Q&O has a small article making fun of Richard Falk, just chosen by the UN to talk about human rights in the Israel-Palestine conflict. What the post points out is that Prof. Falk is also sympathetic to/involved in the 9/11 Truth movement. It argues, and I agree, that this makes him a suspicious and not very good choice to investigate the human rights mess he's been assigned.
9/11 Truthers believe one of a number of things. Either the Twin Towers were blown up by the government or someone working for them, or the hijacking plan was known but not stopped to further certain interests. These are the two most moderate theories. There are others, like the idea that lasers from either aliens or satellites destroyed the Towers, or that the Towers were 'transported' away and not destroyed.
A big chunk of the US population thinks the Truthers are on to something. The number of believers ranges from 10% (probably about right) to 50-60% in some clearly alarmist surveys. These people don't necessarily accept Truther methods or even conclusions, but they think there's something vital the government won't reveal. Here's the real truth: there is indeed material and records the government won't reveal, but that material is not going to be vital to understanding 9/11.
We really do know the important stuff already: President Bush got a security briefing mentioning a possible terrorist attack by airplane. The Twin Towers had been targeted years earlier. The Pentagon is also an obvious place to hit. By some failed bureaucracy and a sense of 'this can't happen here,' Americans and the Administration failed to anticipate and take action against such a terror plot. Terrorist captured planes, used them before a coherent response could be formulated. The Towers were weakened by the hits, and they fell, killing more than 3000 people in total.
That's the vital information. That's the outline. There's nothing in this outline that pretends to know 'why' certain people did what they did. Since we can't reach inside their minds, we will never actually know why people did certain things. One big Truther mistake is to think they can do just that. They 'know' what Bush, or Bin Laden, or the international Zionist Conspiracy was thinking.
A lot of Truther support comes from this feeling of "How could they let this happen?" We're told the US is the most powerful country, but it was hurt by eighteen guys with sharp objects and flight training. What this view misses is that the US is a massive leviathan of interlocking systems, not a centralized and unitary item. Each bit can make a small mistake, and over time these add up to a large security hole.
The moral of the entire story is not to simply dismiss the Truthers but to understand that, given the choice between an act of stupidity and an act of malice, assume stupidity until you have perfect evidence to prove otherwise.
9/11 Truthers believe one of a number of things. Either the Twin Towers were blown up by the government or someone working for them, or the hijacking plan was known but not stopped to further certain interests. These are the two most moderate theories. There are others, like the idea that lasers from either aliens or satellites destroyed the Towers, or that the Towers were 'transported' away and not destroyed.
A big chunk of the US population thinks the Truthers are on to something. The number of believers ranges from 10% (probably about right) to 50-60% in some clearly alarmist surveys. These people don't necessarily accept Truther methods or even conclusions, but they think there's something vital the government won't reveal. Here's the real truth: there is indeed material and records the government won't reveal, but that material is not going to be vital to understanding 9/11.
We really do know the important stuff already: President Bush got a security briefing mentioning a possible terrorist attack by airplane. The Twin Towers had been targeted years earlier. The Pentagon is also an obvious place to hit. By some failed bureaucracy and a sense of 'this can't happen here,' Americans and the Administration failed to anticipate and take action against such a terror plot. Terrorist captured planes, used them before a coherent response could be formulated. The Towers were weakened by the hits, and they fell, killing more than 3000 people in total.
That's the vital information. That's the outline. There's nothing in this outline that pretends to know 'why' certain people did what they did. Since we can't reach inside their minds, we will never actually know why people did certain things. One big Truther mistake is to think they can do just that. They 'know' what Bush, or Bin Laden, or the international Zionist Conspiracy was thinking.
A lot of Truther support comes from this feeling of "How could they let this happen?" We're told the US is the most powerful country, but it was hurt by eighteen guys with sharp objects and flight training. What this view misses is that the US is a massive leviathan of interlocking systems, not a centralized and unitary item. Each bit can make a small mistake, and over time these add up to a large security hole.
The moral of the entire story is not to simply dismiss the Truthers but to understand that, given the choice between an act of stupidity and an act of malice, assume stupidity until you have perfect evidence to prove otherwise.
1 comment:
when the unlikely occurs, and someone says how could that happen, in this world of improbable things stupid wins way to often. stupid is as stupid does
forest gump
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