9/11 Truth, Part 1 of 11- 9/11 & Public Opinion

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9/11 Truth, Part 1 of 11- 9/11 & Public Opinion

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Article by Erik Larson

This 11 part 9/11 Truth article series is an overview of evidence that contradicts the official 9/11 conspiracy theory and the still unanswered questions raised by this evidence.  The official story, essentially, is that Al Qaeda, Bin Laden and no one else conspired to facilitate or benefit from the attacks on the US on 9/11. This story maintains that all the important questions were answered by the Congressional and FBI investigations, and the 9/11 Commission. The 9/11 Commission concluded that no one else should be held accountable- for Clinton and Bush Administration, INS, CIA, FBI, FAA, Air Force, Pentagon and NORAD “failures” to “connect the dots”, heighten security, warn the public, stop the alleged “hijackers” (despite numerous opportunities), intercept the planes and prevent the attacks- and for the destruction of World Trade Center 1, 2 & 7 and the murders of nearly 3000 people (including those who died at the Pentagon and on Flight 93). 

The 9/11 attacks terrorized Americans and the world, and have been used by the US (and other governments) to justify the so-called “war on terror”, huge increases in military spending, two wars so far, cooperation with and support for repressive regimes, broad new surveillance and police powers for the Executive with limited oversight, and restrictions on civil liberties and rights. It is imperative that the People have a full accounting of what went wrong, before “the day that changed everything” is used to justify anything else, and before another major attack happens; numerous Establishment politicians and public figures have been threatening that the next attack could involve the loss of a US city, or multiple dirty bombs in US cities. 

Evidence conflicting with the official story (see this too) and unanswered questions raised by the victim’s families and independent researchers have spawned the “9/11 Truth Movement”; the spontaneous, decentralized and growing collective of the many diverse people and groups around the world who are not satisfied with the official and corporate media explanations for 9/11 and want answers. Hundreds of millions around the world are troubled by the lack of reasonable answers for reasonable questions, and by the way in which the attacks have been exploited by the government, defense contractors and the corporate media. In my opinion, those who simply refuse to endorse the official 9/11 story and want a new investigation are part of this movement; many others are actively publicizing facts and information about 9/11 that are being ignored by Establishment politicians and media, raising public awareness online and in the streets, and pressuring the media and public officials for accountability. This series highlights the work of the many researchers and activists who’ve contributed to public understanding. 

Disclaimer- I, Erik Larson, the author of this article/series, reject violent methods for social change; I only endorse and use non-violent, First Amendment protected methods in my efforts for truth and justice, and as far as I know, all the orgs and people linked in this article/series do so as well. I am expressly making this point due to things like the smears against “Truthers” by Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly that suggest we are crazy and prone to violence, and the attempted passage of the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007”, aka the “Thought Crime” Bill. This bill passed in the house with a 404-6 vote, but has been stalled in the Senate since last year, thanks to widespread public outrage and opposition by numerous civil liberties groups, such as the National Lawyers Guild, Society of American Law Teachers, American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights. Among other things, this bill equates non-violent dissent and protest, and undefined “extremist belief system[s]”, with “force”, terrorism and violence. In the opening hearings testimony was received and accepted that equated organizations and people who peacefully question the 9/11 events and advocate for full investigations, with terrorists. I recommend all activists reject violence as a tool for political change; history shows non-violent methods can be more effective in both the short and long term, in addition to being legal, protected by the Constitution and the moral high ground. Non-violent dissent, protest, and petitioning for redress of grievances has the support of all civilized societies and peoples around the world, including Americans. Plus, if you seek to employ violence, you can be sure you will be discovered and stopped by Big Brother; unless they want to use you as an example, patsy, or tool for attempting to discredit the 9/11 Truth Movement, or any other cause. 

Public opinion polls, and the public opinions of prominent people: 

According to an October 2006 NY Times/CBS poll 81% of American adults (more than 170 million people) believe the Bush Administration is “hiding something” or “mostly lying” about what they knew prior to 9/11; up from 73%, according to the same poll in 2002. In 2006, only 16% could say they believe the Bush Administration is “telling the truth”. Polling demographics available from other polls shows that 9/11 skepticism crosses all age, socio-economic and political boundaries, though the younger generations, the future of the nation and the world, are even more likely to be skeptical of the official 9/11 story. 

The story given to us after 9/11 was that the attacks were a surprise and could not have been prevented. Bush made statements such as, "Had I known that the enemy was going to use airplanes to kill on that fateful morning, I would have done everything in my power to protect the American people.". The 9/11 Commission documented numerous warning signs and missed opportunities, but mainly painted a picture of Islamic extremists exploiting our open society and getting lucky. Their report claims that failures of imagination and the system contributed to the attacks success, but that there was no malfeasance on the part of anyone in the US government, and more money and power were needed for the government to be able stop future attacks. 

So, why don’t people believe the Bush Administration is telling the truth about 9/11? 

