9/11 conspiracy theories: Difference between revisions

The first elaborated theories appeared in Europe. One week after the attacks, the "inside job" theory was the subject of a thesis by a researcher from the [[French National Centre for Scientific Research]] published in the newspaper ''[[Le Monde]]''. Other theories sprang from the far corners of the globe within weeks.<ref>{{cite book|last=Summers|first=Anthony|title=The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama bin Laden|url=https://archive.org/details/eleventhdayfulls0000summ|url-access=registration|year=2011|publisher=Ballantine|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4000-6659-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/eleventhdayfulls0000summ/page/95 95]|author2=Swan, Robbyn}}</ref> Six months after the attacks, [[Thierry Meyssan]]'s piece on 9/11, ''L'Effroyable Imposture'', topped the French bestseller list. Its publication in English (as ''[[9/11: The Big Lie]]'') received little attention, but it remains one of the principal sources for "trutherism".<ref name=WeeklyStandard>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/german-protestors-marked-911-denouncing-inside-job-reichstag-fire |title=German Protestors Marked 9/11 by Denouncing "Inside Job," "Reichstag Fire" Weekly Standard September 21, 2010 |publisher=Weeklystandard.com |date=September 21, 2010 |access-date=October 15, 2010| archive-url= https://archive.today/20130209171015/http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/german-protestors-marked-911-denouncing-inside-job-reichstag-fire| archive-date=February 9, 2013 | url-status= livedead}}</ref> 2003 saw the publication of ''[[The CIA and September 11 (book)|The CIA and September 11]]'' by former German state minister [[Andreas von Bülow]] and ''Operation 9/11'' by the German journalist Gerhard Wisnewski; both books are published by [[Mathias Bröckers]], who was at the time an editor at the German newspaper ''[[Die Tageszeitung]]''.<ref name="Knight" />

}}</ref> A 2006 national security strategy paper declared that terrorism springs from "subcultures of conspiracy and misinformation," and that "terrorists recruit more effectively from populations whose information about the world is contaminated by falsehoods and corrupted by conspiracy theories. The distortions keep alive grievances and filter out facts that would challenge popular prejudices and self-serving propaganda."<ref name="NSec2006">{{cite book | last1 = Bush | first1 = George W. | author-link1 = George W. Bush | title = The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (March 2006) | publisher = Wordclay | year = 2009 | page = 10 | isbn = 978-1-60037-587-3}}</ref> Al-Qaeda has repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attacks, with chief deputy [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] accusing [[Shia]] Iran and [[Hezbollah]] of denigrating [[Sunni]] successes in hurting America by intentionally starting rumors that Israel carried out the attacks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7361414.stm |title=Al-Qaeda accuses Iran of 9/11 lie |work=BBC News |date=April 22, 2008 |access-date=May 30, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110511123743/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7361414.stm| archive-date=May 11, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-22-al-qaeda-tape_N.htm |title=USA Today |date=April 22, 2008 |access-date=October 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Michael |first=Maggie |url=http://news.scotsman.com/world/AlQaeda-No-2-accuses-Iran.4009088.jp |title=Al-Qaeda No 2 accuses Iran of 9/11 conspiracy theory |work=The Scotsman |location=UK |date=September 11, 2001 |access-date=May 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926221502/http://news.scotsman.com/world/AlQaeda-No-2-accuses-Iran.4009088.jp |archive-date=September 26, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=httphttps://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352066,00.htmlal-qaeda-no-2-accuses-iran-of-spreading-9-11-conspiracy-rumor |title=Al Qaeda No. 2 Accuses Iran of Spreading 9/11 Conspiracy Rumor |publisher=Fox News |date=April 22, 2008 |access-date=May 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924071715/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352066,00.html |archive-date=September 24, 2008 |url-status=deadlive }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Lee Keath |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/23/MN4U109VEJ.DTL&type=printable |title=Al Qaeda audiotape blisters Iran over who executed 9/11 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=April 23, 2008 |access-date=May 30, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/04/22/al_qaida_no_2_says_group_still_targeting_the_west/ |title=Al-Qaida No. 2 says 9/11 theory propagated by Iran |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918035430/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/04/22/al_qaida_no_2_says_group_still_targeting_the_west/ |archive-date=September 18, 2009 |access-date=May 29, 2014}}</ref>

Some of the conspiracy theories about the September 11 attacks do not involve representational strategies typical of many conspiracy theories that establish a clear dichotomy between good and evil, or guilty and innocent; instead, they call up gradations of negligence and complicity. MatthiasMathias Bröckers, an early proponent of such theories, dismisses the commonly accepted account of the September 11 attacks as being itself a conspiracy theory that seeks "to reduce complexity, disentangle what is confusing," and "explain the inexplicable".<ref name="Knight" />

==== Alleged Communicationscommunications Leakleak ====

Jones also said that molten steel found in the rubble was evidence of explosives, as an ordinary airplane fire would not generate enough heat to produce this, citing photographs of red debris being removed by construction equipment, but Blanchard said that if there had been any molten steel in the rubble any excavation equipment encountering it would have been immediately damaged.<ref name=NYTCountersTheories/> Other sampling of the pulverized dust by [[United States Geological Survey]] and RJ Lee did not report any evidence of thermite or explosives. It has been theorized the "thermite material" found was primer paint.<ref name=BBCMag>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14665953 "9/11 conspiracy theories"]. ''[[BBC Magazine]]''. August 28, 2011</ref> Dave Thomas of ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' magazine, noting that the residue in question was claimed to be thermotic because of its iron oxide and aluminum composition, pointed out that these substances are found in many items common to the towers. Thomas said that in order to cut through a vertical steel beam, special high-temperature containment must be added to prevent the molten iron from dropping down, and that the thermite reaction is too slow for it to be practically used in building demolition.<ref>Thomas, Dave (July–August 2011). "The 9/11 Truth Movement: The Top Conspiracy Theory, a Decade Later". Skeptical Inquirer. 35 (4): 34–40. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012.</ref> Proponents of the controlled demolition hypothesis have suggested that this reaction could have been sped up by the use of sulfur.<ref>Mark Gaffney's ''The 9/11 Mystery Plane and the Vanishing of America''</ref> Thomas pointed out that when [[Jesse Ventura]] hired [[New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology|New Mexico Tech]] to conduct a demonstration showing nanothermite slicing through a large steel beam, the nanothermite produced copious flame and smoke but no damage to the beam, even though it was in a horizontal, and therefore optimal, position.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Thomas | first1=Dave | title=The 9/11 Truth Movement: The Top Conspiracy Theory, a Decade Later | journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] | date=July–August 2011 | pages=34–40 | volume=35 | issue=4 | url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_9_11_truth_movement_the_top_conspiracy_theory_a_decade_later/ | access-date=September 11, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923074425/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_9_11_truth_movement_the_top_conspiracy_theory_a_decade_later | archive-date=September 23, 2012 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> Proponents of the controlled demolition hypothesis have suggested that the use of steel containment could have allowed nanothermite to slice through steel beams more thoroughly.<ref>Jonathan H. Coles's ''9/11 Experiments: The Great Thermate Debate''</ref>

The ADL's report found that "The Big Lie has united American [[far-right politics|far-right]] extremists and [[white supremacy|white supremacists]] and [[Antisemitism in the Arab world|elements within the Arab and Muslim world]]". It asserted that many of the theories were modern manifestation of the 19th-century ''[[Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', which purported to map out a Jewish conspiracy for world domination.<ref name=mutations>{{cite web|url=http://www.adl.org/presrele/asint_13/4346_13.htm |title=Conspiracy Theories About Jews and 9/11 Cause Dangerous Mutations in Global Anti-Semitism |publisher=Adl.org |date=September 2, 2003 |access-date=May 30, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110525143344/http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/4346_13.htm| archive-date=May 25, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adl.org/ADL_Opinions/Anti_Semitism_Arab/911_Conspiracies.htm|title=9/11 Conspiracy Theories Take Root in Arab/Muslim World|author=Abraham H. Foxman|publisher=Adl.org -This article originally appeared in Jewish News Weekly of Northern California|date=September 8, 2006|access-date=May 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604144105/http://www.adl.org/ADL_Opinions/Anti_Semitism_Arab/911_Conspiracies.htm|archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ADL has characterized the [[Jeff Rense]] website as carrying anti-Semitic materials, such as "American Jews staged the 9/11 terrorist attacks for their own financial gain and to induce the American people to endorse wars of aggression and [[genocide]] on the nations of the Middle East and the theft of their resources for the benefit of Israel".<ref>[http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/Rense_Web_Site.htm Rense Web Site Promotes Anti-Semitic Views] March 17, 2009 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027104746/http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/Rense_Web_Site.htm |date=October 27, 2012 }}</ref>

{{See also|Alleged role of Saudi officialsrole in the September 11 attacks|The 28 pages}}

