I have no doubt that the Bush administration was capable of being behind the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. A book about the National Security Agency, Body of Secrets by James Bamford, reveals that, in 1962, U.S. military leaders proposed a plan to commit violent terrorist acts and kill innocent Americans, blaming Cuba in order to create a pretext for invading the island and deposing Fidel Castro.
One document, prepared and signed by all five Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that they could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in Miami, other Florida cities and even in Washington. They would have people shot on American streets, bombs blown up, refugee boats sunk on the high seas–and all this would be blamed on the Cuban government. They proposed blowing up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blaming Cuba. Casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause “a helpful wave of indignation.”
I also believe that the Cheney gang knew that something was being planned against the United States in 2001, which could retroactively serve as a Pearl Harbor equivalent in order to justify their own imperialist plans for the oil-laden Middle East. However, the truth-seekers in the 9/11 movement act as if their truth is the Absolute Truth, and they often distrust the motivation of those, especially those in the media, who disagree with them. They assume that reporters either don’t know the truth, or that they do know the truth but remain silent so they won’t lose their jobs, or that they’re actually part of the conspiracy.
I asked Amy Goodman–host of Democracy Now and one of the best journalists in the country–how she feels about being attacked by the 9/11 people. Although, like me, she doesn’t agree with their conclusions, we both agree that their claims should be investigated, as did the petition signed by Van Jones. At the other end of the spectrum, talk-show host Michael Reagan has called for the assassination of 9/11 “traitors.”
The problem is, I’ve found, that if I mention to a 9/11 truth-seeker the research project by Popular Mechanics which deconstructed their theory of “controlled demolition,” the response is, “Well, whattaya expect–Popular Mechanics is published by Hearst.”
I once asked a true believer, “If the Pentagon was really hit by a missile and not a plane, then what happened to all the people who were on the plane that didn’t hit the Pentagon?” And the answer was a triumphant “Aha!”
PAUL KRASSNER is the editor of The Realist. His books include: Pot Stories for the Soul, One Hand Jerking and Murder at the Conspiracy Convention. He can be reached through his website: http://paulkrassner.com/
