Conclusion
There is a whole matrix of information pointing to U.S. Government involvement in the planning and execution of September 11th. From the ominous writings of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), to the scores of so-called 'intelligence breakdowns', to the lack of military response and the comprehensive dismissal of standard operating procedures in reaction to a declared emergency, to the bizarre collapse of WTC 7, to the free fall acceleration and explosive collapse of the Towers, to the miraculous aeronautical maneuvering of the jets, to Dick Cheney's suspicious behavior in the underground bunker, and on and on. The incriminating data is there, and has been presented at length in this paper. The only thing keeping the truth about 9/11 from emerging is our collective desire to continue to spin the fairy tale we have been fed.
We have an emotional investment in what it means to be American. We have an emotional investment in trusting and believing in the goodness of our 'leaders'. We have an emotional investment in the correctness of our initial reaction to the events of 9/11, and in the goodness of the justice we pursued thereafter. We have an emotional investment in our belief about the veracity and democratic function of the press. To admit and accept the truth that is illuminated by the actual hard facts and data of 9/11 would unravel the threads of a narrative we have used over the past 5 years to literally define ourselves. To admit to the hard truth about 9/11 would be a literal death of a part of us.
But surely, in upholding this collective myth of 9/11, part of us is dying anyway. A much more central, vital part. All of us know that when we refuse to look at ourselves, and the world, honestly, we suffer. We are forced to live disconnected, unhappy, and wholly stressful lives. For whatever false images and versions of reality we have created will necessarily, and continuously, run up against the immovable certainty of the truth. In response, we will be forced to constantly manipulate our thoughts and actions, rearrange facts, polish our blinders, stick fingers in our ears, and engage in a perpetual state of denial to avoid that truth, struggling mightily to reestablish the more comforting feeling of our chosen myth. It is a full-time commitment, burden, and unequivocal waste of energy that will lead to a life of perpetual disconnect.
Families burdened by the experience of sexual abuse often endure this kind of disjointed reality. Accusations are made, old memories suddenly rush back, various members of the family split into different camps, and an acute crisis unfolds. Often there will be a camp that will refuse to believe the accusations, refuse to listen to the strength of their memories, refuse to indulge their suspicions, refuse, ultimately, to reconcile with the truth. Ready excuses will be given in order to 'hold the family together'. The perpetuation of ignorance will be defended in order not to face the initial harshness of the truth. But this faction of the 'family' will live a life without depth, without real trust of each other, or of life. Because the 'family' they are defending does not exist. The 'family' they want to save is an illusion, an image they created in their collective minds that does not square with reality. And as such, their 'family', and the lives they engage within that 'family', will have no meaning. And the very suffering they wanted to avoid by ignoring the truth will only be deepened and made more harsh.
The leaders of the U.S., in this case the Bush/Cheney Administration, are much like the abusive parents of our collective family. They have been entrusted with guiding and protecting us. Entrusted with decision-making responsibility to distribute and allocate our collective resources in order to lead us safely and effectively into the future. And in response, they have wholly abused and betrayed this power. They invented reasons to start an illegal war. They have intimidated and divided this country into two halves more interested in screaming at each other than collaborating. They have funneled vast sums of our collective resources into the hands of their already fabulously wealthy friends and partners in the defense and oil contract industries. They have dramatically energized and amplified an insurgency and a terrorist network they claimed their power, influence, and position were going to quell. And as laid out in the mountain of evidence reviewed and presented in this paper, they, not a nebulous force of bearded Arab men living in caves and annoyed at our 'American values', orchestrated the murder of 3,000 of our fellow citizens and family members on the morning of September 11, 2001.
One of the tenets and ideals upon which this country was founded, and still resides, is accountability. Taking responsibility for our own actions, and rendering ourselves accountable for their consequences. In fact, the Republican Party, to which the Bush/Cheney Administration act as leaders, has made this their moral mantra over the past ten years. And indeed, accountability and responsibility are wise ideals to live by. And if 9/11 is, as advertised, the seminal event shaping our generation, then nowhere is it more important to uphold and honor our stated and chosen ideals than in honestly investigating and uncovering the actual truth about that event. And holding the real perpetrators accountable. That those perpetrators appear to come from within the ranks of our own family is a truth that, though perhaps initially harsh, must be dealt with and reconciled. If not, we will live lives without depth, lives wholly disconnected from reality, lives filled with deception and further suffering.
I have heard from people who have at least considered the evidence of 9/11 still defend the need to uphold the official story by arguing that to reveal the truth would cause unpredictable chaos and social upheaval. Is there not chaos and upheaval now? Are there not thousands of Americans dead, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis dead? Has not Iraq been thrown into all out civil war? Has not the 'war on terror' served only to escalate the number of terrorists worldwide, giving more credence than ever to terrorist leaders' claims of an infidel western power bent on global domination? Was this not Bush and Cheney's plan from the beginning, to create a new sinister enemy in order to legitimize their pre-existing plans to "reorganize America's defenses" and reinforce the U.S. economic/oil hegemony? Has not this global corporate paradigm to which we are so attached served only to push the planet to the brink of catastrophic climate changes that threaten the very survival of our species? Is change really so unbearable?
