A Review of "The Terror Conspiracy"
http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle17589.html
In The Terror Conspiracy, author Jim Marrs does what he does best; condenses a massive amount of information on an interesting topic, and fashions this information into a highly readable narrative. 2006 has been a remarkable year for writing on 9/11, especially in book form. Beginning with Elsevier's "The Hidden History of 9-11-2001", this was quickly followed by Barrie Zwicker's powerful "Towers of Deception", and the tight combination of "9/11 and American Empire" - Vol. I, and Vol. II.
Marrs' volume is well placed this close to the end of the year, as it covers so much information, and touches on many of the topics covered in the previous 9/11 books. The Terror Conspiracy is very much an expanded version of Marrs' previous book "The War on Freedom". "The War on Freedom" was ahead of its time in 2002, so much so that Marrs' publisher killed the book because they "did not want to upset the families of 9/11 victims". If you've seen 9/11 Press for Truth, then you know that claim is pretty far from accurate. Apparently, the publisher wanted to leave the job of upsetting the families of 9/11 victims squarely in the hands of the United States government.
If you were lucky enough to get a copy of Marrs' self-published run of "The War on Freedom", then you were lucky enough to have one of the best early compilations of 9/11 skepticism data available in print form at the time. (A short version of "The War on Freedom" was later published as "Inside Job".) "The Terror Conspiracy" does what Marrs set out to do, it updates and replaces the previous books with this far more ambitious volume. It also turns out to be one of the best introductory books to 9/11 skepticism you can buy.
Split into 3 main parts - The Events of September 11, 2001 - War For Oil and Drugs - The 9/11 Backlash - Marrs offers a timeline, geopolitical context, and an analysis of the decimation of American Civil Liberties that are sorely lacking in the 9/11 Commision Report. The book concludes with a section on Historical Precedents. For the indefatigable 9/11 researcher, there isn't a lot that is particularly new here, unless you haven't considered the geopolitical imperatives at stake in Central Asia, or you haven't paid much attention to the steadily creeping surveillance society rolling out bit by bit around you.
On the other hand, if the only 9/11 information you have studied is the 9/11 Commission Report, the unbelievable amount of information simply left out of the government's report will utterly floor you. From the Report's timeline discrepancies to War Games, to contemplation of controlled demolition, Marrs offers up a true alternative to the 9/11 Commission Report, and like the Report, the narrative is fluid, constructed for a general reader, and does not pre-suppose a working knowledge of the intricacies of the events of 9/11.
The approach that Marrs has taken is effective, because it allows for the easy absorption of data that is disturbing and once grasped, demands more attention and research. I think that The Terror Conspiracy will make an excellent "gateway" book for your friend or relative who prefers to read rather than watch a DVD, and is interested in learning about 9/11. The book offers a universe of stepping stones to branch off into for further research, from William Rodriguez's report of a pre-crash explosion at the WTC, to the unbelievable string of compromised "hijacker" investigations "bungled" by the FBI. If they were truly bungled, why was no one sacked?
Prior knowledge, put options, PNAC, the PATRIOT Act, it's all in there and it all threads together quite nicely.
Pick up a copy at your local bookstore, and flip through the Table of Contents and the Index, and I think you'll be surprised at the volume of information in the book. By doing this, you can quickly decide whether or not this is the compilation for you or a friend.
-reprehensor.
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I agree, it's a great book.
I think this is one of the very best books available on 9/11. I did a lengthy positive review of it for Amazon.com, which I'm reprinting here for folks interested.
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I've known Jim Marrs (not personally) as the author of the reasonably well-respected "CROSSFIRE - THE PLOT THAT KILLED KENNEDY", and also, more recently, as an author interested in somewhat more esoteric subjects unrelated to 9/11. I bought this book to add to my growing 9/11 research library, but was a little unsure of what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this book.
