Conspiracy Theories of 9/11 Attack

Was 9/11 An Inside Job? September 11, 2001 holds a special place in almost every American’s heart, as well as those of families in other countries who lost a loved one that day. Not only is Sept. 11th the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the nation, several groups of people within our own country and abroad believe that knowledge of this attack was held prior to the actual event. What has been reported and believed was that two airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, and one airplane into the Pentagon. Different conspiracy theories have developed on the internet, and several websites claim to have legitimate cases regarding the validity of the “true” story. These claims are nothing less than a slap in the face of some thousands of Americans who risked their lives to remove others from harms way. The true story, however, is one of pain and suffering that my fellow citizens and I share. Since the day of the attack, rumors have circulated through blogs, magazines, websites, and simple word of mouth claiming that 9/11 was assisted by the U.S. Government. There are two different categories of conspiracy theories that establish this belief. The most farfetched conspiracy theories that I have seen belong to those who believe that the attacks were planned and executed by our central government. Other groups hold the idea that the “powers in command knew about the attacks, but failed to act” (Knight 170). Both assume that the main reason for the United States to go to war was for the copious amounts of wealth to be had. The middle-east holds roughly 20%-25% of the world’s known oil supply, and if a country were to take control of such reserves, then that country would have immense power and wealth. Therefore, attacking our own country and placing blame on a terrorist organization located in one of the most oil rich countries in the world was almost a perfect plan. It was believed at first that the attacks on the World Trade Centers

Cited: Knight, Peter. "Outrageous Conspiracy Theories: Popular and Official Responses to 9/11 in Germany and the United States." New German Critique 103 (2008): 165-193. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. Soukup, Charles. "9/11 Conspiracy Theories on the World Wide Web: Digital Rhetoric and Alternative Epistemology." Journal of Literacy & Technology 9.3 (2008): 2-25. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. Herridge, By Catherine. "The Top 40 Reason To Doubt The Official Story." The 9/11 Truth Movement - 911truth.org. May-June 2006. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. .