9/11 Conspiracy Theories

Regardless of whether you believe the 9/11 Commission's Report or believe one or all of the conspiracy theories, this topic always leads to some very interesting debate all over the planet.

Wiki's very good article summarizing the main 9/11 conspiracy theories

"There are two main categories of 9/11 conspiracy theories:
1. Key individuals within the government and defense establishment "let it happen on purpose" (LIHOP). That is, they knew the attacks were coming (though there is a range of opinion about how specific their knowledge was) and undertook to weaken America's defenses sufficiently to ensure a successful major terrorist attack on home soil.
2. Key individuals within the government and defense establishment "made it happen on purpose" (MIHOP). That is, they planned the attacks (and here there is a range of opinion about what the plan was) and ultimately carried it into action. " (Wiki article)

Please note that there are polls mentioned in the Wiki article. Note that the polls surveyed between 1,000-3,000 people (I think). The US population is over 300 million, yet the surveys use phrases like "41% of New York citizens overall believe" and "42% of Americans believe." Please take these surveys with a grain of salt. Any neo-Conservative, pro-Bush, pro-Republican could easily poll 1,000 to 3,000 neo-Cons and be able to use phrases like "100% of Americans surveyed support President Bush and the War on Terror and believe the 9/11 Commission Report." I know polls are a "sampling" and cannot possibly poll more than a few thousand people...just be careful when reading polls and try not to jump up and down with joy thinking they prove your beliefs and/or your socio-economic philosophies. They don't.

Michael Moore's fascinating film Fahrenheit 911

"Fifteen of the nineteen people who hijacked planes on September 11, 2001 were from Saudi Arabia. Not one of them was from Iraq...Iraq has more proven oil reserves than any other country in the world except Saudi Arabia...Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of oil to the United States. It has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Saudi Arabia supplies the United States with one and a half million barrels of oil a day...George W. Bush speaks frequently of the need to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. However, he has never publicly demanded that Saudi Arabia allow free elections. Saudi Arabia is a kingdom where the rulers tolerate little if any dissent...The Saudi government spent more than $170 billion on armaments in the 1990s. A large portion of this business went through U.S. corporations, including the Carlyle Group...
"The Carlyle Group has included some of the most powerful people in the world as partners, directors, and advisors: Former President George H.W. Bush and his former Secretary of State James Baker; Frank Carlucci, Secretary of Defense under Pres. Ronald Reagan; and John Major, the ex- British Prime Minister. Other Carlyle associates have included heads of state from the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand, as well as cabinet officials and ambassadors from the U.S. and other countries. Current President George W. Bush was on the board of directors of a Carlyle company...
"The Project for a New American Century (PNAC) is a “think tank” of the office of the book with a book with a that believes the United States must protect its political and economic interests around the world by using aggressive military and economic power. They believe America should stand in the world unchallenged by any other country. PNAC members in the Bush administration included Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz. Immediately following the September 11 attacks, they began to push for attacking Iraq...
"Vice President Dick Cheney became CEO of the Halliburton corporation after he served as Secretary of Defense during the first Gulf War. Halliburton chose him as CEO in part because of his close ties with leaders in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia. In his last year at Halliburton, Cheney was paid $34 million. Halliburton has received huge contracts worth billions of dollars during the current Iraq war
-- www.michaelmoore.com

"There were too many ironies and coincidences. A shrewd person would one day start a religion based on coincidence, if he hasn't already, and make a million."
-- Libra by Don DeLillo (about Lee Harvey Oswald and the JFK assasination)

I'm killing myself Googling to find out who was the US politician I heard recently on BBC radio say the following: "Conspiracy theories are the product of a lazy mind." (I guess it doesn't matter...I've heard more than one person use this phrase)

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