Marrs is on his best behavior here. THE TERROR CONSPIRACY is a very detailed, clear-headed and up-to-date overview of the holes in the official story, the context these events took place in, and a likely 'big picture' overview of the entire 9/11 conspiracy. This is all perhaps par for the course with any good recent 9/11 truth publication but THE TERROR CONSPIRACY exceeded my expectations in the following ways:
The book is extremely well-researched and footnoted. I had read somewhat mixed things about Marrs's prior 9/11 book INSIDE JOB and wasn't sure what to expect with this book. Marrs writes "THE TERROR CONSPIRACY greatly expands, updates and replaces INSIDE JOB in the light of events and discoveries since 2002". Given the quality of this new volume, I wouldn't be surprised if the book was a complete re-write. Marrs makes references to events occurring as recently as a few months ago from early 2006 and briefly quotes from volumes like Webster Tarpley's excellent 9/11 SYNTHETIC TERROR: MADE IN USA, among others. There's a 30 page index (not really footnotes, but rather sources, other publications, books quoted, and URL's) that suggests that Marrs has kept up with the required reading and drawn from the best available current evidence. There's good and bad stuff about 9/11 available in print and online and Marrs seems to have made a real effort to sort the wheat from the chaff, making reference to guys like Michel Chossudovky, Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed and newspapers like THE GUARDIAN. (In fact, after browsing back through the index for the purposes of this review, I feel smarter already.) With all the available material out there on 9/11 conspiracies it'd be a worry if someone didn't take pains to only use the most respectable sources. Marrs seems to have been aware of that danger and has chosen his carefully.
I also didn't notice any mistakes in his overall analysis. THE TERROR CONSPIRACY is the 9th or 10th 9/11 conspiracy book that I have purchased, and some of them have been better than others. Marrs makes his case more efficiently than Michael Ruppert does in CROSSING THE RUBICON, and avoids egregious blunders like the blanket dismissal by author Sander Hicks of anomalies surrounding the Pentagon crash in THE BIG WEDDING. There's also no reference to `In Plane Sight'-era nonsense like `tubes on the airplane hitting the WTC', which I found in the otherwise passable book 9/11 REVEALED by Rowland Morgan and Ian Henshall. I've been reading and joining the dots on the seemingly ever-more-complicated events of 9/11 for about 4 years now, and I thought Marrs had done a good job of coming to many of the same conclusions that I had reached. (Does this means I'm biased?)
For the curious, a breakdown of THE TERROR CONSPIRACY, (a chunky, nicely printed 482 page book with no illustrations, but good cover art front and back), is as follows.
INTRODUCTION (13 pages): Marrs discusses what lead him to write the book, and notes how the original publishers from a few years ago developed cold feet for the project
PART 1 - THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 (169 PAGES): Marrs sequentially covers all the events of the day, from the hijackings to WTC collapse, insider stock trades, Flight 93 and more, in a good, detailed and well-written overview. As Marrs writes, "This independent timeline is based on the best factual information now available, not on the `official' timeline that has been shown to be inaccurate and even misleading". This is a useful, one-stop guide to the whole day.
PART 2 - WAR FOR OIL AND DRUGS (82 pages): The context of events before and afterwards, with thoughtful discussion of PNAC goals, Cheney's financial dealings and Bin Laden's role as a useful patsy.
PART 3 - THE 9/11 BACKLASH (88 pages): In one of the more interesting sections of the book, Marrs thoroughly dissects the post-9/11 laws passed and later behavior done by the Bush administration, with the Patriot Act put into perspective as part of a larger (well-documented) effort to reduce civil liberties.
PART 4 - HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS (59 pages): The Reichstag fire, Pearl Harbour, various deceptions surrounding the first Gulf War and Operation Northwoods are all discussed, along with Bush's dismal performance as President prior to the 9/11 attacks. Marrs ends this final section with a thoughtful conclusion titled `What Do We Know Now?", which wraps up his arguments. I think his earlier CROSSFIRE book ended in a similar effective manner. The aforementioned 31 pages of sources and a 15 page index follow. Bear in mind, these listed sections in the book proper contain a lot of extra stuff that I haven't mentioned in my above glib summaries. The contents page of THE TERROR CONSPIRACY is quite long and all four parts of the book include lots of useful subchapters on different topics, with Marrs keeping things consistently readable, interesting and well-observed.
