After months of grueling research pouring over countless websites, multiple documentaries, recently released books, and raw video footage, I have confirmed that on September 11, 2001 nineteen Islamic hijackers muscled themselves into four individual cockpits and crashed the aircrafts into the Twin Towers, The Pentagon, and a field in rural Pennsylvania.
What? This isn't news to you? In regards to my findings, it may be news to you that I have taken on a new (albeit strange) hobby relating to the evidence that I have presented in the paragraph above. Yep, I spend my valuable free time proving what millions of Americans already know. What you may not know, however, is that there are millions of Americans (and counting) that believe that a shadow government, or the actual U.S. government, was totally complicit or at least criminally negligent in the attacks that took the lives of thousands of American. How strong is this movement? Below is an article I wrote for the Maryville College student newspaper The Highland Echo.
Was 9/11 an Inside Job?
A critical look at this conspiracy theory phenomenon
By Kevin L. Fowler
Didn’t you hear? The terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 3,000 Americans six years ago was not due to the fiendish acts of nineteen Islamic fundamentalists under command of terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and financier Usama Bin-Laden. I hate to break it to you, but it was actually the United States government that brought down the World Trade Center buildings to the ground via controlled demolition. The government was also responsible for the attack on the Pentagon in Arlington and the take down of Flight 93 over rural Pennsylvania by decimating both with cruise tomahawk missiles.
Sound loony? Good! However, you may be surprised that opinion polls have deemed that anywhere between 3-36% of our fellow Americans agree that government officials “either assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action.” Those who harbor these beliefs are often quickly dismissed as crazy, but I urge you to look a bit closer. If this Scripps-Howard poll is accurate then an estimated 105 million Americans indulge in the absurdities written in the first paragraph. This alone is worth every American’s attention.
If the United States government participated in a false flag operation to brainwash the American public into approving two Middle East wars then this has to be the most riveting political scandal since the burning of Reichstag. Who blew the whistle on this self-inflicted wound that has mobilized millions of Americans to demand a new investigation into the September 11 attacks? CNN, The New York Times, or The Washington Post? No. The two figures most responsible for propagating these conspiracy theories are Dylan Avery, a twenty four year old independent filmmaker and college dropout from upstate New York, and a paranoid, paleoconservative, talk-radio host from Texas named Alex Jones.
Together, these two lead an army of “9/11 Truthers” to the hallowed site of Ground Zero wearing black regalia emblazoned with their battle cry: “9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!” What is most shocking is that million of individuals are convinced of their claims and they have even garnered the celebrity endorsements of Willie Nelson, Martin and Charlie Sheen, and Rosie O’Donnell plus societies of college professors who call themselves Scholars for 9/11 Truth. They are pressing for an independent investigation into the terrorist attacks.
Where exactly do they get their proof? After all, it better be pretty darn convincing, right? To give you a taste of how they gather all of their hard hitting evidence, consider just one exhibit in the “A Missile Hit The Pentagon” theory. His name is Mike Walter. He has been on almost every 9/11 conspiracy film with his startling eyewitness account of what “really happened” at the Pentagon. With the smoldering building in the background, Walter states: “It was like a cruise missile with wings! It went right there and slammed into the Pentagon.” This quote is the ultimate case-in-point example of how these 9/11 Truthers not only cherry-pick their evidence—they downright plagiarize it!
The full quote (which is from a highly broadcasted CNN interview) is as follows: "I was sitting in the northbound on 27 and the traffic was, you know, typical rush-hour—it had ground to a standstill. I looked out my window and I saw this plane, this jet, an American Airlines jet, coming. And I thought, 'This doesn't add up, it's really low.' And I saw it. I mean it was like a cruise missile with wings! It went right there and slammed right into the Pentagon. Huge explosion, great ball of fire, smoke started billowing out."
Besides Walter, there were 135 other eyewitnesses that are forever scarred by the sight of the doomed Flight 77 hitting our nation’s military complex—not a single eyewitness on that busy highway saw a missile. Yet, Truthers claim that these eyewitnesses were clearly paid off and that the aeronautical debris that littered the Pentagon’s lawn was planted by the federal government.
