Lindsay Wishmier 9/11 Conspiracy Theory Was 9/11 An Inside Job?

September 11, 2001 holds a special place in almost every Americans heart, as well as those of families in other countries who lost a loved one that day. Not only is Sept. 11th the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the nation, several groups of people within our own country and abroad believe that knowledge of this attack was held prior to the actual event. What has been reported and believed was that two airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, and one airplane into the Pentagon. Different conspiracy theories have developed on the Internet, and several websites claim to have legitimate cases regarding the validity of the true story. These claims are nothing less than a slap in the face of some thousands of Americans who risked their lives to remove others from harms way. The true story, however, is one of pain and suffering that my fellow citizens and I share. Since the day of the attack, rumors have circulated through blogs, magazines, websites, and the U.S. Government assisted simple word of mouth claiming that 9/11. There are two different categories of conspiracy theories that establish this belief. The most farfetched conspiracy theories that I have seen belong to those who believe that the attacks were planned and executed by our central government. Other groups hold the idea that the powers in command knew about the attacks, but failed to act (Knight 170). Both assume that the main reason for the United States to go to war was for the copious amounts of wealth to be had. The middle-east holds roughly 20%-25% of the worlds known oil supply, and if a country were to take control of such reserves, then that country would have immense power and wealth. Therefore, attacking our own country and placing blame on a terrorist organization located in one of the most oil rich countries in the world were almost

Lindsay Wishmier 9/11 Conspiracy Theory a perfect plan. It was believed at first that the attacks on the World Trade Centers (WTC) were carried out for the specific intent to go to war with Saddam Hussein, then the leader of the sovereign nation of Iraq. Coincidentally, it seemed easy to believe the conspiracy behind the actual attacks. I believe that the attacks on the World Trade Center may not have been committed by our own government, but served as the basis of an ill-guided war. Originally, the known country hiding the terrorist group was Afghanistan, but a search for weapons of mass destruction led us to invade Iraq. However, lack of evidence fuels conspiracy theorists opinions that the government spread lies in order to propagate their agenda. This in itself would be enough to sway any doubting person to believe at least one if not many conspiracies regarding the validity of the 9/11 attacks. The past shows that however obscure a theory is, the mainstream belief is usually what is held unless proven otherwise by investigation. Historically, foreign nations have committed similar attacks on their own nation to support radical ideas. For example, in Operation Himmler, Nazis set fire to their own buildings as propaganda in order to justify invading Poland during World War II. This one example shows the extent of human nature, and that a government will justify the ends before it justifies the means. Capitalizing on the loss of human life is nothing but a minor expense to some countries, as multiple nations prior to the Germans have tried to propagate their agenda through various and sometimes horrendous schemes.

The array of theories surrounding 9/11 is too numerous to list, but few seem legitimate enough to hold some truth. One claim regards the melting temperature of steel,

Lindsay Wishmier 9/11 Conspiracy Theory which is roughly 1500 degrees Celsius. Since jet fuel burns at around 830 degrees Celsius, how would it melt the steel beams supporting the building and cause it to collapse on itself? Many theorists still believe that thermite, a material used in construction that yields 1200+ degrees Celsius, was used on the building during the attack in order to cause the collapse. This would mean that at a predetermined time, some group of people would have had to prepare this thermite before the planes actually struck the towers. However, this wasnt the only event on that day that conspiracy theorist massacred. The same day as the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centers, a Boeing 757 crashed into a section of the Pentagon. Consequently, that particular section of the building was under construction at the time. Theorists argue that lack of probable evidence shows no sign of a plane even landing remotely close to the building. Supposedly, several cameras from surrounding businesses and parking lots outside of the Pentagon show not an airplane, but what looks to be a missile. This would explain the lack of plane wreckage, and considering it conveniently crashed into a recently renovated section, casualties were minimized. To discount these claims, pictures have been circulating online that show the charred landing gear that could only belong to a plane of that size. As well as the validity of the videos themselves, which lacked the resolution to detect any fast moving object, is it missile or airplane. The war in Iraq has done nothing more for us financially than land us deeper into debt, so stating the obvious is easy: these conspiracy theories are just that, theories. However obscure these stories are, a handful of people continue to believe in the ridiculous notion of an industrialized government terrorizing its people in the name of money. Not only are the facts wrong, but also they are disrespecting every individual who risked their

Lindsay Wishmier 9/11 Conspiracy Theory lives to save those people, as well as those who we lost. The events on September 11th, 2001 will be remembered as the day we lost three thousand citizens of the world in a grisly terrorist attack on American grounds, not a government plot aimed to capitalize on fear for a quick dinar.

Lindsay Wishmier 9/11 Conspiracy Theory

Works Cited Knight, Peter. "Outrageous Conspiracy Theories: Popular and Official Responses to 9/11 in Germany and the United States." New German Critique 103 (2008): 165-193. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. Soukup, Charles. "9/11 Conspiracy Theories on the World Wide Web: Digital Rhetoric and Alternative Epistemology." Journal of Literacy & Technology 9.3 (2008): 2-25. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. Herridge, By Catherine. "The Top 40 Reason To Doubt The Official Story." The 9/11 Truth Movement - 911truth.org. May-June 2006. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. .