Comments on: Unsolved Mysteries of 9/11

By: Kevin Glynn

Kevin Glynn — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:16:55 +0000

As far as I can tell, there is nearly universal agreement that the 9/11 attacks were the product of (and indeed required) a secret conspiracy. The only disagreements are around the question of who was involved in this conspiracy. My own view is that there is a clear preponderance of evidence that suggests the official 9/11 commission report was deeply inadequate and that citizens of the US, victims of violence committed in the name of the official conspiracy theory and others throughout the world have every right to demand a new and genuinely independent inquiry into the events under consideration.

By: Kevin Glynn

Kevin Glynn — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:12:22 +0000

Jonathan: Yes, I think the fact that conspiracy theory has in some sense been integral to the “American project” since the earliest days of the republic lends to it a certain air of romantic and patriotic rebelliousness that is not too far removed from the distrust of authority and the motifs of heroic self-fashioning that are so emblematic of US modernity. However, some historians, including “organic intellectuals” from the families of 9/11 victims, note that the term “conspiracy theory” was not substantially laden with denigratory connotations until the social unrest of the 1960s and early 70s was fueled in part by popular suspicions around such events as the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the release of the Pentagon Papers, the exposure of the CIA’s “Family Jewels” by Seymour Hersh, and so forth.

By: randygorky

randygorky — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:30:23 +0000

i once watch videos on youtube and saw some pictures on several website as well about 9/11 truth movement. it was just confusing for me. so, just for my records, what do you both think about this guys, i mean kevin as the author, and jonathan, about this subject matter? is it a conspiracy or not?

By: Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:43:27 +0000

Neat post, Kevin. I’d add, though, that “conspiracy theory” has a somewhat romanticized connotation too, at least in the US. Take the JFK conspiracy theories, for example, that are almost ubiquitous enough to make the official narrative of the Warren Report entirely untrustworthy. There’s something “sexy” about conspiracy theories in the US, as they tap into the deeply rooted notion that official narratives are lies. If anything, it’s this quality that makes them so potent, in a way that I don’t think they are in so many other countries — ascribing to a conspiracy theory, whether it’s a Truther, a Birther, Area 51er, No-The-Environment-Is-Just-Awesome-Cause-Gold-Told-Me-It-Is-er, etc., somehow makes one patriotic, a true American libertarian who isn’t willing to let The Man dictate truth.