9/11, A Reflection : Dr Watson in No-Man's Land
Dr Watson in No-Man's Land
[Image (cartoon) by Mr Fish (Dwayne Booth), one of the USA’s great political cartoonists, published at scheerpost.com]
Publication date: 2021-09-14
The Weekend, A Reflection Begins
On the Friday before the 9/11 20th anniversary weekend I began logging articles about the anniversary which made no mention of what actually happened on the day. I was building a ridicule dossier. It quickly became apparent that this would be a very large task that would force me to read media I detest, the FCM (Fawning Corporate Media), and would be pointless.
Through the weekend, my attention shifted focus numerous times. Firstly, I looked for voices which reinforced my own opinion, a chorus. A few were found. This did not satisfy my desire for righteous support. In truth, I could not identify that for which I searched.
Cover in No-Man’s Land
There is a safe space between really looking at what happened and partially denying but really reinforcing the general narrative. Thomas Drake is the classic exponent. His narrative is the "intelligence failure" narrative; not just incompetence, but active blocking (see sources). There are others like him, Coleen Rowley, for example. These are honorable people and I value their voices. To me, however, they are essentially reinforcing the "hijacked planes hit buildings and that was the cause/event" narrative. As noted, its the "cause/event" part with which I disagree. I can understand why they take this position. It allows dissent and avoids retribution.
Surveying No-Man’s Land
Who were asking interesting questions? One can write tripe about solidarity with the victims families, ignore the events of the day, and their struggle for justice and be published all over the place. This seems valueless offal that I had been warned would be much of the FCM type coverage.
The "new media" seemed to be a little erratic. Yes, acknowledge the families' suffering and not ignore their desire for justice. But, no, not counter the official narrative in any direct manner. They took a wider narrative, embracing the 20 years between the origin and the anniversary, and did ask interesting questions.
Post-Reconnaissance
Having listened to these many "wider analysis" voices I began to let go of "the events". Yes, it is a time of reflection, not of the day, and not just of the 20 years following, but the decades before too. I found this a release. It was not a detective case of events on a day, but one of decades; an archive of cold cases mixed with the warm.
If one discards fixation on countering the narrative of events of the day, and moves into a wider historical analysis, focusing on human suffering both on the day and the decades surrounding it, much wider themes loom into view.
One could examine the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), the USA-Israeli dual-national infested cadre of signatories and their positions within the soon to be elected by the Supreme Court Buba Bush administration. Yes, but too narrow.
One could look at the suffering of the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan before the USA invaded and started killing them with bullets and bombs and compare and contrast post invasion. One sees pre-existing suffering to then be followed by an explosive disaster of societal dismemberment, terror and death. This was not even new then, it had been going on at least since 1979. Wider still please.
One could listen to General Wesley Clarke's revelation (see sources) of a plan for a war on seven countries in five years and assess its accuracy. Yep, all of them, with the sole exception that war against Iran has only involved all elements of hybrid warfare but the kinetic. Yes, but wider still please.
One could look at 2011. The Iraqi parliament refuses to renew protection for US soldiers by exempting them from Iraqi law during their actions in Iraq. This is a big deal; the Iraqi parliament telling the USA that we are going to assert some sovereignty here! The protest movement erupts across MENA (Middle East and North Africa). While Egypt got a short term Muslim Brotherhood type government, that was replaced with a military junta soon after as the proxy war in Syria was begun and the Gulf Monarchies used all tactics to suppress their uprisings. During that same year, the Queen of Warmongering declares the Pivot to Asia. To bookend the Iraqis telling the Yanks to GTFO of Iraq, the "surge" in Afghanistan has failed and any strategy for "military victory" in that country was known to be impotent amongst the military strategists. Wider still; what lead to the 9/11 attacks?
Were the permanent bases established in Saudi Arabia to facilitate Shock and Awe(ful) Iraq War 1.0 a cause for resentment? Did the killing of half a million children in Iraq during the 1990s declared "worth it" by then Secretary of State (H)Al(f)bright create "blowback"? Or was it that the continued support for Israel and its continuous persecution of the natives of Palestine was generating resentment? Did it go back even further?
