Erica Wranich
@02105865
English 202 Research Paper
September 11 2001 Conspiracies
Where were you on September 11 2001, when you heard that a Boeing 757 crashed into the World Trade Centers in New York City? What about when a plane hit into the Pentagon that same morning? I’m sure everyone who just read the last two sentences is now recalling where they were. I was in my high school’s gymnasium, taking gym class. I thought it was a joke at first because it was such an unreal and unheard of thing to happen… Then once I saw it on the news I was in disbelief and shock. My mind first went to thinking about my family and where they were, and then I thought about all of the people in the buildings, as well as in New York City, Washington DC and Somerset.
My mom works in Pittsburgh, PA and was in Pittsburgh at the time of the events. She (along with the rest of my family) was worried because Pittsburgh is a larger city, and no one really knew what else may have happened that day. “The feeling of uncertainty and fear was overwhelming and unreal. It was like something out of a movie; everyone was just in shock and seemed to have a subdued overcast effect upon them”” (Mrs. Wranich, 15 February 2008). That was what she told me when I asked her what her emotions and thoughts were on that morning. Most Americans remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard of the attacks on our country. This fact is an example of how much of an impact the attacks have had on each Americans life, whether it is realized or not. What I am attempting to research and explain is why there is a large misconception about the conspiracies surrounding the events of September 11, 2001.
The catastrophic happening of September 11, 2001 changed the way Americans live their lives. Longer lines at the airport, more strict security, and the unease of the unknown during the flights, are just a few examples… The attacks of September 11th led to a great decrease in the safety and security people were feeling. “It was never really said but people felt safe and often free of worries because they were living the United States not some other less stable country” (Mrs. Laura Delarosa, 15 February 2008). According to a study done by the Society for Human Resource Management, 64% of the people who took the survey felt that organizations have put higher security provisions in place. The survey also found that 48% of people feel that companies have higher expectations for security at the employer level (Society for Human Resource Management, 10 September, 2003). If the incidents of September 11 2001 never happened would there be such an increase in security? Shouldn’t the government already of had these newfound provisions in place for the safety and security of the American people?
With every incident that happens in life there is usually a conspiracy theory surrounding the issue. Conspiracy can be defined as a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act (Wordsearch.Princeton.edu 13 February 2008). In the case of the attacks on September 11, 2001 there are over many conspiracies that are being discussed on a daily basis. A conspiracy theory grows with more support for the conspiracy and its “debunking” of the official report. Debunking is the exposure of falseness or pretensions (Wordsearch.Princeton.edu 13 February 2008). This is the term many conspiracy theorist’s use in their literary work, when they feel as if they proved the official report/story wrong. In a poll done by CNN on 10 November 2005, (to 1000 Americans) it was found that 89% felt that there was United States government cover-up surrounding the attacks on September 11 2001 (Fetzer, page XVII). This is proof that people are unsure what to believe when something so mind-blowing and surreal occurs.
There is a multitude of reasons why people believe conspiracies about 9/11. The ones that I feel that are represented the most in research, are that people are skeptical that an insufficient amount of men (Osama Bin Laden/ Al Qaeda) could master such a large and upscale plot. A popular question is “Did 19 foreigners with box cutters really commit such an unlawful and unmoral crime?” People also believe because there is hidden knowledge to every situation, therefore having that unknown knowledge can lead to superiority and power in the field (Real Clear Politics, paragraph 8). These men and women who are strong supporters of the 9/11 Conspiracy Truth Movement often are the ones who are spreading the word through verbal communication and literature.
Why would the American government kill a reported 2948 people (not including the men and women still reported as missing)? (September 11 Victims). The most acknowledged speculation on why the American government would construct the events of September 11 is over oil and money. During a conference the Bush administration was quoted for saying how the events of September 11 provided opportunities. It was also compared to that of a new Pearl Harbor. Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense for the United States stated that “the kinds of opportunities created are ones that would offer to refashion the world” (The 911 Conspiracies: The Scamming of America, page 17). It created the coincidental chance for America to invade Iraq and Afghanistan. The invasions upon other countries allowed the military budget and the military forces (in general) to increase rapidly in size. The government also was able to introduce the new 2002 version of the National Security Strategy. The National Security Strategy is a new and improved policy that will permit the government to act upon any threat or emerging threats before they are put into action and are created completely (The 911 Conspiracies: The Scamming of America, page 17). This would allow the government to act upon any notion of another terrorist attack even if it was just a rumor or lie being spread.
