9-11: Can You Handle The Truth?
By Russell Gentile

9-11 is one of the most infamous days of our current time. Many people experienced the events of that day with surprise, shock, sadness, and anger. I am one of them.

All of these emotions clouded my judgment until I early on discovered an entire, very credible counter culture for lack of a better term that from almost day one has researched and opposed the official government story parroted by the mainstream. This counter culture that involves people and experts from all walks of life has been mostly unable to get an honest spirited debate in the mainstream without being labeled nut cases and anti-American. Why is this?

DENIAL AND DISMISSAL

In my study of the events of that fateful day, I have encountered two primary reasons why most people dismiss an engaging debate on the subject:

1. The Government cannot do anything right let alone keep a grand conspiracy like this under wraps

2. George Bush, as hated as he is, especially by the liberal media would incite responses/investigations from those in the media to expose him for being part of it.

There should be a national and ongoing debate among participants of both sides of the aisle bringing key facts, figures, and witnesses to bear to bring into the open a true discussion. After all, if the government has nothing to hide, why is there no debate on one of the most important issues of our time, in which wars are being justified, liberties trashed, literally trillions of dollars spent, laws and agencies erected which are classically un-American or unconstitutional, and society re-engineered?

Obviously we are no longer truly free, if this debate is stifled in any way.

DEALING WITH PAINFUL REALITY

Unfortunately, a religious like fervor cemented by fear and denial prevents most people from acknowledging facts and easily-exposed misrepresentations by the powerful establishment.

Perhaps we should first ask: Do you believe the official 9-11 story as told by our government and mainstream media from beginning to end?

We then come to the unavoidable question: Do you really want to know the truth about 9-11?

Most people will instinctively answer "yes of course" to this question, but reality differs from their answers much like it would if you were to ask someone if they recently lied or cheated.

WHY WE BELIEVE

If you do not believe it in full, then where do you draw the line between lies and deception, a cover-up and truth? If someone lies to you partly, how do you decide what isn't a lie and what is?

If you do believe the official explanation entirely, It's reasonable to ask: Do you always believe the government explanations on other issues, such as: the open borders issue, illegal immigration, the North American Union, liberal and socialist leanings in government control of schools, and unjust taxation? If you do not always accept the government story, what inclines you to accept the government's stories about 9-11, but not other issues?

By the term "government" I do not mean the entire government, as many people in government are good people working toward honest, just endeavors. Possibly people in government get caught up in the engine of bureaucracy but there definitely is a pattern and a direction controlled by the few, not the majority. By the term government, what is meant in this paper is the controlling, most secretive criminal elements within the highest federal and state levels and their respective agencies.

Is it that you cannot accept that our government could be so ruthless, so evil?

Or, is it that the government is so bumbling, so incompetent, it was powerless to stop it or prevent it?

President Franklin D. Roosevelt once openly said, "Nothing in Government and politics happens by accident, you can bet if something happened it was well planned." (Paraphrased)

J. Edgar Hoover famously said: "The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists."

We should take heed of these words. If fact finding is just too painful to accept, that our government, at best knew 9-11 would occur and allowed it to happen for political and economic reasons, or did indeed engage in secret, clandestine, compartmentalized action to see that it occurred, can we at least acknowledge that fear and denial possibly drive our dismissals? Truth is often painful, this one more than most. Even the most cynical among us likely struggled with this epiphany – you would not be alone in this regard.

We must face the fact that these types of events known as "false flags" have been used by the power-hungry since recorded history. America is no different.

One is to believe however, that a country that put men on the moon in less then 8 years since a proclamation by President Kennedy, developed the atom bomb, and successfully fought and won WWII, and rebuilt Europe, is somehow currently inept and unable to do much correct today.

This is a false argument, that if this is the case, then those people making this argument must at least acknowledge that the country to which they wave their Chinese-made American flags continues to institute massive laws, regulations, and bureaucracies that will dominate our lives – what then, incompetence?

COVER UPS

Let's examine a few examples of purposeful conspiracies by the US Government. Many were classified for long periods of time before coming out of the protection of national security.

Pearl Harbor Information and the knowledge that we broke the Japanese code and knew of the impending attack before it happened is well documented. FDR conspired to provoke the Japanese to attack in the interest of unleashing American war fever. The evidence is so overwhelming; the grandson of Admiral Kimmel, the official scapegoat, work's to clear his grandfather's name.

