Post by Ben Burgess on Feb 1, 2005 18:35:31 GMT -5
While I know this will always prove a controversial choice of recommendation I shall go ahead and recommend it anyway on the merit that regardless of your political views it provides an interesting read.
Having never given much thought to the September 11 attacks outside of the newspaper articles I read around the time it occured and the numerous opinions I posted to a number of forums, I had always accepted the official reports version of events as pretty much the gospal truth. It came as a surprise, therefore, to see this book glaring back at me from the shelves of Waterstones one cold, Monday afternoon. 'A conspiracy theory?' I thought. 'Well, that one hadn't crossed my mind.'
Now, as a level headed individual I have never bought into what I like to call 'Oliver Stone-ism' that being that JFK was killed by conspirators from the inside and that Richard Nixon was a borderline psychopath with a penchant for shouting 'I'm the god d**n president of the United States and I'll bomb whoever the hell I want!' every time the opportunity presented itself. Nor, I should say, am I a big fan of the current administration. I did the Iraq war protests, I've said my piece on contemporary American Foreign policy and those who know me will know how passionate I have been in this respect. But I can honestly say that in all my thoughts of the September 11th attacks a conspiracy theory had never seriously crossed my mind. So, faced with the thought that whoever had written this book (a French Journalist by the name of Thierry Meyssan) must either have done some serious research or be totally insane.
The book itself isn't huge and I found myself finishing it a few hours after I had bought it. That isn't to say it's a quick read, I just found myself unable to put it down once I had started. What I should point out is that Meyssan draws few conclusions, he merely points out what surprisingly seem like glaringly obvious contradictions in accounts of the events and then allows the reader to speculate. Dangerous, you may say, not so. Helpfully he has also included copies and links to all documents used to research the books so that the reader can cross reference the authors own work with official documents of the Central Intelligence Agency amongst others. Interesting to say the least.
I would be wrong not to state that a lot of Meyssans ponderings and thoughts strike the reader as completely unbelievable. In fact, some of these thoughts are so thin and far fetched that one really cannot objectively accept them as the truth. However, many of the points raised do uncover little known truths. In 1961, for instance, a memorandum was drawn up for the attention of Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara concerning relations with Cuba. So much did the Joint Chiefs of Staff desire the deposition of Fidel Castro that plans were drawn up to shoot down an American civilian aircraft and commit a number of terrorist attacks on the ground with a minimum number of casualties (but enough to gain public support) so that Cuba could be blamed. Consider that companies within the World Trade Centre were warned of the attacks hours before the events, Meyssan suggests, and form your own conclusions.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that there is an element of sensationalism about the whole concept of 'The 9/11 Conspiracy' but as far as conspiracy theories go (and I do not deny that this is what this is) it is probably one of the most well researched pieces I have yet come across. And while I do not for a second suggest that those reading take everything the author says seriously, what I will state is that it not only proves an interesting read but also provides something to think about, regardless of your current opinions.
To see more information about this book or to order it for yourself click below.
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/2912362733/thehistorypro-21
Having never given much thought to the September 11 attacks outside of the newspaper articles I read around the time it occured and the numerous opinions I posted to a number of forums, I had always accepted the official reports version of events as pretty much the gospal truth. It came as a surprise, therefore, to see this book glaring back at me from the shelves of Waterstones one cold, Monday afternoon. 'A conspiracy theory?' I thought. 'Well, that one hadn't crossed my mind.'
Now, as a level headed individual I have never bought into what I like to call 'Oliver Stone-ism' that being that JFK was killed by conspirators from the inside and that Richard Nixon was a borderline psychopath with a penchant for shouting 'I'm the god d**n president of the United States and I'll bomb whoever the hell I want!' every time the opportunity presented itself. Nor, I should say, am I a big fan of the current administration. I did the Iraq war protests, I've said my piece on contemporary American Foreign policy and those who know me will know how passionate I have been in this respect. But I can honestly say that in all my thoughts of the September 11th attacks a conspiracy theory had never seriously crossed my mind. So, faced with the thought that whoever had written this book (a French Journalist by the name of Thierry Meyssan) must either have done some serious research or be totally insane.
The book itself isn't huge and I found myself finishing it a few hours after I had bought it. That isn't to say it's a quick read, I just found myself unable to put it down once I had started. What I should point out is that Meyssan draws few conclusions, he merely points out what surprisingly seem like glaringly obvious contradictions in accounts of the events and then allows the reader to speculate. Dangerous, you may say, not so. Helpfully he has also included copies and links to all documents used to research the books so that the reader can cross reference the authors own work with official documents of the Central Intelligence Agency amongst others. Interesting to say the least.
I would be wrong not to state that a lot of Meyssans ponderings and thoughts strike the reader as completely unbelievable. In fact, some of these thoughts are so thin and far fetched that one really cannot objectively accept them as the truth. However, many of the points raised do uncover little known truths. In 1961, for instance, a memorandum was drawn up for the attention of Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara concerning relations with Cuba. So much did the Joint Chiefs of Staff desire the deposition of Fidel Castro that plans were drawn up to shoot down an American civilian aircraft and commit a number of terrorist attacks on the ground with a minimum number of casualties (but enough to gain public support) so that Cuba could be blamed. Consider that companies within the World Trade Centre were warned of the attacks hours before the events, Meyssan suggests, and form your own conclusions.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that there is an element of sensationalism about the whole concept of 'The 9/11 Conspiracy' but as far as conspiracy theories go (and I do not deny that this is what this is) it is probably one of the most well researched pieces I have yet come across. And while I do not for a second suggest that those reading take everything the author says seriously, what I will state is that it not only proves an interesting read but also provides something to think about, regardless of your current opinions.
To see more information about this book or to order it for yourself click below.
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/2912362733/thehistorypro-21