Jewish World Review Sept.
18, 2006 / 25 Elul, 5766
I think Howard Dean did it.
Pardon me?
Howard Dean was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks — he and Teddy
Kennedy.
Have you lost your mind? Nineteen religious fanatics attacked us
on 9/11. They did so under the direction of Osama bin Laden, who hopes
a Taliban-style government will rule the world. That's all there is to
it.
Then why, according to a Scripps-Howard poll, do 36 percent of Americans
think our government either allowed 9/11 to happen or did it itself?
Do you really believe our government would massacre more than 3,000
innocent people — and be able to conceal it from the world?
Absolutely! Time Magazine outlines some common conspiracy scenarios.
The first is that the World Trade Center towers weren't brought down by
a couple of planes, but by strategically placed bombs.
Un-huh.
The Pentagon wasn't really hit by a commercial jet but by a cruise missile.
Really?
And United Flight 93 didn't crash because allegedly brave passengers
kicked in the cockpit door. It was shot down by a U.S. Air Force fighter.
And people in our government committed these heinous acts for what
reason?
For money! Bush needed an excuse to go to war in the Middle East. He
wanted to get his mitts on Iraqi oil. And he wanted to enrich his pals
at Halliburton. So the plotters set a trap.
I see you've got it all worked out. But did you know that Popular
Mechanics has investigated numerous conspiracy theories and found every
one of them to be false?
Popular Mechanics is a CIA front!
Then explain this: Bush's poll numbers have been in the tank for
months because of Iraq. If he was the mastermind of 9/11, as you absurdly
allege, and he wanted to invade Iraq to expand his power, his plan certainly
is backfiring.
That's because Bush isn't really the mastermind behind the conspiracy.
Howard Dean is.
This has got to be good. Go on.
See, Dean knew Bush would fall into the trap by using 9/11 to invade
the Middle East and that the resulting anti-war sentiment could propel
him through the Democrat primaries to the White House — it would have worked,
too, had he not made that odd scream.
Sir, what worries me is not that a handful of kooks are embracing
such nutty theories, but that one-third of Americans are doing so — and
that many of these easily swayed people vote.
But one of the more prominent conspiracy-theory groups believes there
was no way two planes could have brought the towers down. That group, Scholars
for 9/11 Truth, includes 75 highly educated academics.
That's even more worrisome — goodness knows what other absurd mistruths
our "highly educated" academics are selling us. Nonetheless, the Time article
makes a good observation about why academics and others are suckers for
a good conspiracy.
Which is?
That humans have a basic need "to have the magnitude of any given
effect be balanced by the magnitude of the cause behind it." In other words,
it's hard for some people to accept that 19 terrorists could inflict so
much damage with so little effort.
I don't follow.
Too many people have trouble accepting that evil exists, that some
are advancing it under the guise of their religion, that it seeks to kill
innocent people to advance its agenda, and that we have no choice but to
face it and defeat it.
I still don't follow.
It's easier for some to consume themselves in nutty conspiracy theories
than to embrace what we're really up against — that the terrorists will
succeed again, possibly soon. And if they ever get their hands on nukes,
we can kiss New York and Washington, D.C., goodbye.
Republicans are just saying that to scare people into voting for them.
How I wish that were true. By the way, if Howard Dean was the mastermind
behind 9/11, as your kooky theory alleges, what role would Teddy Kennedy
possibly play?
That's easy. Nobody in our government knows more about getting bombed
than Teddy Kennedy.
© 2006, Tom Purcell
Russian version
An introduction to MAOF
Haim Goldman
Haim Goldman
Dear Friends,
Would you believe that the undersigned has anything in common with
-- Professor Victor Davis Hanson (Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University),
-- Dr Charles Krauthammer, (Washington Post, Time, The Weekly Standard),
-- Caroline Glick (Deputy Managing Editor of the Jerusalem Post),
-- Jonathan Tobin (Executive Editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent).
Amazingly, the editors of the MAOF website decided that the missives of the undersigned are worthy of translation and posting along the articles written by these distinguished authors.
The first letter was published without the consent of the undersigned.
However, after thorough examination of the laudable attitude of MAOF and of the excellent contents of the website, the undersigned had most graciously granted his permission for publication of his missives in both English and Russian.
“Analytical Group MAOF” [1] is an organisation founded about ten years ago by Russian-speaking Jewish intellectuals. The attitude of MAOF is definitely pro-Zionist -- unambiguously and unapologetically.
One of MAOF’s primary purposes is providing information and analysis about Middle-Eastern and world affairs as well as about Israel’s history, values and dilemmas. In addition to extensive publication activity in various media, MAOF also organises excursions and seminars. While the vast majority of the contents of the MAOF website is in Russian, texts originally written in English are provided in the original [2] as well as in Russian.
There are arguably about 250 millions of Russian-speakers worldwide and many of them do not read English. The indisputable motivation for the author’s permission was to grant those millions of disadvantaged people the grand benefit of reading the author’s ruminations. If the author is ever maliciously accused that his tacit motivation for authorising the publication was his craving to be listed along with the above-mentioned distinguished writers, his plea will definitely be “nolo contendere”.
The editors of MAOF expressed their gratitude by granting the undersigned a privilege that no other author got – the opportunity to review and correct the Russian translation before publication. The original letters of the undersigned are at [3] and their Russian version is at [4]. At of today, only two letters are posted but several other letters are pending translation.
You are kindly ENCOURAGED TO RECOMMEND the MAOF website to your friends and colleagues worldwide, particularly those who speak Russian. Those who do not enjoy the benefit of proficiency in the exquisite Russian language can find many thought-provoking and inspiring articles about Middle-Eastern and world affairs in the English section [2].
Sincerely,
Haim Goldman
28.10.2006
REFERENCES:
[1] http://maof.rjews.net
[2] section.php3? sid=37&num=25
[3] authorg.php3? id=2107&type=a
[4] authorg.php3? id=2166&type=a