The Gulf Of Tonkin incident it was officially revealed was fabricated by the Johnson administration and covered-up for decades. This incident surely was known by powerful people including military brass yet was successfully used as justification to widen our entanglement into Vietnam, leading to the deaths of over 58,000 US GI's and many more Vietnamese.

The USS Liberty, which was attacked by Israeli planes and PT Boats resulting in the deaths of American sailors and the near-sinking of a US warship, was also successfully covered up by the Johnson administration. Captain William McConagle, the commanding officer of the USS Liberty and his crew were told to "shut up" after this incident or face life in prison or even death. Admiral Thomas Moorer, Chief of Naval Operations and later Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled being on a conference line after President Johnson recalled Naval ships that wanted to respond to the attack. Moorer heard Johnson say he "wanted that God-damned ship going to the bottom!" Obviously Johnson didn't want anyone, or any evidence left, of this attack by our ally Israel.

For a list of quotes by reputable individuals including military regarding this deliberate attack and cover-up, go here.

Also check out further research here .

Other major events or operations were covered up by the US Government and media successfully for years that involved thousands of people. These include but are not limited to:

The Manhattan Project, (where the atom bomb was developed under tight security and secret for over 4 years). According to Wikipedia: Born out of a small research program that began in 1939, the Manhattan Project would eventually employ more than 130,000 people and cost a total of nearly $2 billion USD ($20 billion in 2004 dollars based on CPI), and result in the creation of multiple production and research sites operated in secret. [1]

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972) was another major experiment done for many years without being exposed. Tuskegee also represents the unconscionable sanctioned behavior of public health experiments on mostly poor and illiterate blacks. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is often cited as one of the greatest ethical breaches of trust between physicians and patients in the setting of a clinical study in the United States. It went on for 40 years until finally exposed by a whistle blower even while the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Medical Association, and the American Medical Association supported it.

Operation Northwoods, originating in 1962, was another secret plan covered up for decades that was formally released or unclassified in 1997.

This was a plan to gain American public support for a war against Cuba and Fidel Castro involving various false flag actions including real or simulated state sponsored acts of terrorism . A few of the sanctioned false flag operations: destroying a US ship on purpose in Guantanamo Bay much like the USS Maine, hijacking planes, shooting down a replacement "drone" airliner supposedly filled with vacationing students, and sniper and bombing attacks in both Washington DC and Miami.

The plan was proposed by US Department of Defense Leaders including ring leader Lyman Louis Lemnitzer, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The plan was green-lighted all the way to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, but rejected by President Kennedy.

Here we have a 9-11 style blueprint for proposing and supporting terror attacks on both innocent Americans and foreigners with the express interest of starting a war and getting the Americans to support it.

Clearly, the government can and has engaged in massive, dubious undertakings, and kept them from the public. I believe we have successfully shown that the "government is too incompetent" argument is at best a straw man creation that doesn't hold much validity or truth. The government has a horrible track record in cover-ups and atrocities especially against their own people.

Holding on this response then can only be a state of denial, or naiveté. This also shows cognitive dissonance is strong today, especially among Americans. Those that do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

CATALYZING EVENTS

Eerily similar to Operation Northwoods is the call for a "new Pearl Harbor", by The Project for the New American Century or PNAC.

This neoconservative think tank is based in Washington, DC and co-founded by William Kristol, the Leo Strauss-inspired head of the so-called conservative periodical "Weekly Standard." PNAC includes many members openly supportive or intimately involved in the Bush administration. Former members include prominent members of the Republican Party and the Bush Administration, including former U.S Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, VP Dick Cheney, William Bennet, Jeb Bush, Current head of World Bank Paul Wolfowitz , Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Richard Perle, Zalmay Khalizad. For a partial list of members go here.

For a list of PNAC members appointed to key positions in the Bush Administration after the 2000 election go here.

PNAC openly states the primary goal of US geopolitical and military supremacy to come through preemptive wars like Iraq, huge increases in military build-up and spending, as well as American political and economic bullying and hegemony.

PNAC's September 2000 report Rebuilding America's Defenses on cue picked the geopolitical areas of the world the US is currently involved as well as the participants in the "Axis of Evil" President Bush claimed were threatening to "American Freedoms and Principles."

