9/11 CultWatch

Seeing Only Part of the Story

The 2 June 2008 issue of the New Yorker has a major article by Lawrence Wright on Dr Fadl, formerly a leading theoretician in Al-Qaeda.

Now ensconced in the Egyptian prison system, Fadl (real name Sayyid Iman al-Sharif) has decided that terrorism is an altogether bad thing. Given the somewhat uncomfortable nature of his surroundings, that is perhaps no surprise. However, as Wright points out, such a change, known as 'the revisions' has been occurring within Egyptian Islamist thinking for well over a decade.

This has led to a furious debate with Fadl's fellow Egyptian, and Al Qaeda number two Ayamn al-Zawahiri, who insists that through attacks such as 9/11, and on-going conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, the US is being ground down.
Interestingly Wright also cites an on-line discussion where al-Zawahiri blamed the Hezbollah TV station Al Manar for claiming that the Israelis were behind 9/11:

"The objective behind this lie is to deny that the Sunnis have heroes who harm America as no one has harmed it throughout its history".

Wright concludes that radical Islam is undergoing a rebellion within its own ranks, conclusions backed up by evidence from Cairo based ex-Islamists such as Kamal Habib and Karam Zuhdy, who now question the direction they took in the past.

A nuanced understanding of such debates - or even recognition that they exist - is lacking in 9/11 'truth' circles. Theirs is an entirely Eurocentric or perhaps more accurately Americentric view of the world.
To their mind, all that matters, and all that could really effect our lives for the worse, comes from the USA (with some blame being placed at the door of the Israelis).

It is a view that must be resisted, and exposed for what it is.

From Their Own Mouths.....

Thanks to Ian Henshall and Rowland Morgan for this little gem from their 2005 book "9/11 Revealed: Challenging the Facts Behind The War On Terror":

"There is a general objection to 9/11 scepticism. Sceptics, it is argued, collectively do a massive search for oddities and coincidences, confusing these with proof."

You said it guys!

Indymedia and Anti-Semitism

The new issue of Shift magazine has an interesting article on Indymedia and anti-semitism.

Put simply, the usual open door posting policy on Indymedia UK is a green light to all manner of fruitloops to post any old nonsense.

The 9/11 'truth' movement must take a large share of the blame for this. Many of the nuttier and more unpleasant posts to be found on Indymedia originate either from 9/11 truth activists, or emerge from their wider milieu where blaming Israel and/or 'Zionists' for all of the world's ill's is part of the daily routine.

Bristol Indymedia has previously hit choppy waters due to the conduct of Tony Gosling, one of the best known UK 9/11 'truth' activists. Just as that particular Indymedia group was better off without the dead weight of Gosling's prejudices around its neck, so Indymedia internationally needs to firmly dump the 9/11 'truth movement'.

Should they do so, they will find their problem with anti-semites is seriously reduced.

Just Take It As Read

The Canadian academic Michel Chossudovsky has a major article in the April - May issue of Nexus, examining the development of a US-NATO pre-emptive nuclear strike policy.

It seems the possibility of an Al-Qaeda nuclear strike on the US is being used to develop a policy of a 'first strike' against not just the Al-Qaeda leadership, but anyone who may have supplied them with nuclear material.

Unlike most in the 9/11 'truth' field, Chossudovsky does at least manage to use some primary sources and to present his points in a rational manner, but reading this sentence suggests he may well have been pulled down by some of the company he is keeping:

"The fact, amply documented, that al-Qaeda is supported by the CIA and Britain's MI6 is beside the point".

Has it been established that right now, as we speak, al-Qaeda is being supported by the CIA and MI6? If so we have missed it.

That al-Qaeda, or the people who became al-Qaeda had a relationship with the CIA and MI6 is well established - how else were the Soviets forced out of Afghanistan? But Chossudovsky owes his reader more than a bland statement that this relationship continues to this day.

We deserve evidence.

Which Part Of No Do You Have Difficulty In Understanding?

David Icke was a conspiraloon before the term was invented.

The Bravo satellite channel is sure to entertain us this evening us this evening with "Did David Icke Get It Right" at 9pm.

Bravo can be found at channel 123 on Sky, 137 on Virgin.

A Right Cult?

Reading Robert Schroeder's book on Cults, it is hard to digest this quote without seeing the 9/11 truth movement flash before your eyes:

"They are the sane ones; the rest of us are the lunatics bound for annihilation. It is in this belief, this sense of moral and spiritual superiority, that much of their strength lies. Yet it is also the source of their weakness and, if history is any judge, of their ultimate demise."

More Praise For 9/11 Cultwatch

Two very encouraging things have happened to 9/11 Cultwatch this year.

First has been the amount of information being pushed towards us by disillusioned 'truthers' often people who have entered the 'truth' movement with genuine questions only to find so many things they did not like. The second encouraging aspect has been the volume and fervour of attacks upon 9/11 Cultwatch - our critique is hitting home - hard - and they don't appear to like it up 'em!

The following graphic has been rigged up about on a website called Svamp - we think it's the funniest yet and deserves a far wider audience. Check it out here!

UK Truthers Put In Difficult Position By Lockerbie Documentary Tonight

This evening Sky 3's Conspiracies series looks at the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, at 8pm.

