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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| August 4, 2003 |
The exploitation of September 11 – Ryan Amundson |
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| The exploitation of September 11 |
The day President Bush visited Springfield, Missouri six months ago, Ryan was part of a demonstration protesting against the war on Iraq. Not everybody there was against the military action, and a group of counter-protestors were attempting to drown out the anti-war protestors. "None of you would be here if you'd lost a family member" called out one man. Ryan looked straight at the man and replied, "I'm here because I lost a family member."
When one of the hijacked planes crashed into the Pentagon, Ryan's brother, Craig, who worked there as a mutimedia designer, was killed. Bush called the tragedies of that day "Crimes against America," even though people from 60 different countries died in the attacks. Ryan views them as "Crimes against his family," and believes that the victims have a right to know the truth.
The reaction of the US government, in its attempt to "bring the terrorists to justice" commenced with the bombing of villages in Afghanistan, followed by the invasion of Iraq. "Anger has been established as the principle motivating the US response," argues Ryan. The underlying causes of the attacks have been obscured by Washington spin and a mass media that rarely questions the actions of its government.
In a speech at the Pentagon, Bush described the US as "the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world." Yet the real attack on freedom has come from the inside with the "Patriot Act" that was passed soon after the events of September 11. This new legislation was enacted to assist those investigating terrorist suspects.
New laws include making telephone tapping by the authorities easier; giving the FBI access to library records; police searches of homes without the consent, or in some cases, the knowledge of the occupants; and the suspension of basic legal rights if a suspect is labelled as a "terrorist" - a term which can be interpreted and abused in many ways by those enforcing the law. |
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| Unanswered questions of the investigation into the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre |
The "War on Terror" has reduced civil liberties; increased military spending - cutting the budget of vital social services - and killed thousands of innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq. "How has the government gotten away with it?" asks Ryan.
The Bush administration skilfully dealt with the fear in the wake of September 11 by promoting security as patriotism. Being patriotic has now been made to be seen as something synonymous with agreeing with Bush and the war. The US people didn't want to deal with the reality of the attacks, and the "You're either with us or against us" mentality is a way of "covering up the horror of September 11 with a flag," says Ryan. |
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The resulting enquiries into the events of September 11 have left Ryan, and many others, with more questions than answers. There are many holes in the "official story", and statements and timelines from different government agencies contradict each other. Ryan outlined six vital questions that need to be answered:
- Why did Air Defense not respond according to standard operating procedures? Flight 77 flew directly at the capital city and no military planes were scrambled to intercept it. After the planes hit the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon knew Flight 77 was also hijacked.
- Why did the FBI headquarters obstruct investigations into suspicious flight school training and terrorist financing? A high ranking officer in the bureau resigned because Bush stopped him completing his investigations.
- The FBI confirmed that the Pakistani Intelligence Chief sent 100,000 US dollars to the ringleader of the hijackers. What was he doing meeting with US officials the morning of September 11?
- Billions of dollars were made by short-selling stock before September 11. Why have these people not been identified and questioned about their prior knowledge of the attacks?
- Why is the White House covering up the role of Saudi Arabia? 28 pages of the official report on the incidents have been censored from the public.
- Why has the Bush administration blocked an independent investigation? When the victims' families testified before Congress on why an independent investigation was needed, the administration replied that they had no time or resources as they were fighting a "War on Terror." Bush appointed the current investigation chairman, causing a great deal of scepticism about the scope and thoroughness of the investigatory proceedings.
In an optimistic conclusion to his presentation, Ryan was upbeat about the diminishing chances of Bush being re-elected in 2004. Before Ryan joined Peace Boat in June, the Bush approval rating was over 70 percent. Since the recent news about the dubious reasons given to go to war in Iraq, his rating has dropped to below 50 percent. Ryan hopes that a candidate good enough emerges to defeat Bush, and that the election process is a fair one. |
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