Another alarming coincidence is PNAC's call for another "unfortunate" Pearl Harbor style event that would galvanize the support of the American people behind a new "War for the Ages." To quote Wikipedia, "A line frequently quoted by critics from Rebuilding America's Defenses (September 2000) famously refers to the possibility of a "catastrophic and catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor (PDF)".[11] This quote appears in Chapter V, entitled "Creating Tomorrow's Dominant Force", which discusses the perceived need for the Department of Defense to "move more aggressively to experiment with new technologies and operational concepts". [12] The full quote is as follows: "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor."

Amazingly less than one year later, September 11th brought to fruition the dreams and goals of this powerful and influential DC think tank, with a new administration openly staffed and supportive of its members and policies!

We are to believe doublethink now, that those in denial believe that the U.S. (Black Operations, shadow government, military industrial complex groups) couldn't possibly pull off and cover up 9-11, but some guy in a cave with less than 1/100,000,000th of the resources or influence of the greatest superpower to grace the earth could pull it off and keep it secret from the world's most powerful intelligence agencies and networks such as the CIA, NSA, Mos sad, MI6, ECHELON, and PROMIS. Incredible!

Let us now look at but a few of the many 9-11 smoking guns that have skeptics of the official story in an uproar:

NORAD STANDS DOWN
The United States' greatest air perimeter defense NORAD which has documented, irrefutable, and recorded intercepts in all the months and years leading up to Sept. 11th of small and large aircraft, stood down that day for an unprecedented time of almost a full 2 hours! Amazing wouldn't you say?

How could a cave dwelling Saudi billionaire cause this to happen?

What makes this even more bizarre is we have on record, 9-11 Commission testimony by Transportation Secretary Norman Minetta that Vice President Dick Cheney, leading the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) told an aid that the orders still stand on a "no shoot down" of the flight that supposedly hit the Pentagon. This was never fully investigated or followed up! For a short video of this go here.

The media whose central function is supposed to be watch-dog of government has mostly been a mockingbird for government news and press releases without much investigative effort. We must ask ourselves why? This will be addressed later.

FORTUITOUS EXERCISES

There was also "cover" for the events of 9-11: Military exercises taking place at the same times, with similar targets with the exact same scenarios as 9-11! More than 5 actual drills and scenarios were being practiced by our federal government in conjunction with the military and government agencies at the very same time the events of Sept. 11th were unfolding.

According to William Losapio, "Some of these "exercises" included the following: Operation Northern Vigilance (fighters normally responsible for patrolling the Northeast are deployed to Alaska); Vigilant Guardian; Amalgam Warrior in conjunction with Global Guardian; Tripod II (a FEMA exercise involving a bio-attack on NYC scheduled for Sept 12), and an unnamed intelligence exercise that simulated a plane flying into government facilities (described by the government as a bizarre coincidence). Confusion due to these multiple drills likely paralyzed the response of NORAD and the FAA to the actual flights involved in 9/11, while placing FEMA and intelligence assets in NYC. Note that a similar 'coincidence' occurred with regards to the 7/7 bombings in London (simulations of terror bombings of the train were going on at precisely the time they occurred)."

Another amazing coincidence!

For a complete 9-11 time line of drills go here: Also check another great resource here on these drills.

Do you remember President George Bush telling the public that no one had any idea that plans such as 9-11 could or would be attempted?

Condi Rice said the same basic thing, yet for years the government knew and was running drills for this very event! Even the 9-11 Commission Report led by those with nefarious connections said that the event was not prevented due to a "failure of imagination." This 9-11 Commission is touched on later.

The imagination was certainly there as far back as 1995 and exposed plans Project Bojinka or The Bojinka Plot. Here is a master plot to destroy airliners and also use airliners as missiles into strategic US targets, including CIA headquarters in Virginia.

The CIA Commission blatantly lied here and so did President Bush as well as high level government officials. The proof is, they installed a missile defense shield at the July 2001 Italian G8 Summit for this very thing!

Considering what has just been explained, this country's government ran drills simultaneously to the events of 9-11, having NORAD confused or standing down, then attempted an entire cover-up of the events and stonewalled an honest investigation under the auspices of national security preventing a debate on behalf of the media and the public.