Despite the eventual prosecution of two Libyans, (one of whom was convicted) a wide body of opinion has always placed the blame elsewhere - frequently with either Iran, or Syria.

Given the mindset of the 'truth' movement, it could be expected that virtually no one in truth circles would believe the version promulgated over so many years by the UK and US governments. Alas - the realities of life!
One of the MI5 officers who worked on the Lockerbie investigation was - David Shayler. Needless to say both he, and fellow ex (?) MI5 officer Annie Machon have never deviated from following the UK and US government line. The supine nature of 'debate' in the Truth movement ensures they have never been questioned in any detail on this issue.

Who knows - perhaps they will appear in this programme, repeating the 'official conspiracy theory' so skilfully presented by the US-UK government for the past 20 years!

The Best Piss Take Yet Of 'Loose Change'

Congratulations to the makers of "Unfastened Coins" for drawing our attention to the conspiracy behind the sinking of the Titanic!

View it and enjoy it here!

Age of Terror

This evening sees the final episode of Peter Taylor's Age of Terror series.

One of the BBCs most spook friendly journalists, Taylor finishes his series with an examination of Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

Age of Terror is on BBC2 at 9pm.

Mad, or Bad?

The article below examines recent developments in the UK 9/11 'Truth'movement, in particular the actions of leading figures such as David Shayler, Annie Machon and Belinda McKenzie. It is taken from the new issue of Class War, which can be purchased in Freedom and Housmans in London, plus many Borders stores.

Mad, or Bad
Long term readers of Class War will be aware of the ex(?) MI5 spy David Shayler. Since leaving the security services after making the remarkable discovery that MI5 is a reactionary organisation that breaks the law at will, Shayler and his former partner Annie Machon have adopted a succession of guises in order to earn a not so honest crust.

When posing as public figures, civil libertarians and anti-war activists wore off, in 2005 both suddenly joined the 9/11 ‘Truth’ movement. For those lucky enough not to have entered these ever decreasing circles, truth activists basically believe the 9/11 attacks (and even the 7/7 one’s in the UK) were ‘inside jobs’ carried out by an ever shifting cast of suspects that at different times includes the US government, the UK government, Israel and indeed pretty much everyone except for Al Qaeda.

Even though Machon’s 2005 book “Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers – MI5 and the Shayler Affair” regards 9/11 as an attack by Islamist terrorists that demonstrated the need for a modernised, more efficient security service, the conspiraloons of the ‘truth’ movement took both Shayler and Machon to their collective bosom. Something they may now regret………..

In August 2007 Shayler announced to a stunned audience in Glastonbury that he was the Messiah, something he repeated shortly afterwards at a London press conference attended by several leading 9/11 ‘truth’ activists. Oddly Shayler’s personal benefactor, Belinda McKenzie, who heads the ‘Highgate Hub’ group of 9/11 activists, appeared to tolerate this poor man’s David Icke with a sort of bemused indifference.
Eventually the 9/11 truth movement rallied its forces, attempting to either censor references to Shayler’s actions on their webforums, (Tony Gosling leading the way here) or to denounce those raising the issue as in some way abusing the mentally ill (author Ian Henshall pushed this line).

There are two problems with this – firstly it ill becomes the ‘truth’ movement to censor references to the actions of a former MI5 officer, especially when they are so keen to accuse everyone else of cover-ups, dishonesty and denial.
The second question is perhaps the bigger one – is Shayler actually ill, and if so does he himself genuinely believe he is the Messiah? He is certainly far from convincing in this role – footage of Shayler at his London press conference, especially when not aware he is being filmed, indicates not a man possessed with Messianic zeal, but instead suggests a nervous actor trying to remember his lines. Indeed Shayler quickly becomes crabby when asked awkward questions or heckled - people suffering from mental illness rarely have the sort of self-awarenesss Shayler still possesses.

But what of his former partner in crime, Annie Machon? By February Ms Machon was shacked up with the big cheese in the Dutch 9/11 truth movement, and was increasingly looking to ‘spread the message’ internationally. Then came the clumsy announcement, which surprised most ‘truth’ activists’, that the Highgate Hub, Ms Machon and co were to resign their positions from the UK and Ireland 9/11 Truth Movement, and to concentrate their work on the new ‘Make Wars History’ (MWH) campaign. More importantly Belinda McKenzie was taking her cheque book as well………..

Taking your lead from Bob Geldof’s pathetic ‘Make Poverty History’ may seem a strange way to start a campaign, but MWH is one of these campaigns that starts off badly, seems destined to peter out in the middle and then get worse before it falls down completely. Astonishingly they believe that International Law can be used to stop war (have they not noticed the invasion of Iraq?) and that not only should Britain and America’s political elite be tried with war crimes, but that this is a realistic objective.
The end result of this nonsense appears to be very little, but early signs indicate a movement based not around mass activism, direct action or popular protest, but one based around the arguments of lawyers and legal experts. As Annie Machon well knows, the state can more than deal with that…………..

For more on the dangers of the 9/11 Truth movement, we strongly recommend the website www.911cultwatch.org.uk
Secondly Class War readers may wish to note that two long term critics of the ‘truth’ movement, Paul Stott and Larry O’Hara, are currently researching a book on the truth movement. The authors can be contacted c/o London Class War.