Purchasers sympathetic to 9/11 truth should also note that THE TERROR CONSPIRACY has a special, surprisingly valuable bonus essay at the back - THE PENTAGON ATTACK PAPERS, by researcher Barbara Honegger (26 pages). I hadn't encountered this before (though it does seem to be online if you search for it), and Honegger makes some sharply observed points that were new to me. The bottom line is that THE TERROR CONSPIRACY is a surprisingly solid, well-written, and well-researched overview, and probably goes into my top 2 or 3 books on the events of 9/11. I'd recommend it as a purchase and can't see how many people would be disappointed with it if they buy it.
Footnotes and Endnotes
Just want to make the distinction that Marrs doesn't employ true endnotes or footnotes, but lists a chapter-by-chapter "Sources" section at the rear of the book, which you have to refer to for follow-up.
So, for researchers looking for primary source material, this book is a bit of a pain in that regard. Then again, this book is only really to whet your appetite for hard research.
The one thing that I think he should have left out is the story of Tom Carew, which, if you look hard enough is not that solid;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/newsnight/1660604.stm
His story about the Muj, heroin and the drug routes in between Afghanistan and Pakistan are based in truth, but it's unlikely that he experienced them personally as he claims in his book Jihad!
OT: Massacre of Civilians In Iraq
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-801002960194633706
Buzz it! http://www.buzzflash.net/shakeit.php
FAA warnings and Sibel Edmunds
Whistle-blowers tell of cost of conscience
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-11-23-whistle-blowers_x.htm
'State secrets privilege' blocks fired translator from suing FBI
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-11-23-whistleblower-transla...
FAA warnings and Sibel Edmunds. I posted these links somewhere else but the formatting on the page was for some reason really messed up so I don't know where it really ended...
9/11 Truth Movement disintegration accelerates
It's progressing faster than predicted.
Steven Jones to Jim Fetzer:
"What is astonishing is the proportion of errors that can be made in so few words -- I just want to emphasize that Jim's latest AGAIN shows the need for an independent elected committee to assure that ill-supported arguments are not presented on OUR web site. My detailed reply to the errors in Jim's statement will be posted on our Forum (where such matters should be discussed!), and Jim is welcomed to join in that discussion."
Jim Fetzer to Steven Jones:
"I have accepted the invitation to speak at The National Press Club, and I hope that Steve will as well. We could focus on what happened to the World Trade Center and discuss some of our differences in point of view. For example, after studying Judy's work, I am convinced that the problem we confront in explaining what happened is vastly greater than just what happened to WTC-1 and WTC-2, even if we toss in WTC-7! That still leaves out WTC-3, WTC-4, WTC-5, and WTC-6! Take a look at Judy's photographs and diagrams. It will blow you away!
"Moreover, thermate increasingly appears to be an inadequate cause of the devastation of the complete World Trade Center. EVEN IF IT WERE GOOD AS GOLD REGARDING WTC-1 AND WTC-2, we would still be left with a monumental task in explaining the devastation to WTC-3, WTC-4, WTC-5, and WTC-6, which, to the best of my knowledge, Steven Jones has never addressed. His evidence of the use of thermate also seems to be undermined by the discovery that thermate appears to have been used to bring down what little remained after the towers went "poof"! But if that is the case, then its presence is explainable on grounds other than its use to destroy the Twin Towers and it too, as a framework for explaining the evidence, goes "poof"!"
It's the nature of the beast.
Until Fetzer
Has ANY proof whatsoever then he is doing a dis-service to all the hard work of everyone involved, especially Dr. Jones.
Assumptions are not scientific evidence.
Jones has valid scientific evidence to strengthen his hypothesis.
Fetzer's strongest argument is unexplained anomalies concerning the vehicles surrounding the towers and their odd burn patterns.
As totally off the wall as it sounds the so called "Beam Theory" is still far more believable & possible than the Governments FAUX news spread propaganda so it shouldn't be completely scoffed at, it should be thoroughly investigated and tested in anyway possible.
