Think Tank Calls for "Infiltration" of 9/11 Sites
A new report released by a think tank called Demos warns of the hazardous effects of conspiracy theories on society and recommends strategies for governments to mitigate these effects, including the infiltration of websites.
The report, called The Power of Unreason: Conspiracy Theories, Extremism and Counterterrorism, says “most notoriously and influentially, the ‘9/11 truth movement’ has questioned the official accounts of 9/11 and has become a large and growing political force.”
The authors note that the 9/11 truth movement is “peaceful”, but make no distinction between the legitimate questioning of the official account of 9/11 and any number of unrelated, and often racist, conspiracy theories.
The Demos report acknowledges that “some conspiracies have turned out to be true. Our institutions and governments have deceived the population to advance hidden and unstated interests”, and goes on to cite Operations Northwoods, the Joint Chief of Staff’s unimplemented plan to stage a false flag Cuban terror attack in 1963, as well as the CIA’s involvement in the Chilean coup of 1973.
But the report is only concerned with limiting the effects of conspiracy theories on operations of the state, not with justice or the accuracy of the historical record. It states:
More broadly, conspiracy theories drive a wedge of distrust between governments and particular communities. Conspiracy theories – such as those that claim 7/7 or 9/11 were ‘inside jobs’ – demolish the mutuality and trust that people have in institutions of government, with social and political ramifications that we still don’t fully understand. This can especially hinder community-level efforts to fight violent extremism.
Demos makes a number of recommendations for governments to combat conspiracy theories, including a call for more government openness.
The report also cites the writings of Cass Sunstein, an Obama appointee who recently called for the “cognitive infiltration” of 9/11 truth groups. The Demos paper in turn calls for government agents to “openly infiltrate” websites and chatrooms in order offer “alternative information” and “plant seeds of doubt”.
The Demos report can be downloaded here.
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From their ABOUT page:
“Demos is a think-tank focused on power and politics.”
The very first line, fairly transparent.
“Our unique approach challenges the traditional, ‘ivory tower’ model of policymaking by giving a voice to people and communities.”
Power and politics . . . and . . . giving a voice to “people”. Somehow, those don’t mix well.
Well, by golly that sounds like a pretty good idea. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy my freedom of not being able to see some documents that would destroy “National Security”. Or would they? I think they wouldn’t. I’m so free I can get to speculate, because they would prefer that. It’s good to be free.
For years people have been asking, “who was that guy asking Cheney “Do the orders still stand?” in the PEOC. Did the 9-11 Commission even talk to him? Well, his name is Doug Cochrane and the 9-11 Commission did talk to him on April 16, 2004.
This is gone into more detail here…
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=181511.0
From notes and emails of the 9-11 Commission…..
“March 2, 2004
New Requests:
(2)VP Military Aide (I believe his last name is Cochrane): The person at the Vice President’s side in the PEOC who should have been intimately involved in the military communications chain is his military aide.”
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15740811/DM-B8-Team-8-Fdr-Email-From-Hyde-to-Front-Office-Re-White-House-Day-of-Investigation-511
From their footnotes, telling me exactly what to request thru FOIA…
“215. Douglas Cochrane meeting (Apr. 16, 2004);”
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Notes.pdf
They wont let us see his answers, but they are nice enough to let us see what they discussed with him….you can see what topics they covered with him on page 7/14 of the following….
“ACCESS RESTRICTED
The item identified below has been withdrawn from this file:
Folder Title: White House Timelines”
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14274489/DH-B3-White-House-Timelines-Fdr-Entire-Contents-Doug-Cochrane-and-14-Withdrawal-Notice-for-Draft-Time-Lines-089
What was withdrawn, were his answers.
I’m enjoying my freedom. The freedom to not see Cochrane’s answers.
BTW, want to see what it’s like for Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney to be caught in a lie?
They lied to us shortly after the 9-11 attacks. They told us within minutes of being aware we were under attack on 9-11, Bush and Rumsfeld issued shoot down orders.
“Minutes after terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center, President Bush ordered military jets into the air around Washington with orders to shoot down any airliner that refused to turn away from the city, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said yesterday.”
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EE9861D0C1AD826&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
This is called getting caught in a lie, he didn’t give the order minutes later…he gave the order when it was confirmed the last plane went down in shanksville……
“The time of notification of the crash of United 93 was 10:15.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5233007
“The Vice President was logged calling the President at 10:18 for a two-minute conversation that obtained the confirmation. On Air Force One, the President’s press secretary was taking notes; Ari Fleischer recorded that at 10:20, the President told him that he had authorized a shootdown of aircraft if necessary.”
