9/11 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
September 28, 2011
Excerpted from Hill Country Happenings October 2011.
(c) 2011 Greg Forest

Conspiracy – “A group of people banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose”

Theory – “a coherent group of tested general propositions, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena”

In the ten years since the 9/11 attacks, our nation has been utterly transformed. Almost overnight we gave up many of our hard-won freedoms and installed a surveillance state in the name of national security. The government and media seem to exist for the sole purpose of pumping up fear in the citizenry and in this era of the 24-hour new cycle, almost every news item is a crisis. To every American, the images of the planes hitting the World Trade Center are still etched clearly in our memories. More than fear, acts of terrorism invoke amazement that anyone could be so cruel to utilize such methods for geopolitical military goals.

When events of this magnitude occur, especially those that have such huge political or economic ramifications, an environment rich in nutrients for alternative theories to the official explanation of these events is created.

The first major conspiracy theory to come into our modern conscientiousness is that of the JFK assassination. In a poll conducted by Fox News in 2004, 74% of U.S. citizens polled believe that there was a government cover-up involved. The House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1976 also came to the conclusion that Oswald did not act alone. Oddly enough, the same Fox News poll found that 74% of those polled didn’t want any further independent investigations of the crime. This seems discordant – the same percentage of those who doubt the government’s scenario don’t want to know the truth regarding the assasination of a U.S. President.

In the case of 9/11, the figures are also revealing. In four polls taken by CBS/New York Times between 2002 and 2006, a majority of respondents, 56-66%, thought that the American government, “was telling the truth but hiding something” and only 16% thought the government was telling the whole truth. One thing that all the scenarios regarding 9/11 have in common is that 9/11 was, by definition, a conspiracy. Nobody believes the attacks of 9/11 were unrelated and the work of one “lone nut.”

The ashes of 9/11 were not yet cold when a flurry of alternative theories appeared on the scene. Some, such as 3-D holographic planes rather than real aircraft hitting the trade towers, can be easily dismissed out of hand as the rantings of someone who needs to adjust their meds. Other theories have been persistent over the years and some of these are still gaining ground today.

Many of the arguments for the 9/11 Truth movement are bolstered with coincidental evidence. As any prosecutor will tell you coincidental evidence is a nice thing to round out your case with but doesn’t have the impact or the weight of physical evidence and eyewitness testimony. Compelling though the circumstances may be, it is hard to make a clean case on this type of evidence alone. Such is the case in the investigations of 9/11. Is it coincidental that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced on September 10, 2001 that the Pentagon could not track $2.3 trillion in transactions and that the building that may contain evidence (WTC 7) comes down the next day? Even today the military admits it can’t account for 25% of what it spends. Is it coincidental that anti-terrorist military games were planned for the same day? Any Zen master, statistician or physicist will tell that coincidence is actually quite common. The mere timing of events doesn’t necessarily connect them.

Another similarity to many assassination theories is the political agendas of the theorists. Both Bush bashers and neocons came to the investigation arena armed with preconceived theories and agendas. Although many are quick to say that the August 10th President’s Daily Brief warning of imminent Al-Qaeda attack in the U.S. was utterly ignored, you hear little about the September 9th White House meeting formulating a strategy to go head-to-head with Al-Qaeda as revealed in a recent Freedom of Information disclosure. The warning was acted on, albeit a bit late.

Investigation of crimes of this magnitude should be conducted by top independent experts and done with the utmost care and transparency. Leaving any logic or evidential loopholes in the investigation only invites critics. As in the JFK assassination, a great deal of evidence was withheld by government agencies, most notably the FBI, from Congressional 9/11 Commission in the name of national security. Many questions went unanswered, many stones were left unturned, many requested documents were denied and much of the testimony from government agencies and other investigators have since come into question.

WTC 7
There are currently two 9/11 Truth theories that are gaining strength and refuse to go away – Architects and Engineers for Truth (9/11 A&E) and the recent revelations about Saudi safe houses in both Florida and California.

The arguments put forward by 9/11 A&E are compelling. The fact that over 1,000 architects and engineers would put their professional reputations on the line is a good indication of how seriously they take the matter. The American Society of Civil Engineers has also called for further investigation. There are two avenues that they have traveled that beg a number of questions.

Most conspiracy theories are fraught with bad data, misinformation and red herrings. In an event as momentous as 9/11, the rabbit hole can get very deep very quickly. The most common portal to getting your head around their argument is WTC building 7, which was not even on the radar of many Americans or the investigating committees. Never in history has a steel frame building collapsed due to fire and that, regarding 9/11, we heard the claim that the hereto physically impossible occurred three times in one day. Statistically speaking, that alone makes things fishy or at least curious.

The preeminent argument put forward is that the collapse of WTC 7 as described by the government is, according to physics, impossible. The collapse of WTC 7 could not have occurred as reported by the 9/11 Commission. Another salient point brought to bear is that there are national standards for investigating these type of incidents and that the rule book and it’s standards were tossed out by the investigators of 9/11.