However it should NOT be thrust out into the forefront as Fetzer/Woods are doing.
That is a HUGE mistake and they know it.
People need to pull Fetzer's plug and tell him to shut up until he has solid evidence.
Has anyone suggested that he
Has anyone suggested that he run his theory by Bob Bowman, who was involved in the technology? If this is a real possibility, why didn't Bowman bring it up? What does Bowman think about promoting this theory at this time? Has Fetzer vetted it with anyone who could comment on it substantively?
It figures
Yup, that there star wars beam device oughta be investigated as soon as we finish up in Roswell.
puh-leeze. Even if Uncle
puh-leeze. Even if Uncle Fetzer and Judy Jetson had any credibility left, do you think (like they must) that the movment revolves around them, along with the rest of the universe? how is that possible, when we know that ALL anti-establishment action revolves around Noam Chomsky?
What we are seeing is a carefully scripted planned implosion being attempted by Uncle Fetzer and Judy Jetson. I mean--have you SEEN her DIAGRAMS? Frankly between her diagrams and her mammograms I don't know which would shed less light on the truth behind 9/11, so I would opt for C) none of the above. Fetzer's mammograms on the other hand might reveal something interesting, but that's for another blog to discuss
So yeah, here I am descending into the realm of breast jokes and fat jokes. What does that tell you? That Uncle Fetzer and Dr. J are figures of fun whether they meant to be (i think they did) or not. They are no longer going to be taken seriously by people, as well they should not be. Winnowing out chaff like this is precisely the point of raising awareness in the genral public, which is what all good truthers should be doing--not feeding the flames sparked by charlatans.
Reports of the truth movement's death will always be greatly exaggerated, because the truth movement not only is not dying but growing exponentially, but it will also outlive the corrupt system whose crimes brought it into existence.
Anonymous shill, let me break a harsh truth to you (that is after all a truther's specialty!) You do not possess a magic keyboard whereupon you can will your preferred interpretation of things into concrete reality. All your efforts are scorned and laughed at by those who know from their exchanges in real life (you should try it sometime) that more and more people every day are becoming aware of the truth and contrary to popular belief, they CAN handle it.
Need I remind you that we did not coin the phrase 9/11 Never Forget, but that we wholeheartedly embrace it? Do I even have to mention that when poeple say 9/11 Changed Everything we agree? Do you understand this, shill? Do you know what the future has in store for people like you who are determined to lie until the day they die? Do you really want to be the cause of the prolonged hatred and suffering that these lies breed? You haven't a clue what you're up against, shill. It has NOTHING to do with the antics of Uncle Fetzer or the post-"coma" blabbering of Judy Jetson.
This site where you attempt to sway opinions and fail miserably at demoralizing real fighters for good represents the merest tip of an iceberg that your little ship of fools is headed for at full throttle. Maneuver and scheme all you want. You are sunk. We will bury you.
____
Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero
WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force
blah blah blah
blee bloo blah
Now give your own neck a rub....
... the noose may not be so comforting.
e
"The truth shall make you free." Why not make the truth free? We live on a priceless blue pearl, awash in a universe of fire and ice. Cut the crap.
that says maybe but you're still wrong!
Dear well-educated anonymous shill,
Thank you for your message, which I cannot read because it's been hidden and I am too ignorant to know how to make it appear. I hope I can grow up and be smart like you some day.
The reason people hide your comments is because you are so smart you frighten them. I saw a show on TV once where they gave kids smart tests and the ones who were too smart got killed. Smart people like you are scary. You make us ignorants feel bad.
If you say bin Laden is a mean man and wants to kill me I get afraid and wet my bed. Please stop telling us all the scary things you know about with your powerful brain.
sinsirly,
Reel Troother
____
Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero
WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force
Musilm 9/11 Truther are not afraid to speak out about 9/11
Don\'t be afraid of the cowards who hide truth posts from you. Muslim 9/11 Truthers know how to get through the deceit:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vcq9dIg_UYs
Part 1
Thanks for spelling it out, RT
I'm tempted to take your whole post and make it my signature line.
thanks YT!
but if you do that, please edit out the part about Uncle Fetzer's mammogram... I really regret writing that. The images it puts in my mind are not at all pleasant!