Perhaps change is, initially, painful. Dealing and reconciling with the truth about 9/11 is a big step that requires letting go of certain vines of reality we have depended upon for so long. But as any recovering addict or abuse victim will testify, this reconciliation is the only way to end the perpetual struggle we have locked ourselves into. Because with the truth, there is nothing left to defend. There is no sinking ship to save. There are no illusions that have to be rationalized with fancy language or media spin or public relations campaigns. There is only the truth of what is real. As is. And we can get on with living our lives.
The axiom 'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is a well-known and widely believed moral truism. The current U.S. government enjoys more absolute power than the world of human history has ever known. So what is it, what deeply held conviction, assumed self-evident truth, and collectively held myth keeps us from considering and suspecting that this U.S. government, with its unprecedented power and influence, is deeply and profoundly corrupt?
And finally, to answer the most common and most important question I am consistently asked: So what? Why is it so important that the truth of 9/11 come out. My simple answer is that a significant crime has been committed, and the criminals who so comprehensively benefited from the crime are still running around, setting agendas and steering the course of not only our country, but the future of our shared planet as well. And these people should be sitting in prison, not in the Oval Office and high-rise executive suites. But perhaps more importantly, our continuing choice to remain ignorant about the reality of 9/11 is indicative of a more general apathy and collective ambivalence toward an accelerating global chaos that is quickly, and literally, making our shared planet inhospitable for the coming generations. To whom I believe we have a shared responsibility to grow up and behave like the adults we have been entrusted to be.
The authors of 9/11 have worked tirelessly to franchise the impact and consequence of that fateful morning. A staggering amount of emotional weight has been bestowed upon September 11th. To even mention the word, to even hint that a sentence is about to reference the phrase 9/11, is to elicit an involuntary emotional response of shock and awe from the listener. And while this build-up and extraordinary emotional momentum generated around 9/11 is something the authors are undoubtedly proud of, something they have used for the past five years to shape and cajole and manipulate public will and opinion, there also lie the seeds of a great irony within the surging force of that momentum. Because built in to the force of that heavy tide lie not only the seeds for expanding the plotters' demented power and influence, but also the seeds of their potential downfall and demise as well. For if we the people can unshackle the fetters we have agreed to carry, if we can turn ourselves into social alchemists and harness the emotionality and momentum 9/11 already carries, redirect its force to wash back over its contriving authors, then therein lies a great potential to generate the much needed, lasting change in the currently destructive course of our collective heading. The proof that the threads of the 9/11 web, in which we find ourselves so entangled, were spun by individuals holding prominent positions within the ranks of our own governmental 'leadership' is undeniable. Those who wove those threads will not untangle the knots. This task is left to us.
continue reading »
We have an emotional investment in what it means to be American. We have an emotional investment in trusting and believing in the goodness of our 'leaders'. We have an emotional investment in the correctness of our initial reaction to the events of 9/11, and in the goodness of the justice we pursued thereafter. We have an emotional investment in our belief about the veracity and democratic function of the press. To admit and accept the truth that is illuminated by the actual hard facts and data of 9/11 would unravel the threads of a narrative we have used over the past 5 years to literally define ourselves. To admit to the hard truth about 9/11 would be a literal death of a part of us.
But surely, in upholding this collective myth of 9/11, part of us is dying anyway. A much more central, vital part. All of us know that when we refuse to look at ourselves, and the world, honestly, we suffer. We are forced to live disconnected, unhappy, and wholly stressful lives. For whatever false images and versions of reality we have created will necessarily, and continuously, run up against the immovable certainty of the truth. In response, we will be forced to constantly manipulate our thoughts and actions, rearrange facts, polish our blinders, stick fingers in our ears, and engage in a perpetual state of denial to avoid that truth, struggling mightily to reestablish the more comforting feeling of our chosen myth. It is a full-time commitment, burden, and unequivocal waste of energy that will lead to a life of perpetual disconnect.
Families burdened by the experience of sexual abuse often endure this kind of disjointed reality. Accusations are made, old memories suddenly rush back, various members of the family split into different camps, and an acute crisis unfolds. Often there will be a camp that will refuse to believe the accusations, refuse to listen to the strength of their memories, refuse to indulge their suspicions, refuse, ultimately, to reconcile with the truth. Ready excuses will be given in order to 'hold the family together'. The perpetuation of ignorance will be defended in order not to face the initial harshness of the truth. But this faction of the 'family' will live a life without depth, without real trust of each other, or of life. Because the 'family' they are defending does not exist. The 'family' they want to save is an illusion, an image they created in their collective minds that does not square with reality. And as such, their 'family', and the lives they engage within that 'family', will have no meaning. And the very suffering they wanted to avoid by ignoring the truth will only be deepened and made more harsh.
