| THE INDUSTRY
OF CONSPIRACY
On September 11, 2001, pilotless airplanes were
guided into the World Trade Center by homing beacons.
It wasn't a plane that hit the Pentagon, but a missile.
U.S. Air Force planes weren't scrambled to intercept
the hijacked planes that morning because the White
House was behind the events of that tragic day.
Incredible? Definitely. Outlandish? Absolutely.
But, there are lots of people who believe that at
least some parts of these stories are true.
An entire industry has sprung up about the speculation
of the events of 9/11 - the most thoroughly documented
day in history. There are many web sites (see Resources),
conferences and best selling books devoted to the
topic.
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Mike
Vreeland claimed to be an agent for the U.S. government.
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THE MIKE VREELAND
CONNECTION
A month before September 11th Mike Vreeland,
an American in a Lindsay, Ontario jail awaiting
trial for credit card fraud, handed his guards a
sheet of paper. (see the note
online)
The U.S. authorities said that Vreeland had an extensive
criminal record showing he was a con-man and was
wanted on outstanding warrants across the border.
But Vreeland claimed that it was all a cover story
to disguise what he really was - an American working
for the Pentagon.
He claimed that for a month before
9/11 he had tried to warn Canadian and American
authorities that something terrible was about to
happen. His lawyers entered the sheet of paper as
evidence. On it were various words and phrases,
including "World Trade Center" and "Pentagon."
They insisted that it was a list of 9/11 targets
that Vreeland had uncovered and been trying to warn
the authorities about.
The court found no basis to his claim. Mike Vreeland
jumped bail and disappeared. But on the internet,
he remains a poster boy for those who believe that
September 11th was planned by the American government.
(see resources section
for more links about Mike Vreeland)
THE BIG LIE
The most infamous conspiracy theorist of
them all is Thierry Meyssan. His book "The
Big Lie" was a bestseller in Europe and lays
out a conspiracy theory which challenges the official
version of the September 11th attack on the Pentagon.
(the
book site)
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Meyssan
has written a best selling book about his
9/11 conspiracy theories.
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Meyssan claims that American Airlines
Flight 77 did not hit the U.S. Defense headquarters
in Washington because the size of the hole in the
Pentagon was too small. (see pictures
of the crash site published by Meyssan) Instead
he concludes that the impact was caused by something
much smaller - like a surface to air missile - that
was fired by the American government itself. And the
attack on the World Trade Center? Those jets were
empty and controlled by radio beacons from the ground.
And behind it all was George W. Bush and other U.S.
officials.
CHALLENGING
THE THEORIES
David Corn, a Washington Correspondent for the political
weekly, "The Nation" has challenged some
of these conspiracy theories in print. (read
his articles)
A journalist who's written extensively about the
misdeeds of U.S. intelligence, even he says it's
simply too great a leap to believe that the White
House could conspire to destroy the World Trade
Center and fire a missile at the Pentagon and then
keep it all quiet.
But his articles sparked the fury of thousands of
people who take these conspiracy theories seriously.
The fifth estate found NO credible
evidence in the public domain to prove the U.S.
government had any specific advance knowledge of
exactly what would happen on September 11, 2001.
And many conspiracy theories seem
like a waste of time. They depend on questionable
characters like Mike Vreeland or involve wild allegations
like those of Thierry Meyssan.
But many of these theories are based, at least in
part, on legitimate questions that have remained
unanswered since September 11th.
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