Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused the United States of fabricating the facts regarding the attacks of Sept. 11, according to a March 6 report by The Associated Press. He claimed the U.S. government's official version is merely a "big lie" upon which the invasion of Afghanistan and the so-called war on terror was based.
"September 11 was a big lie and a pretext for the war on terror and a prelude to invading Afghanistan," Ahmadinejad said. He suggested the tragic events that unfolded at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania and New York were the result of a "complicated intelligence scenario and act."
The AP report failed to ask the obvious question: Is Ahmadinejad correct?
The question itself could be construed as a slap in the face of every patriotic American who fervently believes the innumerable lies constantly told with a straight face by our government leaders. And there's little doubt that some of those truth-loving citizens are assembling as I write this, armed with torches and pitchforks, to march en masse to my front door and question my citizenship for daring to consider Ahmadinejad's protest legitimate.
This is America, after all. And some voices simply ought not be heard, according to those voices that are routinely heard, loud and shrill.
Of course, there are some other obvious questions.
Why should the American people believe a "hard-line" leader (according to U.S. media) of a terrorist nation who lies about his nation's intent to possess nuclear weapons (according to U.S. government)?
Why should we put stock in anything Ahmadinejad says when he proposes that Israel be added to the long list of nations wiped off the map (like Kurdistan and Yugoslavia)?
Fear of Paradigm Shift?
I'm typically skeptical of those who shout down anyone whose perspective questions our own conventional wisdom. If truth is on our side, then it will withstand any and all inquiry and ought not shrink from the light of public scrutiny.
The truth is that without Ahmadinejad raising the question regarding the veracity of the U.S. government's officially evolving Sept. 11 story, there are no national media willing to conduct a thorough investigation and answer the questions being asked by millions of U.S. citizens. No media seem as interested as the general public in assembling relevant data over time, which is key to discovering inaccuracies when revisiting history. The subject of Sept. 11 cannot even be brought up without the inquirer being branded a kook or part of a lunatic fringe by media. The Iranian president doesn't have to worry about media tarnishing his already tattered reputation.
The Associated Press report chose to angle the story as a disgruntled untrustworthy enemy of America seeking to distract the citizenry from focusing on the increasing tension between Washington and Tehran over the issue of nuclear proliferation.
Who is Lying?
But what about the "big lie" that the White House, Pentagon and the Congress sold to the American people regarding Sept. 11, according to Iran's president (and millions of Americans who also question the government)?
Did a commercial passenger plane really ram into the Pentagon, leaving its facade intact, and then completely disintegrate into pocket-sized shards?
Did a plane really go down in a field in Pennsylvania and leave reporters and coroners on the scene mystified over the lack of bodies and plane parts?
I'm sure no government leader, of the 535 in Congress or the two at the top of the food chain in the White House, will "dignify those questions with answers."
Do Americans Deserve Answers?
Let's remove the Iranian president from the equation for the moment. Are there any AMERICANS asking legitimate questions of our government regarding Sept. 11?
If we listen to American media, this issue was long ago resolved and accepted. And that brings into question the trustworthiness of American media. The "fair and balanced" media have presumably covered the landscape and found no legitimate opposition to the apparent reliable tale told by government officials. And journalists seem to have zero curiosity of their own.
Are there really no credible organizations, reliable professionals and experts in their fields who question the government's official version of the events of Sept. 11?
In less than two minutes I can produce a list that will keep every mainstream journalist busy for a week. Yet, these growing lists of legitimate voices with legitimate concerns cannot be heard in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Iran's Struggle for American Truth
But at least media are being fair and balanced in their one-sided support of America against presumed terrorist leaders. Media supported George Bush when Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to him asking a number of questions that were ridiculed by journalists. The letter Ahmadinejad wrote directly to the American people apparently failed to gain much traction in media as well.