Remember what J. Edgar Hoover said? "The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists."

MEDIA SELECTIVE MEMORY
The mainstream media presented facts, reports, and eye-witness testimony as Sept.11 was unfolding which were later pulled and never again reported, such as multiple bombs in the buildings being heard and felt, firefighter testimonies of demolition style events, pictures, video, and news reports. This was all pulled from the memory hole. Did the government order the mainstream media to withhold and pull this damaging information? The media quickly stopped broadcasting the damaging links, but through the courageous and patriotic vigilance of many researchers, info is available on the internet allowing anyone to analyze ALL the facts, evidence, and reports archived and captured, not just the selected few the media decided the people could have. This is freedom, not Orwellian control.

PUT OPTIONS LINKED TO HIGH LEVEL OFFICIALS
Not the media, the federal government, nor the 9-11 Commission ever fully investigated the entire 9-11 event. The media never held the SEC accountable for its poor investigation into the airline and Wall Street Put Options and derivative investments leading back to A.B. Brown. Again according to William Losapio, "At least some of the put options were placed by unknown persons through the firm A.B. Brown, formerly headed by Buzzy Krongard. A.B. Brown was bought by Bankers Trust in 1997, and Krongard was made a VP as result of the merger. Krongard coincidentally was council to George Tenet beginning in 1997 and promoted to Executive Director of the CIA in 2001 by George W. Bush."

MONEY CONNECTION IGNORED
The media never fully investigated the head of Pakistan's ISI Chief Lt-Gen. Mahmoud Ahmad's breakfast meeting at the Capital on the morning of 9-11 with the chairman of the House and Senate Intelligence Committee Senator Bob Graham and Rep. Porter Goss ( later named Director of CIA). Mahmoud is the alleged money man behind 9-11 with one documented transfer of $100,000 to supposed 9-11 ringleader Mohamed Atta. This meeting was either ignored or swept under the rug.
HIJACKER TRAINING
The media never fully investigated the supposed hijackers' participation in training at military installations in this country . Go here for an archive of a Newsweek article that has since been conveniently removed from their website.

WTC 7 and TWIN TOWERS
The media never fully investigated issues like the "official" cause of the twin towers collapse, their speed of collapse , the demolition style, and one of the biggest smoking guns of them all, the incredible "collapse" of Building 7. Never before in the history of man had steel structures like this collapsed due to fire, especially in the way these did. Building 7, not hit by an airplane and right next to or further than significantly more damaged burning buildings that did not collapse, collapsed perfectly and "symmetrically" in demolition style in about 6.5 seconds into its own neat footprint. News reports at the time remarked how significantly similar this collapse looked to controlled demolitions. This included Dan Rather and other prominent mainstream media personnel. For a short video of this go here. Most people today are unaware of the collapse of this building.
Go here to listen and view a live report on ABC with Peter Jennings describe the similarities of demolition from the first tower collapse. The ABC correspondent mentions demolition, and Peter Jennings repeats this, then amazingly, the eyewitness who is a quarter of a mile away, changes his tune to describe the overwhelming fire, which was actually burning cold (thick black smoke) and the top of the building weakened caused the collapse. Nice pancake collapse theory (official theory) on the spot, after first admitting it looked like controlled demolition. Very strange wouldn't you say?

Neither the Media nor any government agency ever fully investigated or explained how the BBC reported Building 7's collapse a full 20 minutes before it happened. This discovery in particular led to a firestorm of controversy on the internet.

The media never fully investigated nor held to task the leaseholder of the WTC complex Larry Silverstein, when he said on a PBS documentary that they decided to "pull" WTC 7. To watch a quick video of this go here. Here is another video. For extensive analysis and follow-up go here

To quote Wikipedia: Silverstein said: "We've had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest thing to do is pull it. And they made that decision to pull and we watched the building collapse." Silverstein's spokesperson, Dara McQuillan, said in September 2005 that by "pull it" Silverstein was referring to the contingent of firefighters remaining in the building, and confirming that they should evacuate the premises ." It is interesting that it took almost a full 2 years to get an official response for this strange statement and no media or 9-11 Commission inquiry compelled the response. Patriotic citizens trying to gather facts helped force this revelation. That being said, the spokesperson's claims are dubious at best. On the very same PBS documentary Silverstein used the term "pull", another expert at the WTC clean-up also used the term pull to obviously mean demolish while describing how WTC 6 was going to be brought down.