This paper is designed and written to research and explain why there is a large misconception about the conspiracies surrounding the events of September 11, 2001. I have chosen one of the larger and more researched and discussed conspiracies to do my research project on. The first area of debate is if the World Trade Centers in New York City were filled with explosions, that lead to the eventual collapse. In my paper I will not be focusing on the events that happened in Somerset PA or in Washington DC. Although these events were important and monumental as well, I am focusing on one of the larger more intricate conspiracies that have a lot of smaller sub questions within the larger conspiracy. I am also choosing to do this, so when the reader is done reading this paper he or she will have no unanswered questions.
The conspiracy stated above, as well as all of the other conspiracies are being formed by everyday Americas… These Americans are average, every day people. They often are highly college educated men and women who feel that what society is being told is far from the truth about September 11th. Some of the larger names are Dylan Avery, Korey Rowe, and Jason Bermas, the main creators of the online video/DVD Loose Change, Loose Change: Second Edition, and Loose Change: Final Cut. James H. Fetzer PH. D. who is the author and editor of the book, The 9/11 Conspiracy. Along with these individuals, there are many groups that have formed to help in the 9/11 Truth Movement. The 9/11 Truth Movement is one of the names given to the groups of people, individuals, and societal groups who work to inform and educate others, often skeptics about the facts, and information relating to the conspiracies and controversies surrounding 9/11. The larger mission statement for the 9/11 Truth Movement is simply to fundamentally questioning the conspiracies given (that are already out there) not to create more (What is 9-11 Truth? The First Steps. Another large and influential group is the Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice. This group consists of men and women who have PhD’s in multiple fields, and who work together to hold conferences and rally’s as well as public works of literature online as well as in book form.
What brought down the World Trade Centers? The official report, also known as The 9/11 Commission Report, released by the government, states that the buildings were brought down due to the initial impact and force the planes had on the buildings structure (What is 9-11 Truth? The First Steps). The force that was applied to the building damaged the support columns, leaving the fireproof insulation as well as a large quantity of jet fuel to cover the floor and everything within the surrounding area, including multiple floors. (National Institute of Standards and Technology) The ignited jet fuel then covered numerous floors causing weakness in the support beams and floors causing a “pancake theory” to occur. A “pancake theory” also known as a truss failure theory, is the term engineers use to define a collapse that has evidence that the trusses under the floor in a building heat up faster than normal rates. This then leads to the floors to be weakened and collapse. This collapse of one floor then falls onto the floor under it (causing a chain reaction), which this act is repeated until the eventual collapse of the building (9-11 Research: Collapse Theories). The floors above the impact area came down due to the force and trauma of the floors under them collapsing (The 9/11 Conspiracy, The Scamming of America page 27). Below is a photo taken from The Attack on America website which shows how the building, collapsed inward, upon itself creating a large “pile” of rubble that once was building 7 of the World Trade Centers.
The photo to the left is from the Attack on America source.
This recall of why the buildings collapsed to conspiracy theorists is an over-sized, well formatted and formulated lie. One of the deceitful areas is when the government described how the jet fuel fires were hot enough to weaken the steel used to construct the World Trade Centers, causing a pancake collapse. The following is a close up photo of the fires that were in building 7 of the World Trade Centers, approximately around 3:00pm and on the 12th floor (9-11 Proof of Explosive Demolition without Calculations).
One of the most obvious problems is that steel does not begin to melt or weaken until 2800 degrees Farienheight, and the record high for jet fuel to burn is 1700 degrees F (The 9/11 Conspiracy, The Scamming of America page 27). So how could the steel trusses be weakened by jet fuel to be cause the collapse? The reason (according to conspiracy theorists) is a controlled demolition. A controlled demolition can be easily explained as the effective and correct placement of explosives through out a building at key points, usually points in the building were support is important. Then the explosives are detonated instantaneously causing no part of the building to be working against the force of gravity. This then leaves the steel and concrete as well as everything in the building to be crushed into small fragments as the building collapses. This type of demolition is easy to see because it is known for being safe, “clean”, effective and “smooth” (Attack on America).
Now most Americans are asking, “If the collapse of the World Trade Centers, also known as the twin towers was a controlled demolition then why isn’t there a lot of proof, and talk of it?” There is a lot of evidence that proves this theory. I interviewed my friend’s dad; Newark, New Jersey fire captain Mr. Michael Sorace. Mr. Sorace has been a fireman in New Jersey for over 20 years, he is the fire captain in Newark, NJ, the head of the rescue team, and teaches fireman training, as well as rescue squad training. Mike was heavily involved in the rescue and clean up of the events on September 11, 2001. He along with many firefighters has questioned the reason behind the twin tower collapse. I asked Mike to tell me about what he saw on September 11. He told me stories about seeing people die in pain from wounds, people falling out of the buildings to the street below, the chaos of people looking for familiar faces and many more heart wrenching stories. Along with the personal stories he told me, there was one about being in Building 7 rescuing people from the wreckage left.
