Author speaks at Buskirk-Chumley, refutes 9/11 Commission Report

In a speech loaded with quotes from high-ranking government officials, engineers, journalists and Popular Mechanics magazine, David Ray Griffin attempted to prove that the United States was responsible for the atrocities that took place on Sept. 11, 2001.
On Monday night at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, the Bloomington 9/11 Working Group sponsored its second event since its inception in 2006.

“Overall, the most important thing Americans need to know is we don’t have a valid explanation of what happened that day; in fact, we are far from it,” said Kevin Ryan, co-director of the 9/11 Working Group.

During the talk, which was based on Griffin’s book “The New Pearl Harbor,” Griffin refuted the 9/11 Commission Report and numerous FBI documents. Both Griffin and Ryan referred to the tragedy as a “false flag” attack used to gain support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ryan compared it to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident that escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War.

“Nobody ever knows the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It’s too complicated, so they come up with conspiracy theories, which are much more far-fetched than conventional ideas,” said Don Lichtenberg, professor emeritus of physics at IU, before the presentation.

During the presentation Griffin used several examples from the 9/11 disasters as evidence in his case, including the fact that cell phones can’t be used mid-flight due to high altitude, the involvement of those who hijacked the plane in very “un-Islamic” activities such as gambling and the lack of resources and training available to Al-Quaida to accomplish such a task.

Following the presentation, Lichtenberg said Griffin provided absolutely no evidence that the Bush Administration was directly involved in 9/11. By and large the media got it right and has not deliberately lied to Americans, he emphasized.
Others were more swayed by the information given by Griffin.

“I just came out of curiosity, and I think it was the best thing I’ve ever heard,” said Mary Ann Schott, a Martinsville resident.

Griffin contended that no difference exists between evil and patriotism as patriotism means working for one’s own country at the expense of others.

“We did 9/11 in the name of American imperialism, to use the dirty word,” Griffin said.