____
Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero
WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force
true
That part was particularly grisly.
Some people are that nuts
Have you ever consider getting an education?
You are pointless.
Have you ever considered not making inane comments on websites you disagree with?
Why?
Why are you here?
fear by US hawk of false flag attack possibility
anonymous: I just thought it was newsworthy that this guy mentions he is afraid of a false flag attack just like we are.
US hawk judges ‘war on terror’ a mistake (link at the bottom)
Fred Ikle:
At 82, still a Washington insider sitting on the Pentagon’s defence policy board, Mr Iklé’s apocalyptic fears focus less on radical Islamists or a nuclear-armed North Korea and more on the danger of a would-be tyrant seizing power by annihilating his government from within, possibly through the use of weapons of mass destruction that would be blamed on others.
He does not see the US as vulnerable to such a coup because of the “powerful influence of its body politic and the hallowed position of the constitution” – but there are likely candidates in the semi-dictatorial regimes of central Asia, the Middle East, or even Russia.
anonymous:
Of course, he is talking here about false flag terror.
But then he twists it and says the USA is not vulnerable:
Either he is blind to the erosion of our constitution, the dictatorship forming in the USA, the 911 false flag attack and our kangeroo investigations; or he is purposefully muddying the waters.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/42f85512-7b23-11db-bf9b-0000779e2340.html
Pizza parlor in Ashland, Ohio
Transparent jerks
If the TRUTH people weren't on to something, these kinds of comments wouldn't be posted. Desperation is seeping through the naysayers who post diversionary comments on this forum.
good point!
That's the funny thing about the shills. If we are so obviously crazy and deluded as they claim, why bother debunking us? Why not be out there fighting Islamofascists? What possible threat could we pose to them? By their very presence they contradict their own claim that we are raving lunatics. But hey, that's why they get paid the big shill salaries!
____
Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero
WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force
The War on Freedom
...was written by Nafeez Ahmed, NOT Jim Marrs.
Marrs' first book was called something like "Unmasking the 9-11 Conspiracies".
Fact Check!
They both did books with the same title
It's a pretty weird coincidence, but Jim Marrs's first book about 9/11 was indeed called The War on Freedom, same as Ahmed's. You can see it on Amazon.com here:
http://www.amazon.com/War-Freedom-Jim-Marrs/dp/0972713115
Well, I owned a copy...
So I'll just take your "fact check" with a grain of salt. Ahmed's book was published first, but Marrs stuck with his original title when he self-published "The War on Freedom" in 2003.
Ahmed's book is really damn good. Actually, all of his books are really damn good so far.
"Inside Job - Unmasking the 9/11 Conspiracies" is Part One of "The War on Freedom".
Jim Marrs believes astronauts have had alien encounters
Plus, he is an all around promoter of UFO research. see:
http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc501.htm
thanks to Eric Hufschmid for the heads up!
I think we can safely classify him with Uncle Fetzer, as soon as we find an appropriate moniker for him... Man From Marrs? Suggestions are welcome!
RT
____
Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero
WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force
hey, i thought this was a popularity contest!
oh well, can't win em all. I wonder why people are so sensitive over Jim Marrs' UFO hunting? Hardly seems to help the movement. But hey, maybe I'm being unfair, since I haven't read his 9/11 stuff. OK, I'm being unfair, since I am willing to cut Steve Jones some slack for his work on Jesus in America. But is Marrs' work on 9/11 as important as Jones'?
____
Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero
WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force
maybe not, but his book
maybe not, but his book "Inside Job" was pretty good in my opinion. its basic but a good starter for someone who hasnt heard much but the official story, and it doesnt stray off into space beams,CGI,mini nukes or any of that. it actually does a pretty good job of laying things out considering when it came out. i wouldnt hesitate to tell someone to read it, but like someone else said, i dont think he sources as well as he could.