The 9/11 Truth Movement, Part I: Background of a Conspiracy Theory

This is the first of a series of posts that will provide an overview of the 9/11 truth movement. This post will introduce readers the 9/11truth.org, which is the leading site and group of this movement.

Conspiracy theories are as American as apple pie because Americans have a true love of such theories. We Americans, as a people, much like the ancient Greeks and their myths, have concocted and believed these theories when we are confronted with realities that we can't fully understand or explain. The most popular and believed of all conspiracy theories are those involving the federal government. In fact, if you listen to most Americans, from average blue collar works to highly educated college professors, talk about the government one will come away with the impression that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney used their business connections to fix voting machines to steal the 2000 and 2004 elections, or caused Hurricane Katrina, and so on. The years following the attacks of September 11, 2001, a new, and particularly vicious and idiotic, conspiracy theory has grown, which is centered around the attacks of that day.

At the forefront of the movement are the paranoid folks at 911truth.org. This group has developed their mission statement around five points. First, "The frequently warned of 9/11 attacks handed a lackluster presidency irresistible political power to increase inequality, repression, corporate domination, and imperial warfare ." Second, "Since this administration benefited so mightily from these crimes, a reasonable person (or investigation) might find it prudent to at least question its possible complicity." Third, "There is now more than enough compelling evidence of just such official misconduct, foul play, perjury and obstruction of justice to constitute probable cause for a full criminal investigation of all 9/11 events." (Just what evidence they are talking about I don't know, but you don't need to provide proof for such statements when you're putting forth a conspiracy theory. If you could prove it, then it isn't much of a conspiracy, after all, but rather common knowledge.) Fourth, "Despite continuing avoidance of this issue by our Congress, major parties and corporate press, there is widespread public support for this perception and course of action." (This argument rests on a 2004 Zogby poll that claims that 49% of New York City residents and 41% of New Yorkers believe that 9/11 was an inside job. This poll does not prove a conspiracy, but rather that most Americans are just plain stupid and will believe anything.) Fifth, which I will quote in its entirety, "If we as a people refuse to demand truth and justice on a matter this grave, we will deserve our leaders' contempt and embolden them to further treachery. (They and their predecessors have, after all, gotten away with the now documented lies of the Tonkin Resolution, the JFK and MLK assassinations, Iran-Contra, Flight 800, the Waco Davidian murders, the Pentagon's "missing" $2.2 trillion, etc, etc. without consequence. Why should they start worrying about what the "sovereign people" think now?) We have to stand up and draw the line somewhere or we can kiss our hopes for security, solvency and democracy goodbye."

One should also take note of this group's top 40 reasons to doubt the official story of 9/11.

This conspiracy theory movement is just plain ridiculous! To believe that the Bush administration was behind the 9/11 attacks is silly, but it is frightening that so many Americans buy into this theory. The shear numbers and diversity of the people that subscribe to this theory is just as scary. Scholars (professors ans independent), actors, musicians, novelists, journalists, Europeans (mostly French), and average 'joes.' Who are these people? Why do they believe such nonsense? These are questions that I hope to answer in forth coming posts. The next post will be dealing with a group called Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice.