9/11 Conspiracy Theories: an Introduction

September 11th, 2009 will be a day that stands in infamy for the United States. As we know, thousands of people lost their lives because of the actions of nineteen terrorists, who flew two planes into the World trade Centers, one into the Pentagon, and one into a field in Pennsylvania. The United States government classified it as a terrorist attack. However there are many people who believe that the United States Government was in fact complicit in 9/11: they in fact allowed it to happen, and indeed may have orchestrated the terrorist attack. Since that fateful day over sixteen years ago, both sides have been arguing about the truth of the matter. In my first post, I will be evaluating two different articles, one from the National Commission On Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States; and one from the other side, the people that call themselves “Truthers,” or those who believe that the United States Government itself was behind the terrorist attacks.

The first article I read was the Executive Summary of the 9/11 Commission Report, a 585 page analysis of the 9/11 attacks of the 9/11 attacks. In the document, the authors explained the government was horribly unprepared for a terrorist attack on US soil. Though the CIA and FBI—among other institutions in charge of US defense—had significant evidence that a terrorist attack would occur on US soil sometime in 2001, President George Bush and Congress were slow to heed their warnings. There was plenty of precedence for the terrorist attack, as Al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Ladin, had become increasingly aggressive in the 1990s, committing various terrorist attacks outside and within the United States. The report lays the blame at the feet of Bin Ladin, who drove the attack, and who the government was unable to apprehend. In addition, the authors go on to note that the FBI and CIA failed to apprehend the nineteen men who got into the country even though many of them had been tagged with links to extremist organizations. It was the failure of multiple organizations because of lack of effective communication and preparation leading up to and during the 9/11 attacks themselves. The organizations involved in defending the country were highly unprepared a disorganized, while the organizations involved in the rescue of civilians, though unprepared in their own right, were able to rescue many people. In response to the terrorist attacks, the authors recommend that the United States must fight the Islamic terror groups and prevent their growth. Furthermore, the government most reorganize itself, learning to unify its agencies in sharing information to fight terrorism domestically and internationally as well.

While the Executive Summary was a wide spanning article, the author of “The Question of ‘Failures’—Deliberate or Incompetence,” Kevin Fenton, focuses heavily on a series of mistakes made within the FBI to capture one of the highjacks that they had been following and to share information with the FBI. He carefully recounts the CIA’s mistakes in failing to bug a meeting between the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks, insinuating that the CIA was hiding something. Indeed he lays down the argument that the government covered up their mistakes, making false statements and then writing out contradictory documents. His insinuation throughout is that the CIA deliberately allowed the terrorist organization Al Qaeda to attack US soil and then completely covered it up.

The two sides couldn’t possibly be more different. On one side, there is the “Truther,” Kevin Fenton, who lays out the CIA’s “failings” (Fenton), looking at them in a light of conspiracy, and considering them a cover up. Meanwhile, in the Executive Summary the authors recount the failures in the CIA, FBI, and other organizations like the FAA and Homeland security, but instead view them as simple unpreparedness and lack of communication. The two agree that mistakes were made, but it is in the interpretation of said mistakes that they differ wildly. The difference is clear: the National Commission on Terrorists Attacks in the United States found in their investigation that it was not the government that was behind the attacks, but rather “Usama Bin Ladin… is the enemy” (9/11 Commission). This is the narrative the government has generally sided with. On the other hand, truthers like Fenton goes through specific mistakes made by the CIA, then  “what was he (CIA Director Tenet) trying to cover up?” (Fenton).

The question we must ask ourselves is this: were the mistakes made by the CIA intentional? Could the government actually have allowed the hijackers to commit 9/11, or an even more nefarious thought: could they have orchestrated the attacks? The answer is no. While truthers view the mistakes made by the government as “cover up[s]” (Fenton), their only way to backup their claims is speculation. There is no hard evidence that the government allowed the hijackers to get out of their grasp, rather, there is hard evidence that the agencies were simply unprepared, undermanned, and that evidence suggested the terrorists didn’t “prompt urgent action” (9/11 Commission) before the attack.  The truth is, there isn’t enough evidence to insinuate that the government was behind the attacks of 9/11, and the Executive Summary is proof of that.

All in all, the cases of the truthers are subject to a high amount of scrutiny. There’s a reason the 9/11 conspiracy is called a conspiracy: because evidence just doesn’t support it. It’s based on fallacious thinking and suppositions that the government would risk billions of dollars and thousands of lives to gain more power. In the end, the case of the truthers breaks down and the case of the Government wins out.

Next week I’ll be coming back and delving further into these matters.

Notes:

 ^1 See Fenton, last paragraph.

 ^2 See 9/11 Commission for Further details.

Works Cited

Fenton, Kevin. “The Question of ‘Failures’- Deliberate or Incompetence?” 911 Truth, September
        11th, 2011. http://911truth.org/question-failures-deliberate-incompetence/. Accessed January
        19th, 2018. 

9/11 Commission Report. "The 9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary." National

        Commission of Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 

        https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Exec.htm