”There we (Mike and his fire crew) were, in the middle running up
the stairs when we heard what sounded like professional
firecrackers going off all around us… We stopped in mid-step and
looked around to see where the sound was coming from exactly.
We went up to the next floor and opened the door and there was a
large fire with office debris thrown about the room. I didn’t think
about it at the time but now when I look back, why was the debris
thrown around the room if it was just a fire and why was there a
fire almost 20-30 floors below the site of implosion?” (Mr. Sorace
10, February 2008). “I wish I would have thought about what the
sounds were and why there was an irregular and abnormal fire
that day. I regret not looking into it more, yet at the same time that
saving lives of innocent Americans come first. After the initial
shock of the events of 9/11 my fire crew was encouraged to talk
about what they saw and what was understood to have happened
on that day, and the following days. The mystery of the explosive
“popping” sounds, the fires throughout the buildings, the eventual
collapse of the buildings, and the unusual scattering of large
business furniture still haunts most firefighters who were active in
the assignment. My crew and I were not the only ones who heard
the firecracker/explosive sounds… I still wonder to this day if it
was planned (Mr. Sorace 10, February 2008).
Mr. Sorace and his fire crew were not the only firemen who were surprised by the collapse of the buildings… “I’ve worked in Manhattan my whole career in high rises and everything else… you looked back, all you see-it just doesn’t click, how fast those buildings came down… you just cant believe that the buildings came down… there’s no history of these buildings falling down” (Lieutenant Warren Smith, Firefighter Interviews from the Journal of Debunking 9/11). That is a quote given by a New York firefighter telling of the peculiar collapse and how he was stunned by the occurrence. Other New York City firefighters on 9/11 told a reporter from USA Today that “On the last trip up a bomb went off. We think there were bombs set in the building.” The New York Department Chief of Safety said that “There were “bombs” and “secondary devices” which caused explosions in the buildings” (911 Proof). The majority of New York City firefighters, (approximately 503 men and women) who were on the scene that day said they heard what they thought and experienced to be explosions (Firefighter Interviews from the Journal of Debunking 9/11).
Along with first hand interviews from the firefighters who were at the scene there are visuals, such as recorded videos and photos that show “puffs” of smoke and debris coming from the side of the building, below the collapse area. The official report says that the “puffs” of smoke are the force of air caused by the floors above collapsing. The compressed air in the buildings (after it was hit) needed somewhere to go to relieve the pressure (National Institute of Standards and Technology). The air that was in the building escapes the building through windows, and doorways, anywhere that has a lesser value of resistance (A Critical Analysis of the Collapse of the WTC, page 5). That is why there is visual evidence of “puffs” seen below the large cloud of smoke and debris that was the collapse of the floors above. In the videos Loose Change, Loose Change: Second Edition, and Loose Change: Final Cut, there are videos that show the “puffs” of smoke and debris coming from the building. Below is a photo taken from September 11, 2001 that shows the “puffs” of smoke that have been described above. The photo is taken from Serendipity’s website, and it is of the North Tower, mid collapse.
Inside the red box is the “puff” of smoke and the blue line is approximately where the collapse is occurring. What can be seen is the “puff” of smoke, glass and other debris is below the line of collapse.
(Direct Evidence for Explosions, Journal of Debunking 9/11). Here is another example of the “puff” of smoke seen by KYLA News 5 cameras, as you can see in this photo there is another line of smoke appearing below the line of collapse formed by the floors above collapsing upon the floor below.
In this photo (also coming from the Serendipity’s website), its shows something unidentifiable by the human eye to be coming from the middle of the building. This projectile is coming from the middle of the building, many stories below the catastrophe above it. All three of these photos, and the many other photos like it, are what conspiracy theorists as well as concerned and intrigued Americans are looking at daily in order to start to place judgment on why the World Trade Center buildings collapsed that day…
Along with telling me the courageous story earlier in the paper, Michael also told me about the tragic stories about his fellow New Jersey firefighters who heroically lost their lives while doing their jobs… Saving American lives on American soil (Mr. Sorace 10, February 2008). One of the stories he told me was about a new firefighter, fresh out of training and new to the job.
