9/11 engineered by US to inspire terror? Many Americans believe so

There were four planes hijacked by 19 men. The hijackers flew two planes into the World Trade Center buildings in New York...

There were four planes hijacked by 19 men. The hijackers flew two planes into the World Trade Center buildings in New York and a third into the Pentagon in Washington. Thousands were killed. The fourth plane was brought to the ground in Pennsylvania by the courageous passengers.

This is the story most of us know, and it is supported by a mountain of evidence from the public record as well as what we watched with our own eyes on television. This is the story that will be told in history books to children.

But a growing number of Americans do not believe this story. Type “9/11 conspiracy” into Google, and you will get 2.9 million hits. Type “9/11,” and four links on the first page will lead you into the world of conspiracy.

Story continues below this ad

The movie Loose Change, which attempts to shatter what the producers call the official story or the government’s story, is a YouTube phenomenon that has spilled into the popular culture.

Rosie O’Donnell expressed her doubts about the collapse of WTC Tower 7 on The View, the most mainstream of morning talk shows, and actor Charlie Sheen raised similar concerns on a talk show with Alex Jones, one of the conspiracy movement’s most ardent supporters.

Many works dismiss all evidence that does not help them reach their inevitable conclusion that 9/11 was not the work of Islamic terrorists but a calculated plan to inspire terror engineered by the US government.

The belief in conspiracy is not limited to the United States. French author Thierry Messyan wrote an international bestseller called, in its English version, 9/11: The Big Lie.

Story continues below this ad

Those selling conspiracy are not the only ones with interested readers. Popular Mechanics published an article in its March 2005 issue debunking many of the claims made by conspiracy theorists. The article became the most-read story in the magazine’s history and was eventually expanded into a book called Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up To the Facts.

This led to books and articles supposedly debunking the debunkers and still more articles debunking the debunkers of the debunkers.

The paranoid style is not limited to the makers of Loose Change. Consider the case of Mike Walter, a broadcaster in Washington who was interviewed in the aftermath of the disaster and told CNN that he saw an American Airlines jet crash into the Pentagon. “I looked out my window and saw this plane, this jet, an American Airlines jet, coming,” Walter said. “And I thought, ‘This doesn’t add up. It’s really low.’ And I saw it. I mean, it was like a cruise missile with wings. It went right there and slammed right into the Pentagon.”

Messyan used only the “it was like a cruise missile” portion of the quote, and Walter soon became a cause celebre among many conspiracy theorists. He became so frustrated, he posted a response on YouTube to correct the record, including footage of the original CNN interview.

Story continues below this ad

The problem for those engaged in stamping out such arguments is that drawing attention to these theories, even to dismiss them, may actually assist in their spread.

George Orwell once said, “We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.”

On September 11, 2001, 19 men hijacked four planes.