According to researcher Steve Watson, "The insurmountable problem with this explanation of Silverstein's statement is that there were no firefighters inside WTC 7." Watson's thesis includes: " The FEMA report on the collapses, from May, 2002, says about the WTC 7 collapse: "no manual firefighting operations were taken by FDNY."

And an article by James Glanz in the New York Times on November 29, 2001 says about WTC 7: "By 11:30 a.m., the fire commander in charge of that area, Assistant Chief Frank Fellini, ordered firefighters away from it for safety reasons."

Watson adds, "Furthermore, even if he did mean "pull the firefighters" then why did he say "pull it", with no reference to anything other than the building? Consider also the timing: "they made that decision to pull and then we watched the building collapse." Could it really be possible that some (nonexistent) fire brigade was removed from the building and just at that moment ("then") the building collapsed? Is there really any doubt here about what Silverstein meant?"

Silverstein ultimately made billions of dollars in insurance claims he had conveniently established before 9-11, having coverage that included terrorist attacks. According to Watson, "We have an owner who let slip that the building was "pulled" and we have firefighters on video telling people to get back as the building was going to " blow up"."

It takes weeks, maybe even months to plan demolitions of this nature. How did this happen? No investigation. No media analysis or pursuit from any government agency including the 9-11 Commission.

MOLTEN METAL AND CORE COLUMNS ERASED FROM MEDIA
The media never fully investigated why there were impossible pools of molten metal at all three collapses. Amazing video of streams of molten metal can be seen flowing out of the building right before the collapse. Also check pictures and analysis here.
Jet fuel cannot possibly get hot enough to melt steel let alone cause steel to become molten and stay that way for weeks. The media never fully investigated the false claims that the Twin Towers were built poorly when these were some of the most robust, extensive structures with massive core columns and redundant steel sub frames, steel outer meshing, and steel networks designed to survive multiple plane strikes of similar severity that hit them on Sept. 11th. The 9-11 Commission Report denied the very existence of these massive, over-engineered core columns!! Instead they stated that the core of each of the Twin Towers was "a hollow steel shaft".

The media never fully investigated evidence of thermite or thermate which is routinely used to cut heavy steel and which photo evidence shows columns in the debris cut at 45 degree angles common with massive demolitions. A great Google video montage can be viewed here on this.

BUSH STATEMENTS AND BEHAVIOR
The media nor the 9-11 Commission ever thoroughly investigated the behavior of the President and his Secret Service the day of 9-11 or the statement he made months later that " he saw the first plane impact the tower" the day of the event. This was impossible as there was no video available for TV or in the media of the first impact until 9-12-01 through the release of the Naudet Brother's famous footage . Giuliani made similar bizarre statements about knowing the Towers were going to collapse before they did. Why didn't the media or the 9-11 Commission go after this information and fully investigate it?

QUICK CEMENT OF STORY
Within minutes of the plane strikes and "collapses" we were being told who attacked us and how and why they did it. For an alarming short Google video of this go here. The official story was already cementing itself into the consciousness of the American public. The mainstream media was putting out the propaganda early on, but who was feeding them this information? I think it can be fair to say the only organization or group large enough and influential enough to provide this information was the Federal Government. One can also question how they knew so much if we were told we were totally caught off guard and surprised by these attacks.

LEAKS AND WHISTLES WERE THERE
There have been numerous mainstream leaks and reports that the Bush administration has spent billions of dollars promoting fake news. Here are but a few other articles detailing this: http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2005/02/07/Opinions/Bush-Continues.To.Manipulate.Opinions-853... and http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/politics/13covert.html?ex=1268456400&en=2e1b834f0ba8a53c&ei=5088. For a very detailed list of some of these go here. This is totally Orwellian and not a characteristic of a free and honest society. This is what we would expect from Soviet Russia or China, not the United States of America.
The Office of Special Plans created by Donald Rumsfeld has also been accused of manipulating intelligence, news, and data favorable to the Bush administration, its PNAC goals in the Middle East, and the so-called "War on Terrorism." Check the "Lie Factory" here.

