Thanks to the efforts of Judicial Watch, the federal government finally released video footage showing the instant before American Airlines flight 77 purportedly hit the Pentagon on 9/11. What I have seen of it on television renders the identity of the incoming object uncertain. What was of interest, however, were the warblings of the Faux News observers who said that this footage effectively disposes of the “conspiracy theorists'” explanations of flight 77.
My late friend, Chris Tame, once told me: “I am not interested in conspiracy theories. I am interested in the facts of conspiracies,” which reflects my approach to such topics. I find it amusing that while CIA and other government intelligence sources were unable to anticipate the atrocities of 9/11, they were able – within a few hours after those events – to identify the alleged culprits and the details of their undertaking. President Bush – the first conspiracy theorist on the scene – told ingenuous Americans that al Qaeda and an “axis of evil” – which included North Korea – had pulled off this crime. Anyone who offered any other explanation – or even questions – were quickly labeled “conspiracy nuts.”
The suggestion that “conspiracy theories” regarding 9/11 have been put to rest by inconclusive video footage, necessarily raises what is the most bizarre explanation for 9/11 events: accidental coincidences. If there was no conspiracy to bring about these deadly acts, then random forces are to blame! And if, as I strongly suspect, there was a conspiracy directing these actions, the question becomes: WHO were the parties to this conspiracy? Was it al Qaeda? Was it an inside job? As ancient Romans used to ask: “cui bono?” Who benefitted from 9/11?
The witless souls who believe they are saying something real when they babble about the irrationality of “conspiracy theorists” forget that their condemnation also brings down the Bush administration’s explanations for 9/11. If, as the tenets of political correctness insist, there are no conspiracies to explain political events, we had best revisit much of human history, and stop insisting that young people read Shakespearian tragedies (which are nothing but strings of conspiracies).
I have no “theories” to offer about the obvious conspiracy that underlay 9/11, but I am very interested in examining the “facts” of that day. Chris Tame would have wanted it no other way!
2:31 pm on May 16, 2006