Former chief economist within the Labor Department under the Bush administration, [[Morgan Reynolds]], argues that no planes were used in the attacks. Reynolds claims it is physically impossible that the Boeing planes of Flights 11 and 175 could have penetrated the steel frames of the Towers, and that [[digital compositing]] was used to depict the plane crashes in both news reports and subsequent amateur video. "There were no planes, there were no hijackers", Reynolds insists. "I know, I know, I'm out of the mainstream, but that's the way it is". According to [[David Shayler]], "the only explanation is that they were missiles surrounded by holograms made to look like planes", he says, which(although that would be well beyond the capabilities of contemporaneous [[hologram]] technology). "Watch footage frame by frame and you will see a cigar-shaped missile hitting the World Trade Center". Most no-planes adherents, including [[Thierry Meyssan]] and Reynolds, assert that either CGI of a passenger plane was overlaid onto a winged cruise missile or military aircraft, or that computer-generated images of a passenger plane were inserted into the video footage and plane-shaped explosive cut-outs were planted in the buildings in order to create the impression of plane impact.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reQZT9Hzvt8 Weekend Live, Fox News, September 10, 2006]</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/01/september11.france|title=US invented air attack on Pentagon, claims French book|last=Henley|first=Jon|date=April 1, 2002|work=The Guardian|access-date=April 25, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>The Great Derangement, Matt Taibbi, New York, 2009</ref> Some truth movement veterans have repeatedly refuted the "no-plane" claims.<ref name="women.timesonline.co.uk"/><ref name="msnbc">{{Cite news| url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003250424_911conspire09.html| title = WP: 9/11 conspiracy theories| author = Michael Powell| date = September 8, 2006| publisher = [[MSNBC]]| access-date = June 13, 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100723110251/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003250424_911conspire09.html| archive-date = July 23, 2010| url-status = dead| df = mdy-all}}</ref> In fact, discussion of no-plane theories has been banned from certain conspiracy theory websites and advocates have sometimes been threatened with violence by posters at other conspiracy theory websites.<ref name=Yoda>{{cite web |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-08-09/news/the-yoda-of-9-11/5 |title=The Yoda of 9/11 |page=5 |work=Phoenix News |publisher=Phoenixnewtimes.com |access-date=July 20, 2009 |archive-date=September 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916081821/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-08-09/news/the-yoda-of-9-11/5 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{Main|Videos and audio recordings of Osama bin Laden}}

In an audiotape released in November 2007, Bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attacks and denied the [[Taliban]] and the Afghan government or people had any prior knowledge of the attacks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/alqaida/page/0,12643,839823,00.html |title=Timeline: the al-Qaida tapes The Guardian Unlimited |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=July 20, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=autogenerated5>{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2912911920071129?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221062504/http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2912911920071129?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 21, 2007 |title=Bin Laden urges Europe to quit Afghanistan Reuters UK November 29, 2007 |publisher=Uk.reuters.com |date=November 29, 2007 |access-date=July 20, 2009}}</ref><ref name=Reuters-Voice>{{Cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKWAT00851220071129 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706081043/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKWAT00851220071129 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 6, 2009 |title=U.S. says voice on Qaeda tape appears to be bin Laden |publisher=Reuters |date=November 29, 2007 |access-date=September 15, 2009}}</ref> In an interview with al-Jazeera, [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] and [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], two of al-Qaeda's alleged masterminds of the attacks, also confessed their involvement in the attacks.<ref>{{cite news|title=We left out nuclear targets, for now|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/04/alqaida.terrorism|access-date=July 11, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=March 3, 2003|location=London}}</ref>

* Hard core: The organizers and active members of the various 9/11 Truth Movement organizations. They produce the information, spot the anomalies and technical inconsistencies, provide the technical base and form the theories. While they claim to be only interested in facts and to use [[scientific method]], they commit the [[logical fallacy]] of '[[confirmation bias]]' by pre-determining the outcome, then searching for corroborating evidence while ignoring the vast body of [[peer-review]]ed, independent, consensual research which contradict their theories. They supply the physical structure of the movement by organizing events, seminars, discussions, marches and distributing flyers and pamphlets. Their numbers are relatively small but they are tight-knit and highly connected. Their worldview favors 'super-conspiracy', a master plan that is behind conspiracies which they believe they are uncovering.<ref name=Bartlett/>

The hosts of "''[[The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe]]"'' (the "SGU") have spoken repeatedly about the "absurdity of 9/11 conspiracy theories". In addition to critiquing the theories using the same or similar arguments as the above, the "SGU" hosts say that, like most conspiracy theories, this one collapses under its own weight and contradicts itself. In order for the 9/11 conspiracy theories to be correct, the U.S. government would not only have to orchestrate the claimed false flag operation regarding the airplanes that crashed into the World Trade Center, but they would also have to orchestrate a superfluous controlled demolition and cover their tracks so flawlessly that it becomes indistinguishable to physicists from the "official story", yet the plan would have to be flawed enough so that "losers in their mothers' basement" will discover the conspiracy.<ref>SGU Productions. [http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/430 "The Skeptics Guide #430 – Oct 12 2013."] ''The Skeptics Guide to the Universe''. SGU Productions: October 12, 2013. October 17, 2013.</ref>