Many people claim that if 9-11 was an inside job, where are those in government who have come out and blown the whistle? There are many who have come out but sadly many more who have been legally gagged (such as Sibel Edmonds) with threat of contempt, jail, or possibly worse. See some of her whistle blowing allegations here. Robert Wright was another whistle blower within the FBI that detailed how terrorists were being protected within the FBI. He was basically told to "shut up" and on national TV with Judicial Watch, tearfully said "All I can say is the Bush family vacations with the bin Ladens."

David Shayler formerly of British MI5 and Annie Machon also MI5 are two other whistle blowers who were threatened with arrest and had to leave in exile in fear of their lives over their testimonials.

Many firefighters and police in NY City have been muzzled and told to "shut up" about their opinions and testimonials of that day. This is not what a free society is about. Many of these people fear for their jobs, careers, families, and retirements. The truth is, the political and economic landscape of this nation does not favor nor merit whistle blowing of any type. It never has. The government doesn't treat whistleblowers favorably, nor do connected businesses with vested interests in government contracts, nor do those who benefit economically from the official story. The people who have come forward are extremely courageous - they have thrown away their pensions, retirements, careers, and that of their families. Their lives have been threatened. Kevin Ryan of UL is a perfect example of another whistle blower who was penalized for his well founded beliefs and opinions of the collapses at the WTC. Ryan, an executive at Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the company that certified the steel used in the construction of the World Trade Center, has questioned the common theory that fuel fires caused the Twin Towers to collapse . After writing a letter to Frank Gayle of NIST disagreeing with NIST's findings, Ryan was fired from UL. Again, this is another example that prevents many from coming forward and publicly disagreeing with the official story. The system is entirely set up to protect the status quo.

We must honestly ask ourselves if we would put our lives, families, careers, pensions, retirements, and industry reputation on the line to expose something that the majority of the people don't even want to learn about yet alone see exposed. It would seem the majority love living in the bliss of denial because it is easier that way.

The media often attacks those who come forward or those who negate the official explanation with facts by demeaning them or demonizing them as crazy tinfoil-hat conspiracy kooks. Many are called un-American or traitors by those in power as well as the public. What rational person would come forward in this chaotic atmosphere? Not many, at least not in this country.

The media never fully investigated why Lieutenant Colonel Butler, an Air Force officer was disciplined for saying President Bush allowed September 11 attacks. The media never fully investigated all the documented and continued prior warnings to our government and intelligence by foreign nations and foreign intelligence agencies. The government nor mainstream media never fully investigated why certain government officials stopped flying or were warned not to fly before 9-11, including top military brass.

For a must-see short video round-up of some of these warnings go here.

Neither the media nor government has ever fully investigated or held accountable the unheeded warning and report given to Condoleezza Rice a month before 9-11 outlining an imminent attack.

There are those who have come forward like the above mentioned patriots, many who have done so at their own peril, like hero William Rodriguez, last man pulled from the WTC wreckage,. Rodriguez's own personal heroism saved numerous people that day as he went back into the first impacted tower to attempt to save his friends at "Windows of the World." William risked his own life and was even hailed as a hero by the establishment media and this administration. He was later dropped like a hot potato and black-balled because his positions were different than the official story. Rodriguez heard and felt explosions coming from the sub-basement and even helped some people who were victims of this explosion, not caused by the plane nor jet fuel. His official testimony was never reported by the 9-11 Commission, the government or the media. Sadly, only foreign media and governments are listening to his heart-wrenching and compelling story. The man is a patriot and a hero, but he has been treated like dirt by our own government. Disgusting. For an incredible video testimony on William Rodriguez go here.

With all the secrecy of National Security and all the gate-keeping set up by the establishment is there no wonder there are not more whistle-blowers willing to come forward? Everything today is protected under national security, so how can people who may know the truth like Sibel Edmonds come forward? They cannot. They are prevented. We cannot expect criminals to allow testimony and evidence damaging to their plot to come forward.

9-11 COMMISSION COVER-UPS?
One year after 9-11, there was no "official" investigation into the attacks of that day. President Bush and his administration actually and purposefully stonewalled an investigation into 9-11 for almost 18 months despite the pleas of the victim's families. How unconscionable this is to think – the biggest attacks on our soil which we were told "changed everything" and which became the justifying, central object of every political and military move, not being investigated? Instead we were told by those in government that let us down that day and parroted again by the media to " go shopping and let them handle it."
The President and his administration were quick to pass civil rights restricting laws such as the misnamed Patriot Act and create larger government bureaucracy in Homeland Security , but still no official investigation.

