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24 Sen. John McCain on 9/11 Conspiracy

John McCain: The 9/11

Conspiracy Myths and the

Truth Under Attack

Senator John McCain presents the
case that America has much to learn

from the events of 9/11, but
conspiracy mongering poisons the
discourse and dishonors the victims of
a national tragedy.

No American living today will forget what
happened on September 11, 2001. Each of us
will remember how the serenity of that bright
morning was destroyed by a savage atrocity, an
act so hostile we could scarcely imagine any
human being capable of it. The realization sank
into the heart of every one of us: America was
vulnerable and under attack. On September 11,
evil literally took flight. Americans resisted the notion that an island sure. But, on the whole, the performance of our
But as 19 men showed the world their nation far from our shores could launch a public servants was heroic, not destructive. For
worst, we Americans displayed what makes our surprise attack against our Navy; that their service—for their lives—we are indebted,
country great: courage and heroism, communism could remain viable in the world and we are obliged to pay our debts to those
compassion and generosity, unity and resolve. without assistance from the U.S. government who sacrificed. To blame not a gang of terrorists
We were united, first in sorrow and anger, then itself; that one man in a book depository could but some American conspiracy for September
in recognition that we were attacked not for a end the life of a beloved president. 11 insults the police officers and firefighters
wrong we had done, but for who we are—a And so those who are unsatisfied with who raced into the burning towers and the men
people united in a kinship of ideals, committed the ordinary truth of the 9/11 attacks have and women who left for dangerous, distant
to the notion that the people are sovereign, and concocted stories more fanciful, more lands to fight our enemies.
that people everywhere, no matter what their conspiratorial than the events as we know them. Any explanation for 9/11 must start and
race or country or religion, possess universal They claim that the Twin Towers were toppled end with the facts. The evidence must be
and inalienable rights. In that moment, we were by a controlled demolition, that the U.S. Air gathered and analyzed. Then—only then—can
not different races. We were not poor or rich. Force did not shoot down the hijacked jets conclusions be drawn. That is precisely what the
We were not Democrat or Republican, liberal or because it was ordered to "stand down" on 9/11, various investigators have done, and in so doing
conservative. We were not two countries. that the holes in the Pentagon were too small to they have performed a great service to our
We were Americans. have been made by a Boeing 757. nation. And yet, still the conspiracy theorists
As Americans, we acted swiftly. We This conspiracy mongering is no small hock their wares.
liberated Afghanistan from the murderous rule phenomenon. Any Internet search turns up They ignore the methods of science, the
of the Taliban, our attackers' proud hosts. We thousands of explanations for the events of protocols of investigation and the dictates of
chased Al Qaeda around the globe. We September 11. These theories come in a nearly logic. The conspiracy theorists chase any bit of
revamped our homeland security, reorganized infinite variety, but all reach essentially the information, no matter how flimsy, and use it to
our intelligence community and advocated same conclusion: The U.S. government, or fit their preordained conclusions. They ascribe
reform in calcified societies. some shadowy group that controls it, organized to the government, or to some secretive group,
We did these things because a new page the attacks as part of a master plan for global powers wholly out of proportion to what the
had turned in history's book. The terrorists who domination. But the truth is more mundane. The evidence suggests. And they ignore the facts
attacked America were clear about their philosopher Hannah Arendt described the that are present in plain sight.
intentions. Osama bin Laden and his ilk have banality of Nazi evil; the 9/11 hijackers were We cannot let these tales go unanswered.
perverted a peaceful religion, devoting it not to also ordinary, uninteresting men with twisted The CIA was not involved in 9/11. Our military
the salvation of souls but to the destruction of beliefs. did not bring about the destruction of the World
bodies. They wish to destroy us, to bring the In the immediate aftermath of their Trade Center. A missile did not hit the Pentagon.
world under totalitarian rule according to some attacks, all of us had questions. Why didn't we A white jet did not shoot down Flight 93.
misguided religious fantasy. Our cherished have better intelligence? How could our airport The 9/11 conspiracy movement exploits
ideals of freedom, equality and religious security be so poor? Why weren't we better the public's anger and sadness. It shakes
tolerance stand in their way. prepared? Who carried out these attacks, and Americans' faith in their government at a time
And so they fight us. Their fight is no why? when that faith is already near an all-time low.
secret; September 11 was the most horrific of a All good questions, and thousands of It traffics in ugly, unfounded accusations of
long string of attacks, from the first World Trade dedicated Americans, both in and out of extraordinary evil against fellow Americans.
Center bombing in 1993 to the 1998 embassy government, have worked hard to answer them. And, as we saw in May in the Iranian president's
bombings in Africa to the 2000 attack on the Journalists, the 9/11 Commission, congressional bizarre letter to President Bush, it has even
USS Cole. Al Qaeda does not hide its hand in investigators, academic researchers and others entered the currency of international affairs.
these crimes; rather, it boasts of its destruction have reconstructed these terrible events in These conspiracy theories are a
and calls for more. extraordinary detail. Much of what we have distraction from the proper lessons of 9/11. And
Though the evidence for Al Qaeda's learned has been frustrating, even infuriating. so it is imperative to confront them with facts.
central role in the 9/11 attacks is overwhelming, Anger can be healthy when it spurs a The innocent thousands who perished on that
many find the facts unsatisfying. Perhaps this is commitment to change. But it is corrosive and terrible day deserve to be remembered with
understandable. We do not want to believe that dangerous when it curdles into paranoia and honor and truth. []
19 men could murder our citizens, destroy our suspicion.
grandest buildings and terrorize our country. Blaming some conspiracy within our (The above essay is adapted from Sen. John
Surely, something more must be at government for 9/11 mars the memories of all McCain's foreword to Popular Mechanics's
work. those lost on that day. There were errors and upcoming book, Debunking 9/11 Myths.)
Such sentiments are not new. Many missteps in our government's response, to be