They are most ardent, however, in proclaiming that the Twin Towers were not brought down due to the structural weakening that the jet fuel laden fires produced but instead by a controlled demolition that was planted by government officials. Engage in a debate with these individuals and you are bound to receive an ardent: “9/11 was the first time in history that steel-framed high-rise buildings collapsed as a result of fire!” Yet, they fail to mention that 9/11 was also the first time in history that a steel-framed high-rise building was hit by a fully loaded, 200 ton bullet traveling at 490mph (Tower 1) and 590mph (Tower 2). They also fail to acknowledge that the collapse of these towers is the most extensively studied engineering failure in history and was detailed in a $16 million, 10,000 page report from the National Institute of Standards and Technologies. Not surprisingly, Truthers quickly dismiss all 10,000 pages of research due to the fact that these independent researchers were funded by the government and thus biased. Obviously, these conspiracy theorists prefer sticking to Google Video for their evidence.
I must admit that 9/11 conspiracy theory documentaries such as In Plane Site and Loose Change (available in our college library) are pretty compelling. Without proper research, it is almost impossible to recognize that these films’ primary ingredients consist of falsified government publications, misquoted eyewitness testimonies, bad science, and spooky music. Yet, these films have proven that once one puts all of these pieces together it creates an army of gullible skeptics to do one’s bidding. Admittedly, I was once a follower of this ridiculous occult. For a short time I was also convinced that the claims presented in these films were true. I am thankful that I found that each claim could be easily debunked with appropriate research and common logic. Others, sadly, are not as fortunate.
To see the Loose Change trilogy for free, log on to SeeLooseChange.com and then head on over to LooseChangeGuide.com and 911myths.com for the complete frame-by-frame debunking of this conspiracy theory phenomenon. My highest recommendation is YouTube.com/RKowens4, which answers each theory in a quick, straightforward manner. I, myself, am currently in the process of building a website that combines all of these debunking resources.
As a student of political science, I can confidently say that if these 9/11 conspiracy theories are true the government would have to execute an immense objective both competently and quietly. In my opinion, decades have passed since these adverbs could be used to describe our government. However, this simple logic fails to resonate with 9/11 Truthers. The JFK assassination and Holocaust denial theories (to which many of these Truthers also subscribe) have taught us that there is no amount of evidence in the world that can change the minds of these paranoid conspiracy theorists. Sadly, the 9/11 Truth Movement is here to stay.
There are thousands of videos online that would appropriately paint both sides, but I believe the following video (which is absolutely hilarious) is probably the best:
What? This isn't news to you? In regards to my findings, it may be news to you that I have taken on a new (albeit strange) hobby relating to the evidence that I have presented in the paragraph above. Yep, I spend my valuable free time proving what millions of Americans already know. What you may not know, however, is that there are millions of Americans (and counting) that believe that a shadow government, or the actual U.S. government, was totally complicit or at least criminally negligent in the attacks that took the lives of thousands of American. How strong is this movement? Below is an article I wrote for the Maryville College student newspaper The Highland Echo.
Was 9/11 an Inside Job?
A critical look at this conspiracy theory phenomenon
By Kevin L. Fowler
Didn’t you hear? The terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 3,000 Americans six years ago was not due to the fiendish acts of nineteen Islamic fundamentalists under command of terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and financier Usama Bin-Laden. I hate to break it to you, but it was actually the United States government that brought down the World Trade Center buildings to the ground via controlled demolition. The government was also responsible for the attack on the Pentagon in Arlington and the take down of Flight 93 over rural Pennsylvania by decimating both with cruise tomahawk missiles.
Sound loony? Good! However, you may be surprised that opinion polls have deemed that anywhere between 3-36% of our fellow Americans agree that government officials “either assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action.” Those who harbor these beliefs are often quickly dismissed as crazy, but I urge you to look a bit closer. If this Scripps-Howard poll is accurate then an estimated 105 million Americans indulge in the absurdities written in the first paragraph. This alone is worth every American’s attention.
If the United States government participated in a false flag operation to brainwash the American public into approving two Middle East wars then this has to be the most riveting political scandal since the burning of Reichstag. Who blew the whistle on this self-inflicted wound that has mobilized millions of Americans to demand a new investigation into the September 11 attacks? CNN, The New York Times, or The Washington Post? No. The two figures most responsible for propagating these conspiracy theories are Dylan Avery, a twenty four year old independent filmmaker and college dropout from upstate New York, and a paranoid, paleoconservative, talk-radio host from Texas named Alex Jones.