When his letters failed to open the door of discussion, the Iranian leader challenged former President George W. Bush in August of 2006 to an open uncensored televised debate at the United Nations. Bush cowered and resorted to the standard dismissive language typically used to slam the door shut to opposing voices. Ahmadinejad challenged him again. And again the door of discussion was shut.
To put this effort by Ahmadinejad into perspective, can you think of any other time when any leader of any nation has tried as hard to openly discuss the issues of life and death without media distortion and government censorship?
Insult to Injury
Ahmadinejad finally showed up in person on Sept. 24, 2007, when letters and challenges to debate failed to convey his message or create a conversation. His attempts at discourse resulted only in controversy, the points he made never reaching the eyes and ears of most Americans. He was even lambasted by the president of Columbia University who invited him to speak.
Yet, if we can move past the conditioned knee-jerk reaction so many of us display when we hear something we don't understand, we find that Ahmadinejad asks some very poignant and legitimate questions that deserve real consideration and answers.
What Happened on Sept. 11?
Today, Ahmadinejad raises the issue of Sept. 11 to President Obama. And, as if the health care debate and collapsed economy weren't enough weight on our president's shoulders, he now has to decide if he will respond to Ahmadinejad's derision of America's government leaders.
Ironically, the Iranian president is merely voicing the sentiment of the American people on a platform loud enough for someone in Washington to actually hear it. Any obfuscation or dismissal of Ahmadinejad's question ultimately results in a dismissal of the voices of the American people who also seek answers to lingering questions about Sept. 11.
Mr. President, you may be able to ignore questions about Sept. 11 from Iran; but we, the American people, also demand to know the truth. After all, the many years of destruction of lives and environment across continents is based upon the premise that George W. Bush was telling us the truth. Throughout those years he was ducking and dodging the same man who now raises the same question for your administration to address.
I'll be watching to see if the position you held as a Senator, regarding talking to so-called enemies, holds true or if you will run from the table of public discourse and hide with the Bushes.
Follow Mike Green on Twitter: www.twitter.com/amikegreen2
Loading comments… 
I can see the motivation
But the bottom line is that there are simpler ways to achieve this end; one of which is to "bungle" the intelligen
In fact, I don't even know what the truther hypothesis IS (which is one hallmark of an unscientif
Kick the nuts off, they can start their own website. Another "truther" Kevin Barett is just aking questions on issues like the holocaust. Sorry I don't appreciate nuts and anti-Semit
Sorry Mike Green you're a nut and any awards you've obtained should be rescinded by your lack of intelligen
Kevin Barett has said debunkers like me should be hung for treason! The entire truther thing has become quite a joke, any reasonable person has given up on the scam years ago leaving only the fringe kooks.
At what point do you call a loon, a loon?
See http://www
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Ahmadineja
You are absolutely right there needs to be an open investigat
At first I never questioned the official US story on 9 11. It wasn't until I ran across a news article saying that Israeli agents had been living near and most likely following some of the alleged hijackers right up until 9 11. I believe this was reported on Fox News.
How could I not be intrigued by such a story. It got me started looking on my own and I began investigat
It didn't take long and I was completely convinced that something funny was going on here.
One question; why is the mainstream media so adamant about discrediti
I hope the truth gets out; if it doesn't I think were going to be in a whole lot of trouble.
FACT it took the towers a good 18 to 25 seconds to collapse, that is NOT free-fall. You can see this yourself by watching a video and COUNTING.
FACT: the towers did not fall into their own footprint, or did you miss all the damage done to building well outside the towers so called "Footprint
Learn the facts and learn the physics and science behind the event and the conspiracy theorist hype goes away. Learn how a controlled demolition is done, how much work it takes, how the explosives used need to be precisely placed and timed, How doing this would require months of work that would be impossible to hide in a working office building. Learn why the often hyped "Thermite" thing would never work.
Questions mean something, questions are intellectu
People can question anything, including specifics about the sacrosanct Holocaust and the Resurrecti
I asked about the events in Washington DC and a field in Pennsylvan
Do you have answers?
