9/11 REVISITED

Ever since my previous post, have been thinking and reading about 9/11. Having trawled and cogitated at length, here is what I recommend:

Wikipedia has come into it own on this. It has its critics but the following make extremely good starting points for understanding why there is a substantial number of people in the US who disagree with the official version of events.

Sept11, 2001 Attacks
An account of the official sequence of events and subsequent aftermath

9/11 Commission Report
This provides a brief summary of the official report and provides a download link to get a pdf of the whole thing. It highlights key facts, carries a summary of major articles and lists substantial criticisms on the report.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories
This examines the subject in exhaustive detail and lists the major topics/questions put forward
by networks of different groups and individuals who do not believe the 'oficial truth.' Includes extensive links.

The conspiracy theorist community broadly divides itself between people who believe that Bush's government Let it Happen On Purpose (LHOPs) and those who believe that Bush's government Made it Happen on Purpose (MHOPs).

Researchers Questioning the Official account of 9/11
Short profiles of some of the most prominent members of this community

Much coverage has been given to Scholars for 9/11 Truth
Wikipedia entry lists every member and really explains who they are - and their credentials.

Books

I recomend 'The 5 Unanswered Questions About 9/11' by James Ridgeway [Seven Stories Press]. Ridgeway, Washington correspondent for the Village Voice, does not believe the government or the conspiracy but he does believe that someone, somewhere should be held accountable. His unanswered questions are:

1. Why Couldn't We Stop an Atttack from the Skies: How the Airlines and the FAA Resisted Air Security Measures That Might Have saved Lives.

2. Why Didn't the Government Protect Us?: How the United States Government Failed Its Citizens Before, During, and After 9/11.

3. Why Didn't We Know What Was Coming?: How Business as usual at the FBI and the CIA Helped Leave the Way Clear for the Attacks

4. Did US Allies Help Make the Attacks Possible?: How Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and US Foreign Policy Contributed to the Events of 9/11

5. Why Couldn't the 9/11 Comission Get to the Truth?: How the Report protects the System at the Expense of the Public.

There's a lot of good journalistic research here, original interviews, and a clear writing style. One is left with a deeper appreciation of the whole - and a lot of questions, many of them quite disturbing. The spirit of Tom Paine is in his writing and in his passion for the truth.

Being a sucker for graphic novels, I also bought 'The Illustrated 9/11 Commission Report: A Graphic Adaptation' by Sid Jacobsen & Ernie Colon. Interesting to look at after reading Ridgway. The book as a whole has a weird feeling about, like it came out of a Phillip K. Dick novel.

Read Martin Amis' lengthy essay in The Guardian: The Age of Horrorism

Also Tariq Ali's review of 'The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda's Road to 9/11' by Lawrence Wright

UPDATE: Thanks to Gordon for link to Project Censored: Unanswered Questions of 9/11