The leaders of the U.S., in this case the Bush/Cheney Administration, are much like the abusive parents of our collective family. They have been entrusted with guiding and protecting us. Entrusted with decision-making responsibility to distribute and allocate our collective resources in order to lead us safely and effectively into the future. And in response, they have wholly abused and betrayed this power. They invented reasons to start an illegal war. They have intimidated and divided this country into two halves more interested in screaming at each other than collaborating. They have funneled vast sums of our collective resources into the hands of their already fabulously wealthy friends and partners in the defense and oil contract industries. They have dramatically energized and amplified an insurgency and a terrorist network they claimed their power, influence, and position were going to quell. And as laid out in the mountain of evidence reviewed and presented in this paper, they, not a nebulous force of bearded Arab men living in caves and annoyed at our 'American values', orchestrated the murder of 3,000 of our fellow citizens and family members on the morning of September 11, 2001.
One of the tenets and ideals upon which this country was founded, and still resides, is accountability. Taking responsibility for our own actions, and rendering ourselves accountable for their consequences. In fact, the Republican Party, to which the Bush/Cheney Administration act as leaders, has made this their moral mantra over the past ten years. And indeed, accountability and responsibility are wise ideals to live by. And if 9/11 is, as advertised, the seminal event shaping our generation, then nowhere is it more important to uphold and honor our stated and chosen ideals than in honestly investigating and uncovering the actual truth about that event. And holding the real perpetrators accountable. That those perpetrators appear to come from within the ranks of our own family is a truth that, though perhaps initially harsh, must be dealt with and reconciled. If not, we will live lives without depth, lives wholly disconnected from reality, lives filled with deception and further suffering.
I have heard from people who have at least considered the evidence of 9/11 still defend the need to uphold the official story by arguing that to reveal the truth would cause unpredictable chaos and social upheaval. Is there not chaos and upheaval now? Are there not thousands of Americans dead, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis dead? Has not Iraq been thrown into all out civil war? Has not the 'war on terror' served only to escalate the number of terrorists worldwide, giving more credence than ever to terrorist leaders' claims of an infidel western power bent on global domination? Was this not Bush and Cheney's plan from the beginning, to create a new sinister enemy in order to legitimize their pre-existing plans to "reorganize America's defenses" and reinforce the U.S. economic/oil hegemony? Has not this global corporate paradigm to which we are so attached served only to push the planet to the brink of catastrophic climate changes that threaten the very survival of our species? Is change really so unbearable?
Perhaps change is, initially, painful. Dealing and reconciling with the truth about 9/11 is a big step that requires letting go of certain vines of reality we have depended upon for so long. But as any recovering addict or abuse victim will testify, this reconciliation is the only way to end the perpetual struggle we have locked ourselves into. Because with the truth, there is nothing left to defend. There is no sinking ship to save. There are no illusions that have to be rationalized with fancy language or media spin or public relations campaigns. There is only the truth of what is real. As is. And we can get on with living our lives.
The axiom 'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is a well-known and widely believed moral truism. The current U.S. government enjoys more absolute power than the world of human history has ever known. So what is it, what deeply held conviction, assumed self-evident truth, and collectively held myth keeps us from considering and suspecting that this U.S. government, with its unprecedented power and influence, is deeply and profoundly corrupt?
And finally, to answer the most common and most important question I am consistently asked: So what? Why is it so important that the truth of 9/11 come out. My simple answer is that a significant crime has been committed, and the criminals who so comprehensively benefited from the crime are still running around, setting agendas and steering the course of not only our country, but the future of our shared planet as well. And these people should be sitting in prison, not in the Oval Office and high-rise executive suites. But perhaps more importantly, our continuing choice to remain ignorant about the reality of 9/11 is indicative of a more general apathy and collective ambivalence toward an accelerating global chaos that is quickly, and literally, making our shared planet inhospitable for the coming generations. To whom I believe we have a shared responsibility to grow up and behave like the adults we have been entrusted to be.
The authors of 9/11 have worked tirelessly to franchise the impact and consequence of that fateful morning. A staggering amount of emotional weight has been bestowed upon September 11th. To even mention the word, to even hint that a sentence is about to reference the phrase 9/11, is to elicit an involuntary emotional response of shock and awe from the listener. And while this build-up and extraordinary emotional momentum generated around 9/11 is something the authors are undoubtedly proud of, something they have used for the past five years to shape and cajole and manipulate public will and opinion, there also lie the seeds of a great irony within the surging force of that momentum. Because built in to the force of that heavy tide lie not only the seeds for expanding the plotters' demented power and influence, but also the seeds of their potential downfall and demise as well. For if we the people can unshackle the fetters we have agreed to carry, if we can turn ourselves into social alchemists and harness the emotionality and momentum 9/11 already carries, redirect its force to wash back over its contriving authors, then therein lies a great potential to generate the much needed, lasting change in the currently destructive course of our collective heading. The proof that the threads of the 9/11 web, in which we find ourselves so entangled, were spun by individuals holding prominent positions within the ranks of our own governmental 'leadership' is undeniable. Those who wove those threads will not untangle the knots. This task is left to us.
continue reading »