– 9-11 Commission
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.htm
“Fleischer’s 10:20 note is the first mention of shootdown authority. See White House notes,Ari Fleischer notes, Sept. 11, 2001; see also Ari Fleischer interview (Apr. 22, 2004).” – 9-11 Commission
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Notes.pdf
“This series, by Post reporters Bob Woodward and Dan Balz, is based on interviews with President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other key officials.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR2006071801175_5.html
Watch as they use Woodward of the Washington post to lie to us. The reason for the lie is Bush and Rumsfeld are the only ones authorized to issue shoot down orders. It doesn’t matter if Cheney EVER did. He doesn’t have the authority…..as the 9-11 commission rightly points out…
“Prior to 9/11, it was understood that an order to shoot down a commercial aircraft would have to be issued by the National Command Authority (a phrase used to describe the president and secretary of defense).” page 17/46
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf
So what did they tell Woodward of the Washington post (and us?)….
“Bush then talked to Rumsfeld to clarify the procedures military pilots should follow in trying to force an unresponsive plane to the ground before opening fire on it. First, pilots would seek to make radio contact with the other plane and tell the pilot to land at a specific location. If that failed, the pilots were to use visual signals. These included having the fighters fly in front of the other plane.
If the plane continued heading toward what was seen as a significant target with apparently hostile intent, the U.S. pilot would have the authority to shoot it down. With Bush’s approval, Rumsfeld passed the order down the chain of command.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR2006071801175_5.html
ooops……..the 9-11 Commission asked them about that, because they had the documents and records proving it was a lie….are they going to tell this lie to the commission? No…..they will get amnesia….
“The President apparently spoke to Secretary Rumsfeld for the first time that morning shortly after 10:00. No one can recall the content of this conversation, but it was a brief call in which the subject of shootdown authority was NOT discussed.” – 9-11 Commission
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf
“At 10:10, the pilots over Washington were emphatically told “negative clearance to shoot.” Shootdown authority was first communicated to NEADS at 10:31.”
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.htm
That’s called getting caught in a lie.
How about some transparency? I have a request in for the testimony of Steven Butler, the FBI handler of the informant who was housing some of the 9-11 hijackers.
“Several members were “appalled” at what informed sources described as the “explosive” testimony of Special Agent Steven Butler, who recently retired from the FBI after his final posting in the bureau’s San Diego field office.”
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/features/saudi_021129.htm
“Government officials told U.S. News that Butler disclosed that he had been monitoring a flow of Saudi Arabian money that wound up in the hands of two of the 9/11 hijackers. The two men had rented a room from a man Butler had used as a confidential informant, the sources say. According to officials familiar with his account, Butler said that he had alerted his superiors about the money flows but the warning went nowhere. “Butler is claiming … that people [in the FBI] didn’t follow up,” says a congressional source. Adds another: “He saw a pattern, a trail, and he told his supervisors, but it ended there.”
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/features/saudi_021129.htm
“After Butler testified, Eleanor Hill, the staff director for the 9/11 committee, detailed his statements in a memo to the Justice Department. Justice officials, saying Butler’s testimony is classified, declined comment.”
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/features/saudi_021129.htm
And it’s still classified, and I’m still waiting for why it is. The real answer IMO is because Bush buddy Prince Bandar was a source of this money trail. And what is also interesting is…..
“Butler said that he had alerted his superiors about the money flows but the warning went nowhere. “Butler is claiming … that people [in the FBI] didn’t follow up,” says a congressional source. Adds another: “He saw a pattern, a trail, and he told his supervisors, but it ended there.”
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/features/saudi_021129.htm
His superiors would include the head of the FBI at the time. Which would be Louis Freeh. Who suddenly resigned from the FBI in June 2001, he was bought by Bandar….
“WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh says $2 billion that flowed from a British arms manufacturer to U.S. bank accounts controlled by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then Saudi ambassador to the U.S., was not a bribe, but was instead part of a complex barter involving the exchange of Saudi oil for British fighter jets.”
“The transfer of funds to accounts at Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., has come under scrutiny as the Justice Department continues an international corruption investigation involving British arms manufacturer BAE Systems. Freeh, who is now a lawyer and consultant for Bandar”
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/07/nation/na-freeh7
I’m enjoying my freedom of not being able to see Butler’s testimony.
An editorial from Jamie Bartlett, one of the authors of the Demos report:
Conspiracy theories are corroding our society