“Luke was extremely excited and when 9/11 happened, he was at
the station waiting in full uniform with his gear already strapped
on. Being a fireman was his life already, he lived for it, and he was
the hero everyone imagined him to be.” Luke was on a separate
mission from Mr. Sorace when he passed away…
From what Michael was told, Luke was on an unspecified floor below the line of collapse when the floor suddenly collapsed in, crushing Luke instantaneously, killing him instantly upon impact…(Mr. Sorace 10, February 2008).
As heart wrenching as Luke’s story is, there are many more firefighters (approximately 343) who are reported missing, as well as ones that were killed on this catastrophic and unrealistic day (Firefighter Interviews from the Journal of Debunking 9/11). With all of this information (the visuals of smoke arising from floors below the line of collapse, and interviews with New Jersey and New York City firefighters telling of hearing and seeing the explosions) why wasn’t there a more throughout search for their fallen brothers? Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York at the time of the attacks, vocalized his want to decrease the number of firemen at ground zero (the site of the twin towers after collapse) recovering bodies of Americans, especially the surviving firemen’s brothers (Firefighter Interviews from the Journal of Debunking 9/11). This almost led to a riot between the city of New York and the firefighters of the attack, such including FDNY, and FDNJ. The following photo was taken the day that the riot almost occurred. This is important to visualize because then it is appropriate to question why…Why would we not want to find the heroic men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, to save strangers facing danger?
(Firefighter Interviews from the Journal of Debunking 9/11)
To this day 2498 American men and women have been killed due to this tragic and devastating occurrence. Were the acts of September 11, 2001 a true act of terrorism or a falsehood place upon the American society by our own government? There are a multitude of true stories, definitions and questions, in today’s society that is trying to explain what really happened. These ways of defining something against what an official report are called conspiracies.
The conspiracies of September 11, 2001 range from everything you can think of, from why did the World Trade Centers collapse? To was Al Qaeda really behind the terrorist attacks on that fateful day? Americans may never know if what the government is telling them is the truth or if it is one big lie constructed for years, with countless people involved, and with an alterative motive for war, oil and a large cash flow to be installed.
The official report (given by President Bush’s administration, the government) states that the World Trade Centers were brought down due to the force of the impact brought upon the buildings. The force of the building was brought down upon by the collision of large commercial airplanes, Boeing 757, 767. The collapse of the buildings is known as the “pancake theory” in which one floor collapses falling onto the floor below which causes a chain reaction, this leads to the eventual complete collapse of a building. This type of collapse is smooth, safe, and is often known for being seen in a controlled demolition… With a controlled demolition there is the correct and precise placement of explosions, also known as bombs, placed in certain areas of a building… These areas are ones that hold a lot of force and weight of the building. The explosives are then set off one right after another causing the floors to collapse inward and onto themselves, as what was seen with the twin towers.
Along with the impact of the plane the official report states the fires started and fueled by jet fuel weakened the steel support beams which when combined with the impact of the plane caused the collapse. The main problem with this theory given by the government is that steel does not weaken or melt at the low heat of which jet fuel burns. Jet fuel burns at 1700 deg F, which is not close to the 2800 deg F needed to melt steel.
Along with the unusual collapse of a building that was hit by two planes, there were visible “puffs” of air, smoke and debris caught on tape that have been seen many floors below the collapse line. These “puffs” according to government officials is the force of the air from the collapsing floors above. Conspiracy theorists state that the “puffs” of air, smoke and debris are the explosions of the explosions/bombs placed within the buildings to allow the building to fall down in a fast and safe form.
To help support the accusation of a controlled demotion bringing down the twin towers, there are numerous eye witness accounts from the heroic firefighters. Many of the firefighters that were at ground zero before the eventual collapse saw raging fires, and heard loud “popping” sounds coming from the floors below where the impact of the plane was.
What happened on September 11 2001, the world may never be completely certain about yet there are theories as to what really happened. It is a very personal and emotional decision that each American has to make on his or her own. I am presenting facts that question the official report, and facts that maybe close to proving everything we thought we knew was a large formulated lie, which makes all of the lost lives, a pawn in a game (played by the government) for control. The decision is now yours to make… Whether to believe what was force fed to you by the government or to question what we know and the evidence that is still appearing. Either way we may never know the truth, but finding a certain level of comfort comes with concluding what you believe. Do you believe that there are terrorist in far away countries planning on killing Americans, or are the terrorists in Washington DC planning on making their next move to gain more control over what they don’t have already…?
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