After relentless pressure, President Bush succumbed to a makeshift investigation in which he appointed "insider" Henry Kissinger to take the lead. Outraged by this selection, the 9-11 victims' familes rejected Kissinger for his failure to disclose private clients which included the Saudis as well as other Middle East connections and the military industrial complex. Kissinger also has a well known and sordid past of cover-ups and finessing the truth. Not a good start or a wise choice for real investigation.

Finally a commission was selected in which Executive Director Philip Zelikow controlled the flow of information to be investigated called the Kean-Hamilton 9-11 Commission. Zelikow's ties to Condoleezza Rice and the Bush administration are undeniable and glaringly obvious. The thrust of this commission's focus it seemed from that day was to prove the official version of events. The media did not hold the Bush administration or the selections accountable.

As author and columnist Justin Raimondo writes, "The task of the 9/11 commission is one that, in a free society, should have been taken up by journalists. That it has been co-opted by a quasi-governmental organ – without a peep of protest from the Fourth Estate – is a sad indication of the degeneration of a once-proud profession. In the age of the omnipotent state, the idea that all answers lie with the government is an illusion that many find comforting."

The 9-11 Commission Report is still highly criticized especially by of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee and the Jersey Girls , who had to fight for 9-11 to be investigated in the first place. There are many papers and books published that refute the entire Commission Report's validity, such as but certainly not limited to David Ray Griffin's well sourced and documented The 9-11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions.

It also is no surprise that after issuing their much anticipated Commission Report, Chairman Thomas Kean and other members of the Commission openly admit there were lies and obfuscations included in the report. Besides a total lack of cooperation from the White House, commissioners now suspect the Pentagon purposefully deceived them. Amazing. Did we get the truth than or not?

For an incredible brief history and documented problems behind the Kean-Hamilton 9-11 Commission go here.

Also, no one within the government, intelligence, or military was subsequently punished, demoted or held accountable in any significant way for 9-11. The opposite actually occurred as many involved in the failure were promoted to higher positions. For such a widely perceived and stated failure by the government and media this is incredible and unforgivable. Sadly the American people weren't outraged enough.

FBI: NO HARD EVIDENCE LINKING BIN LADEN TO 9-11
Are you still clinging to the official myth? Please consider that the FBI stated they have no hard evidence linking Bin Laden to 9-11. Yes, amazingly on the FBI's Most Wanted page, the FBI says that Usama Bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998 bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya but not 9-11! When questioned the FBI spokesman said, "The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Usama Bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11." He also said, "He has not been formally indicted and charged in connection with 9/11." This should startle and alarm all Americans!

BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS THEM
Finally, I must strongly disagree with those that say this media is liberal and would hang President Bush or those responsible for the attacks - they must learn who owns and controls the media. Mainstream media is quickly consolidating and centralizing into the hands of an influential and powerful few. Besides bribes and huge political donations as well as powerful lobbying, Congress members fear and pander to the corporate media, and the corporate media will not tolerate opposition to the military industrial complex.
The military industrial complex was a term first used by President Eisenhower in his farewell speech. Eisenhower warned the people of this Republic to prevent the growing influence of this shadow power from stealing freedoms, stifling dissent, and bringing tyranny. Watch an incredibly powerful short warning here.

According to website Dissident, "Just prior to the attack on Iraq, FAIR found that over three quarters of the guests discussing the coming war on ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS news were current or former government officials, and three-quarters of those who were not government officials were still supporters of the war. Meanwhile less than 1% were identified with organized protests or anti-war groups."