In reality, the Commission ignored the issues raised by 70% of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee’s questions, and its report omits or distorts many important facts about the history of terrorism & US foreign policy, as well as the state of US defense preparedness & intelligence prior to 9/11. In addition, all the Commission members and key staff had serious conflicts of interest. Since 9/11, mainstream and independent researchers and media in increasing numbers have been uncovering, documenting and publicizing information that contradicts the official 9/11 account, including evidence of criminal negligence and even complicity. The many holes and inconsistencies in the official story, the failure to fully investigate and the unanswered questions left by the 9/11 Commission, as well as the increasing amount of publicly available information that contradicts their report, likely has much to do with why people don’t believe the official conspiracy theory. 

A November 2007 Scripps News Poll revealed that 62% of Americans think it “somewhat likely” or “very likely” some people in the federal government had specific warnings of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, but chose to ignore those warnings. 

A 2006 Scripps News poll asked a similar question about federal officials actually intending 9/11 to succeed:

"Thirty-six percent of respondents overall said it is 'very likely' or 'somewhat likely' that federal officials either participated in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or took no action to stop them 'because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East.'" 

A September 2007 Zogby poll found 67% of Americans think the 9/11 Commission should have investigated the collapse of World Trade Center 7 (the 47-story steel-framed skyscraper that completely collapsed at 5:20 pm on 9/11; WTC 7 is mentioned in the 9/11 Commission Report- but not its mysterious “collapse”). 51% think Congress should investigate the Executive Branch’s conduct before, during and after the attacks. 31% believed 9/11 was allowed or made to happen, and 5% were unsure, i.e. unwilling to endorse the official story.  

Similar numbers are revealed by polling in other nations: 

A July 2003 poll in Germany commissioned by the weekly Die Zeit revealed “68 percent of all Germans felt the media had not reported the full truth behind the attacks” and “asked whether they believed the U.S. government could have ordered the Sept. 11 attacks, 31 percent of those surveyed under the age of 30 answered "yes," while 19 percent overall gave the same answer.” 

A September 2006 Ipsos-Reid poll found “one in five Canadians believes the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, had nothing to do with Osama Bin Laden and were actually a plot by influential Americans” 

According to a June 2006 poll by Pew Research, “majorities in Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan say that they do not believe groups of Arabs carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The percentage of Turks expressing disbelief that Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks has increased from 43% in a 2002 Gallup survey to 59% currently. And this attitude is not limited to Muslims in predominantly Muslim countries - 56% of British Muslims say they do not believe Arabs carried out the terror attacks against the U.S., compared with just 17% who do.” 

More 9/11 related polls are available on Wikipedia.org - 9/11 opinion polls 

Hundreds of highly credible people, including members of Congress, military leaders, intelligence professionals, scientists, structural engineers & architects, legal scholars, 9/11 family members and first responders, health professionals and even the 9/11 Commissioners themselves have publicly questioned the completeness, accuracy and even the integrity of the 9/11 Commission investigation and report. Chairman Thomas Kean and Co-Chair Lee Hamilton admitted in person and in a disclaimer in the Commission Report, that significant sections of their narrative were based on the testimony of detainees who they didn’t interview directly and had been waterboarded, i.e. tortured. When the story of the interrogation tape destruction broke, Kean and Hamilton both said the CIA had obstructed their investigation. Hamilton is on record saying the Commission was set up to fail. 

The 9/11 Commission Doesn't Believe It: Why Do You? By George Washington 

Credible or Not? By George Washington (prominent people who question the 9/11 Commission Report; including the 9/11 Commissioners) 

Highly-Credible People Question 9/11 – 911Summary.com 

911 Truth Statement: Respected Leaders and Families Launch 9/11 Truth Statement Demanding Deeper Investigation into the Events of 9/11, hosted by 911Truth.org 

Criticism of US Government and 9/11 Timeline 

Skepticism among Americans about the competence and honesty of the Bush Administration, and the US government in general, is widespread, spanning the socio-economic-political spectrum. About 1 out 3 Americans suspect 9/11 was on some level an “inside job”, and only 1 in 6 thinks the Bush Administration is telling the truth about what they knew. Americans hold similar views of the media’s accuracy, objectivity and honesty; less than 20% of Americans say they believe “all” or “most” corporate media reporting, according to a January 2008 Sacred Heart University Poll. 

A crisis of confidence is brewing among the People’s of the world; it is inevitable that full investigations with public oversight will be conducted by those with the authority and resources of governmental bodies. The US Congress, FBI, DOJ-special prosecutor, SEC, the GAO and international bodies such as the UN and ICC need zto address the questions and evidence ignored by the 9/11 Commission, and to go wherever the facts lead, exposing all parties involved in 9/11. It may be that a “Truth & Reconciliation” Commission will be needed to uncover the whole truth about 9/11. Power brokers and opinion/policy makers should take note. 

Inspirational article by George Washington:

The False Logic of Hopelessness (Why the Elephant Should Stand Up to the Mouse) 

Click here for all the articles in the 9/11 Truth Overview Series

Crossposted at:

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=8576&submit=Back

http://visibility911.com/eriklarson/?p=6