Was it the continued use of covert forces and actual wars to deny previous colonial outposts, now declared nations under the UN, to prevent them nationalizing their own national resources during the fifties and sixties? But, wasn't that all part of some ideological political fight between the capitalists and socialist/communists? Or was it all about money and resources, aka power?
Hang on! How was it that a small cadre of executive advisers were able to commit the USA's military to what would become failed wars against nations that had nothing to do with the "official story" (Afghanistan, and Iraq) but not against those that did (Saudi Arabia)? How can one pull that off? In the 1920's there was a relation of Sigmund Freud's named Edward Bernays who is known as the father of "Public Relations". Back in the day, there was a term for this, Propaganda, which didn't hold such a negative connotation. It was understood by the elite to be an essential mechanism of power control, and its use had been developed and tested during WWI and codified and enhanced up to and including WWII. It then became its own industry and was even further refined. Although very powerful, is that enough?
Enough Questions, Sherlock!
Do you mean the Media? Yes, dear Watson, but more, the education system too. It is easier for the PR agents and Media agents to deliver effective propaganda to under educated peoples. The fact that they do no know where Afghanistan is on a map is not important at all. Their inability to ask informed questions about what we are telling them about Afghanistan is the point.
But, why can they not ask these questions? Simple, my dear Watson, we deliver them limited information and prevent them gaining a higher education by charging them for it. Thus, only a small percentage of people are even trained to ask these questions, most of those need to earn money to pay off their debt for the education, and asking difficult questions will reduce their ability to escape the debt trap. Even more, one can divert educational institutions away from even teaching the relevant skills (see sources).
Ingenious! No, Watson. But effective. This arrangement is helpful to control local political dissent, though there are more. What wider arrangements would one need to preserve one's international freedom of action?
Alliances! Some would come naturally, but would not others need be created? Coerced, Dr. Watson, coerced. And what mechanisms can be used to coerce nations?
[Knock, knock! Holmes and Watson turn to the opening door and see a wounded urchin collapse.]
End Note
Please see the final source, and enjoy it all (3+ hours), or just listen to Vijay Prasad. Timestamps are provided.
Sources
9/11 Lies and the National Security State - Thomas Drake, Paul Jay interviews Thomas Drake, theAnalysis.news, 2021-09-09
20 years after 9/11, I no longer recognize my country. The US has become a malignant narcissist, infecting all it encounters, Scott Ritter, RT, 2021-09-11
Twenty Years On, We’ve Learned Nothing from 9/11, Ron Paul, Unz Review, 2021-09-13
VIDEO: Iraq vet Matt Gallagher on why ‘forever war’ is dirty word to some, truth to others, Adam Weinstein interviews Matt Gallagher, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, 2021-09-09
Note that this is the first of the “disappeared” references. Researchers world-wide, all praise the Internet Archive!
John Pilger reveals the American plan: a new Pearl Harbour, John Pilger, New Statesman, 2002-12-16
Back in the day when DemocracyNow! and their anchor Amy Goodman were less editorially controlled by their funders, she interviewed General Wesley Clarke who was supreme commander in Europe (NATO) once. The eye opening revelations have been scrubbed from the Internet, and youtube in particular. Thus, I give two sources:
911Truth Part 12 - Gen. Wesley Clark Reveals Middle East Invasion Was Pre-Planned & Iran is NEXT, Math Easy Solutions, Democracy Now interview from 2007 replublished, 2018-10-23
Secondary source for the above:
1. Gen. Wesley Clark, Democracy Now! interview, 2007, jerepah, Originaly Democracy Now but republished, 2013-07-27
Direct URL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSL3JqorkdU
Meet Edward Bernays, Master of Propaganda, James Corbett, Corbett Report, 2017-10-02
The Age of Manufactured Ignorance, Chris Hedges interviews Prof Henry A. Giroux, 2021-09-10
This excellent collection of varied guests offering very different perspectives on 9/11 was a wonderful effort by Code Pink and at least two other pro-peace groups, sponsored by a wide variety of community groups. Enjoy it all, but please listen to Vijay Prasad from 01:04:13 to to 01:11:46.
Never Forget: 9/11 and the 20 Year War on Terror, CodePink and other pro-peace groups, CodePink's youtube channel, 2021-09-11
Direct URL (for downloading):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZDrBSVZihM
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