UQ Wire: 9/11 International Inquiry - Phase One

conspiracy theory n. A theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act.

Mainstream media pundits, government officials and well-intentioned patriots have been quick to point a finger at skeptics of the official White House 9/11 story and brand them 'conspiracy theorists'. The flaw in this approach, however, is the failure to recognize that the official White House story about the events of 9/11 is itself a conspiracy theory. The theory that fanatic Muslim terrorists organized by the secretive Al Qaeda network and led by Osama Bin Laden hijacked four airliners ramming two into the World Trade Center, leveling them, one into the Pentagon, and one to the ground in Pennsylvania, is a theory of conspiracy.

The pressing issue it would therefore seem is not whether one is a conspiracy theorist, but rather in which conspiracy theory does one believe? And what is the evidence to support that belief? To make any inquiry into the events of 9/11 requires that one become a conspiracy theorist.

The common sense and reasonable expectation is that the official 9/11 Commission would thoroughly investigate, analyze, interview, and pick apart all available data to determine what happened, and what didn't, on that day, and the days leading up to it, to allow the spectacular success of the conspiracy to terrorize America. The purpose of a meticulous investigation is, of course, to ensure that the proper actions are taken to prevent and thwart the success of future terrorist conspiracies. The official 9/11 Commission is, therefore, a commission created for the express purpose of investigating a conspiracy theory.

According to a growing group of skeptics who have been tracking the investigations and doing their own research the commission is not living up to the job. Indeed some have gone so far as to call it a whitewash. They are beginning to organize an independent investigation of their own. A gathering of hundreds of 9/11 activists met for two and a half days this past weekend at the "International Inquiry Into 9/11 - Phase One" at the Veterans War Memorial Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Participants presented research, screened films, shared information, and strategized methods for informing a public which is only now beginning to become aware of the complex and largely unreported issues and unanswered questions surrounding the events of 9/11.

Presenters included well-known authors, scholars, career activists, as well as amateur researchers who presented detailed examinations into many of the unanswered mysteries surrounding the events of 9/11. A few of these include: the failure to scramble jets to intercept the hijacked airliners, the unprecedented WTC collapse of Building 7 as well as virtual disintegration of the North and South towers, the incredulous appearance of Mohammed Atta's passport on the pile of WTC rubble after an explosion that disintegrated everything else, the strange behavior of George Bush and his secret service on that day, including a failure to assume that Bush was in danger during an attack on the nation, the apparent failure of the events to catch the attention of top brass military leaders including the Secretary of Defense and the acting Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the failure to investigate anomalous spikes in 'put' options on American, United and several other stocks in the days before the attacks, the odd meeting between the money-man of the hijackers Mahmoud Ahmed of the Pakistani Intelligence Services and several Washington leaders the morning of 9/11 in Washington, connections between the CIA, the Pakistan Intelligence Service, and the funding of the Taliban and al Quaeda, statements from top officials including Condoleeza Rice immediately after 9/11 that no one ever imagined terrorists would use commercial airliners as missiles, the disappearance of the fuselage, wings, indeed the entire physical body of Flight 77 after striking the Pentagon, the existence prior to 9/11 of plans to invade Afghanistan, and many, many others. At a lunch break on Saturday, participants converged on San Francisco City Hall to hand deliver a letter to Mayor Newsom requesting that he investigate statements made by former Mayor Brown that he was warned not to fly on the morning of 9/11.

Included among the presenters were Ellen Mariani, a 9/11 widow who has filed a RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] lawsuit against President Bush and other high level members of his administration based upon prior knowledge of 911, along with her attorney Phil Berg, Nafeez Ahmed, author of "The War on Freedom: How and Why America was Attacked", Michel Chossudovsky, author of "War and Globalization: The Truth Behind September 11", Mike Ruppert, publisher of From The Wilderness, Daniel Hopsicker, author of "Welcome to Terrorland", the only detailed investigation into Mohammed Atta and the Venice airfields where Atta and other hijackers trained, Jim Marrs, author of New York Times Bestsellers "Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy" (part of the basis of the Oliver Stone film 'JFK'), and "Rule by Secrecy".

Fortunately for the activists, while the mainstream media has failed in its role of Fourth Estate to challenge or question the Bush administration in any of its policies, tactics, or agenda, the rest of the world is not so complicit. The book "Against All Enemies" by former Counter Terrorism Czar Richard Clarke has finally blasted the lid off the Pandora's Box of 9/11 issues. Clarke's authoritative and credible claim that Bush was not interested in counterterrorism and al Quaeda prior to 9/11 has switched the spotlight on. In addition, the controversy over National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice's refusal to testify in public before the 9/11 commission has increased suspicion that the White House has something to hide. "The New Pearl Harbor", a brilliant and dispassionate analysis of key unanswered questions surrounding 9/11 by theologian David Ray Griffin, is steadily climbing the charts. Surely this is only the beginning.

In her CBS "60 Minutes" interview with Ed Bradley this past Sunday, Condoleeza Rice aptly, though most likely unintentionally, summed up the core issue. Rice said that the official commission was rightly not focused on the events of 'that day', but rather, on policy. This would prohibit her from testifying, as a Security Advisor to the President does not testify to Congress about policy. Later in the interview, gaining her composure in promoting the war on terrorism and warning of the inevitability of future events, Rice emphasized how important it is to stay focused on the events of 'that day'. Herein lies the anomaly, it is impossible to stay focused on the events of that day without fully investigating and understanding them. Though Rice has since changed her mind and decided to testify, the stunning incongruity of her remarks serve to ignite the mission of the 9/11 activists and their burning desire to know the truth. Whether the White House is willing participant or not, it is unlikely that the 9/11 activists, and the public at large, will settle for anything less. The activists agreed to converge peacefully and steadfastly on the streets, in homes and meeting places, and at websites worldwide including http://www.septembereleventh.org, the Ellen Mariani website at http://www.911forthetruth.com, and the website of International Inquiry organizer Carol Brouillet at http://www.deceptiondollar.com, among many, many others. They resolved to compensate for the silence of a complicit press by 'becoming the press'. The Inquiry continues with Phase II in Toronto in June ( http://www.911inquiry.org) and Phase III under discussion. March 30, 2004.

- Gregor Holland is a writer, producer, and conspiracy theorist living in Los Angeles. gkh@earthlink.net. All rights reserved.

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