I am glad my article is shining a light on the astounding arrogance that causes Americans to say "sit down and shut up" to those who seek truth.
Of course, if you have the truth, please share it with those who ask questions, rather than putting them down.
But also keep in mind that the questions you think you know the answers to may not be the questions you get asked. After all, there are hundreds of questions that are being asked by ordinary citizens that have never been asked by journalist
And as long as there are Americans who stamp down other Americans for seeking to know the entire truth behind tragic events that claimed so many lives and became the catalyst for many years of destructio
Think of it this way. I could contact my college geology professor Dr. Fox and I could have him lecture some devout evagalical
What truthers believe in is a religion. It is based on nothing. All their theories have been debunked by popular mechanics, screwloose
I could spend hours pointing out then lies, bad science and distortion
A couple of angles missing from your piece: Why, and who.
On why
----------
Iran feels threatened
On Who
----------
His audience are not Americans, per se.
According to Voice of America:
"Global Poll Shows Doubt About al-Qaida Role in 9/11 Attacks"
"... global public opinion poll shows that many people do not believe the attacks were the work of the al-Qaida terror network. VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington
From http://www
You are a bit confused dear Mike.
Kurdistan is an important recognitio
It is a complicate
But I happened to be in New York on that day and I know what happened happened. And to align an argument with the words of a horror like Ahmadineja
Questions about 9/11 persist due to the lies that were told by government
But my point isn't to debate the incidents. Rather, my point is that Ahmadineja
Certainly, it is tragically sad that people died that day, whether we witnessed it standing in Manhattan or 3,000 miles away. But if we assume that the experience of the day automatica
I don't understand the resistance to asking and accommodat
But my point is that you undermine the validity of your own questionin
And when you begin your defense of questionin
Do it if you want. You'll lose many ears.
What a terribly bad idea to latch on to Mr. Ahmadi on anything. His speech didn't simply question 9-11 but claimed it was staged. On top of that he spiced it with racism and error claiming Zionists(s
I don't think you're brave at all, in fact I'd go so far as to call you the "liberal" Glen Beck. Why don't you two go debate your differing conspiracy theories on Fox News?
You fail to point out the Iranian regime's active assistance to the USA after the 9/11 attacks, including denying sanctuary to al-Qaeda militants and allowing the US to fly over their airspace. Government officials also met many times in Geneva before the invasion of Afghanista
Also, as Bill Maher and other worthwhile liberals continue to say is that our government is not competent enough to pull off 9/11: http://www
If you look at the botched invasion of Iraq and the problems in Afghanista
And don't forget BinLaden has already taken responsibi
So please stop your pseudo-Orw
Point 2: My article isn't about Iran's point of view. It is specifical
Point 3: I did not attempt to explain HOW the events of 9/11 occurred. I merely point out that the explanatio
Point 4: It's convenient to point to a single source of dubious informatio
Do you have ANY questions about the government
Additional
I know you may claim our government has done this in the past, but even the oft-citied Spanish-Am
Mr. Green was right in pointing out the unanswered 9/11 questions. He undid whatever positive impact he might have had by appearing as an apologist for the Iranian regime. It's hard for US bound people to understand that there actually are worse government
Iran, under Ahmadineja
Obama's feckless treatment of the extreme hazard represente
Just because our government routinely lies to us does not mean that those that hate America automatica
Just pray that Israel has the strength to prevent Ahmadineja
Joseph Wouk
Tel Aviv
Really? How many lands has Iran invaded? None that I know of. The United States has invaded plenty, though, including Iran's neighbors. Wouldn't that make you nervous if you were Iran?
How many legitimate
On the face of it, the United States is far more dangerous to world peace than Iran has ever been.
The British poet Adrian Mitchell notes..
You put your bombers in, you put your conscience out,
You take the human being and you twist it all about
So scrub my skin with women
Chain my tongue with whisky
Stuff my nose with garlic
Coat my eyes with butter
Fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam. (which he changed to Iraq when the new lies burst out.)