The most intriguing piece of the 9/11 A&E argument is the question, “How is it physically possible for WTC 7 to fall the first 100 feet at a free fall rate?” A mistake that some detractors to the theory make is that they claim that the building didn’t collapse entirely in free fall. That is true and the 9/11 A&E have not said this. They measured the collapse rate against gravitational equations and found that indeed the building did collapse at free fall speeds for the first 100 feet, not the entire collapse. The problem is the same whether the building collapsed 100 feet or the entire 47 stories (741 feet).

The 9/11 Commission made the claim that the buildings collapsed due to fires that melted or weakened the support beams. Steel cannot melt at the temperatures that jet fuel or office furniture fires burn at. The first to publish investigative findings, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), came to the following conclusion regarding WTC 7:

“The specifics of the fires in WTC 7 and how they caused the building to collapse remain unknown at this time. Although the total diesel fuel on the premises contained massive potential energy, the best hypothesis has only a low probability of occurrence. Further research, investigation, and analysis are needed to resolve this issue.”

Although FEMA’s investigation began almost a month after the event, they were the first on the investigative scene and their above statement did little to bring closure to the issue.

The next governmental agency to investigate the tragedy, was NIST (National Institute of Science and Technology). NIST was late to the game and didn’t look at any WTC 7 evidence until they had completed their initial assessment of the collapse of the twin towers, which is hardly sinister since there were no casualties in the WTC 7 collapse. NIST not only used their in house expertise, but brought a large cadre of independent investigators into examining the remaining evidence; also architects and engineers who have also put their reputations on the line.

After reams of evidence was put forward the final footnote comments of the NIST also left something to be desired:

”As we mentioned previously, we are unable to provide a full explanation of the total collapse. . . NIST did not test for the presence of explosive residue…”

– Catherine S. Fletcher, Chief, Management and Organization Division, NIST. Sept 2007

Unfortunately for many Americans a full explanation is what is required. Consider the fact that microscopic evidence of nanothermite residue, far above the level of background noise, has been found in the dust of 9/11. It seems that testing for explosive residue might not be a bad idea and in this, the NIST was quite remiss. It is not just arm chair conspiracy enthusiasts and scientists want answers, fully a third of the 9/11 victim’s families are asking these same questions.

A later press release from NIST was equally soothing:

“We are withholding 3,370 files. The release of these data might jeopardize public safety. This withheld data include remaining input and all result files of the . . . collapse of the initiation model.:

– Catherine S. Fletcher

The major governmental entities investigating the crime, after copious charts and graphs, wound up hedging their bets in the small print and then withhold evidence. Curious.

THE SAUDI CONNECTION
There has been little mention of the role that may have been played by the Saudis in the 9/11 attacks. Few few media sidebars mentioned that fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were Saudi nationals. No mention was made of Wahabi Islam, its origins, history or its long partnership of funding and endorsement by the Saudi royal family. The FBI report regarding the funding of the 9/11 operation and ties to the Saudis, all 28 pages, was completely redacted when delivered to Congressional investigators.

In mid-September the former co-chair of Congress’ Joint Inquiry into 9/11, former Senator Bob Graham, called for a new and independent investigation after recent revelations about the activities of Saudi nationals residing in the United States just prior to 9/11.

.KISSIN’ COUSINS
Butt buddies in terror.
In Pensacola, Florida, living in a gated community were a Saudi couple that were in direct contact with at least three of the 9/11 highjackers. Records of phone conversations and the security records of the community’s entrance records tie this couple directly to the highjackers. None of the information regarding an investigation of this couple by the FBI was disclosed to any of the investigating committees. In fact, by September 13, 2001, Prince Bandar and President Bush were sharing cigars at the White House. It appears that as suspects, the Saudis were off limits.

Anthony Summers and Florida-based journalist Dan Christensen recently broke the story about Anoud and Abdulazzi al-Hiijjii and their suspicious activities in Pensecola. Just days before 9/11 the al-Hiijjiis fled the country in haste, leaving their Florida home with all the furniture, clothing and personal effects in place. The a-Hiijjiis had very close connections through Anoud’s father, Esam Ghazzawi. Ghazzawi is very closely connected to the Saudi royal family through EIRAD Management Company, a large holding company for Saudi royal interests. It calls into question the U.S. policy of rounding up Saudi nationals 48 hours after 911, and helping them flee the country before any could be questioned by investigators.

Across the country in San Diego, and individual described as a Saudi intelligence officer was in place to monitor Saudis, primarily college students, that might be opposed to the rule of the royal family. The mission changed shortly before 9/11 when the first two hijackers who entered the country were welcomed by this Saudi agent who then secured and paid for their housing and arranged flight lessons. These operations were funded by a a $130,000 contingency account, funded by the kingdom’s ambassador to the U.S. Curious.

Another odd circumstance is that just days after these revelations of possible direct Saudi involvement in 9/11 broke in the media, the Saudis announced a great reform. Women could now “vote” in Saudi elections. The Saudi nation is an absolute monarchy and the only elections are for members of an, “advisary committee” whose proceedings are non-binding to the government, this “reform” is just trying to get the U.S. media to delegate the new investigations to stories below the fold. It appears to be working when one remembers that the most popular tv news network is owned, in part, by the Saudi royal family. Curious and the rabbit hole gets even deeper.

Afterword: The Saudi complicity in 9/11 story is still growing legs. I would recommend that readers take a look and make up your own mind.