One of the greatest examples of Military Industrial Complex owned media is General Electric. NBC is owned by GE who holds large power in government and is connected to huge military contracts. Many other heavily connected military industrial complex companies own media outlets. The Carlyle Group is another private company whose principles include George Bush Senior and the bin Laden family, also own media and are acquiring more as I write this. They have extensive power and influence on both Wall Street, Washington DC and with the military. Many powerful people move through what I call the revolving door of public to private and back again. Dick Cheney is perhaps the best example of a government official in multiple administrations moving from very high levels of government and then back into the private sector as CEO of Halliburton. His former company continues to get extremely lucrative no-bid contracts with the federal government tied to big oil, military and rebuilding contracts. Recently it was announced their directors and management hierarchy are moving to Dubai. One has to ask, do they know something we don't know or are they protecting their proverbial assets from potential future criminal investigations in this country as Dubai's extradition laws are favorable to them? Speaking of Halliburton, George Soros, a whipping boy for the so-called right wing pundits and mouthpieces like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill (No Spin) O'Reilly recently purchased $62.5 million of Halliburton Stock.

Interesting that George Soros, labeled a fervent anti-Bush and anti-war crusader as a sponsor of MoveOn.org and the World Federalist Association and publicly opposed to Bush's policies and companies involved in the Iraq War would own Halliburton, one of the most connected to this administration. The bitter reality again is that Soros, like Bush and others are pushing for one world government controlled by elite interests in banks and corporations.

THE FALSE PARADIGM
This exposes what I call the false left/right paradigm that there are two distinct sides working toward different agendas. In reality the whole political and economic landscape is staged. Like WWE Wrestling where the bad guy and good guy put on a show in public and fight, they are best of friends as they drink beer and smoke cigars behind closed private doors laughing all the way to the bank. The American public seems to enjoy the fairy tale of professional wrestling just like they enjoy the fairy tale of Republican vs. Democrat politics. They seem to buy the staged show over and over again. No wonder the establishment has their way with the people.
The same cozy relationship has been exposed between the Bush's and the Clinton family. This was long known by people searching for the truth but has recently been reported on in the news. Clinton has been described as the surrogate son of the Bush family . Bush has even praised Clinton, the darling of ire from neocon pundits Hannity, Ingraham, Coulter, Limbaugh, among others, in public here and here. In turn Bill Clinton has praised Bush on his new immigration reform (amnesty) which goes completely against the grain of conservative rational. The powers-that-be have come right out and shown their true colors to the American public, but the public as a whole still does not seem to get it.

Perhaps the most blatant example of this is Bush signing Teddy Kennedy's (the preeminent enemy among so-called conservatives) brainchild "No Child Left Behind Policy."

This empowered further the Federal Government in Schools and supposedly runs contra to the Republican platform and major planks. Bush even hailed Kennedy here as a great Senator!

Rush Limbaugh and company obviously missed this and showed the world what they are, shills for the powerful interests that transcend government and control both parties. The entire political landscape is staged. What more proof do the American people need?

The media is also part of this camp controlling the masses through disinformation, misinformation and the false left vs. right paradigm of politics. The Constitution gets trashed while we argue semantics on who will fight an unjust war better or who will save Social Security, or what constitutes torture. It is all a fraud designed to control creative thinking and stifle real debate.

If our Constitutional Republic was functioning the way our founders had envisioned 9-11 would have been thoroughly investigated by all applicable government agencies, both Houses of Congress, and the entire media spectrum.

This once again shows how 9-11 has never been properly investigated by so-called partisan government officials or a media whose once central function was watch dog of government corruption and lawlessness. The media is owned by the same powerful forces that control our federal government. We must ask the question "Cui Bono" or who benefits. This is the standard procedure in criminal investigations yet sadly the media and the people of this country have failed to answer this question.

9-11 has not been properly investigated because the majority of the people in this country have lacked the desire or willpower to hold the media and government responsible. It must be easier this way because the alternative is obviously too painful to face. The questions must be asked of the American people: "Do you want to know the truth about 9-11?" "Can you handle the truth?"

The current answer is a resounding NO. God willing, and with the help of patriots this will change.

AFTERWORD
The amount of data and evidence refuting the official 9-11 story is staggering and encyclopedic in size. It is because of this that I struggled writing and concluding this paper. There was much more information I wanted to include but was forced to surrender it in the interest of length. Hopefully the points brought forth in this will convince you to investigate 9-11 for yourself and form your own educated opinions. That was the goal of this paper. The other goal was to demonstrate my own personal ideas and beliefs of that seminal event in our history. Please investigate 9-11. Become informed! Don't allow others to form opinion for you or control what information is available to you.
Thank you for reading.

(c) Russell Gentile Bill Losapio helped in the editing of this article .
Russell Gentile's commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit is given to writer.