Together, these two lead an army of “9/11 Truthers” to the hallowed site of Ground Zero wearing black regalia emblazoned with their battle cry: “9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!” What is most shocking is that million of individuals are convinced of their claims and they have even garnered the celebrity endorsements of Willie Nelson, Martin and Charlie Sheen, and Rosie O’Donnell plus societies of college professors who call themselves Scholars for 9/11 Truth. They are pressing for an independent investigation into the terrorist attacks.
Where exactly do they get their proof? After all, it better be pretty darn convincing, right? To give you a taste of how they gather all of their hard hitting evidence, consider just one exhibit in the “A Missile Hit The Pentagon” theory. His name is Mike Walter. He has been on almost every 9/11 conspiracy film with his startling eyewitness account of what “really happened” at the Pentagon. With the smoldering building in the background, Walter states: “It was like a cruise missile with wings! It went right there and slammed into the Pentagon.” This quote is the ultimate case-in-point example of how these 9/11 Truthers not only cherry-pick their evidence—they downright plagiarize it!
The full quote (which is from a highly broadcasted CNN interview) is as follows: "I was sitting in the northbound on 27 and the traffic was, you know, typical rush-hour—it had ground to a standstill. I looked out my window and I saw this plane, this jet, an American Airlines jet, coming. And I thought, 'This doesn't add up, it's really low.' And I saw it. I mean it was like a cruise missile with wings! It went right there and slammed right into the Pentagon. Huge explosion, great ball of fire, smoke started billowing out."
Besides Walter, there were 135 other eyewitnesses that are forever scarred by the sight of the doomed Flight 77 hitting our nation’s military complex—not a single eyewitness on that busy highway saw a missile. Yet, Truthers claim that these eyewitnesses were clearly paid off and that the aeronautical debris that littered the Pentagon’s lawn was planted by the federal government.
They are most ardent, however, in proclaiming that the Twin Towers were not brought down due to the structural weakening that the jet fuel laden fires produced but instead by a controlled demolition that was planted by government officials. Engage in a debate with these individuals and you are bound to receive an ardent: “9/11 was the first time in history that steel-framed high-rise buildings collapsed as a result of fire!” Yet, they fail to mention that 9/11 was also the first time in history that a steel-framed high-rise building was hit by a fully loaded, 200 ton bullet traveling at 490mph (Tower 1) and 590mph (Tower 2). They also fail to acknowledge that the collapse of these towers is the most extensively studied engineering failure in history and was detailed in a $16 million, 10,000 page report from the National Institute of Standards and Technologies. Not surprisingly, Truthers quickly dismiss all 10,000 pages of research due to the fact that these independent researchers were funded by the government and thus biased. Obviously, these conspiracy theorists prefer sticking to Google Video for their evidence.
I must admit that 9/11 conspiracy theory documentaries such as In Plane Site and Loose Change (available in our college library) are pretty compelling. Without proper research, it is almost impossible to recognize that these films’ primary ingredients consist of falsified government publications, misquoted eyewitness testimonies, bad science, and spooky music. Yet, these films have proven that once one puts all of these pieces together it creates an army of gullible skeptics to do one’s bidding. Admittedly, I was once a follower of this ridiculous occult. For a short time I was also convinced that the claims presented in these films were true. I am thankful that I found that each claim could be easily debunked with appropriate research and common logic. Others, sadly, are not as fortunate.
To see the Loose Change trilogy for free, log on to SeeLooseChange.com and then head on over to LooseChangeGuide.com and 911myths.com for the complete frame-by-frame debunking of this conspiracy theory phenomenon. My highest recommendation is YouTube.com/RKowens4, which answers each theory in a quick, straightforward manner. I, myself, am currently in the process of building a website that combines all of these debunking resources.
As a student of political science, I can confidently say that if these 9/11 conspiracy theories are true the government would have to execute an immense objective both competently and quietly. In my opinion, decades have passed since these adverbs could be used to describe our government. However, this simple logic fails to resonate with 9/11 Truthers. The JFK assassination and Holocaust denial theories (to which many of these Truthers also subscribe) have taught us that there is no amount of evidence in the world that can change the minds of these paranoid conspiracy theorists. Sadly, the 9/11 Truth Movement is here to stay.
There are thousands of videos online that would appropriately paint both sides, but I believe the following video (which is absolutely hilarious) is probably the best:
1 comment:
Nice Blog, really enjoyed the video clip kevin. need to link me the website when its available.
-----jeff
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