and distrust is not unwarranted. What makes 9/11 conspiracy theories unbelievable is that to conduct such an operation, many participants would be necessary; somebody in the Bush administration would surely have leaked the truth by now.
J.G.
Sources:
Donnelly, Thomas (Principal Author). “Rebuilding America’s Defenses.” A Report of the Project for the New American Century. Sept 2000.
Griffin, David Ray. “The Destruction of the World Trade Center: Why the Official Account Cannot Be True.”
Grossman, Lev. “Why the 9/11 Conspiracies Won’t Go Away.” Time. Sept. 11, 2006: 46-49.
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