A 9/11 Whistleblower Examines the Official Conspiracy Theory

1. A 9/11 Whistleblower Examines the Official Conspiracy Theory Kevin Ryan, Member of Scholars for 911 Truth

2. Scholars For 911 Truth • A non-partisan association of faculty, students, and scholars, in fields as diverse as history, science, military affairs, psychology, and philosophy, dedicated to exposing falsehoods and to revealing truths behind 9/11. • Founded By… James H. Fetzer, University of Minnesota Steven Jones, Brigham Young University

4. Understanding the Official Conspiracy Theory (OCT) is important because… 1. It is being used to redefine our futures 2. It is false These two facts taken together should be very important to all Americans

5. How is the OCT Redefining our Futures? • Cost of 9/11 Wars – So far in just Afghanistan and Iraq • Over 2600 Americans killed and approximately 17,000 wounded • Over 30,000 civilians (including children) killed and uncounted thousands of other military dead • $300 billion and counting • Redefining our values • Indefinite imprisonment without charges • Torture • The Patriot Act and spying on Americans

6. How is the OCT redefining our future? • All federal programs outside of Defense and Homeland Security have become low priorities • Public perception affected on every level • Skyrocketing national debt • $5.7 trillion and falling in September 2000 • $8.3 trillion now and rising rapidly • The next terrorist attack and the next war • Suspension of the Constitution? • Iran?

7. Meanwhile we’re wasting precious time and resources that could be used to pursue… • New solutions for the end of cheap oil • Global oil production has peaked • US natural gas production has peaked • Oil and gas are so important that the peaks will have vast implications for world politics, lifestyles, agriculture and economic stability • New ways of dealing with money • Our industrial societies and our financial systems were built on the assumption of continual growth – growth based on ever more readily available cheap fossil fuels – www.energybulletin.net • New solutions for environmental problems • [Global warming] has accelerated in the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities – National Academy of Sciences • Higher temperatures threaten dangerous consequences: drought, disease, floods, lost eco-systems – National Resource Defense Council

8. The Official Conspiracy Theory( = The War on Terror) • The 9/11 Commission Report • Mission: To provide the fullest possible account of the events surrounding 9/11 • The NIST World Trade Center Report • Mission: To explain why and how three World Trade Center skyscrapers (WTC1, WTC2 and WTC7) collapsed

9. Which story carries more weight? Afghanistan War and Iraq War 20,000Americanskilled or wounded 30,000 civilians killed, how many wounded? Torture Skyrocketing national debt Loss of rights and Constitution threatened Lost opportunity to pursue real problems The 9/11 Commission Report The NIST WTC Report

10. The OCT as presented by the 9/11 Commission Report (911CR) • Nineteen fanatically religious Arab Muslims totally outfoxed and overpowered the entire US military and intelligence apparatus, as well as the security systems of several airports, and then performing expert aerial maneuvers, flew several hijacked aircraft into buildings and crashed another in Pennsylvania. • These terrorists were acting on the behalf of Osama Bin Laden, and no other foreign or domestic agencies, because they “hate America”. • They were able to accomplish this because of “deep institutional failings” within the US government.

11. Nineteen fanatically religious Muslims? • At least six of them were reported to be alive after 9/11/01 • Some of them were anything but devout Muslims as they were known to enjoy alcohol, drugs, gambling and lap dances • They left some suspicious clues • Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker -- “A former high-level intelligence official told me whatever trail was left was left deliberately”

12. Still Alive? • Waleed al-Shehri was interviewed by a London newspaper then, as reported by AP, spoke on 9/22/01 to US embassy in Morocco • Ahmed al-Nami told British newspaper Telegraph that “I have never even heard of Pennsylvania” • Saaed al-Ghandi was interviewed by several newspapers and reported by the BBC to have been in Tunis for 10 months including 9/11 • Mohan al-Shehri, Salem al-Hazmi and Abdulaziz al-Omari were all reported alive and well in Saudi Arabia by the Saudi embassy in Washington. Al-Omari visited the US Consulate in Jeddah to demand an explanation

13. …totally outfoxed and overpowered the entire US military and intelligence apparatus? • AG John Ashcroft, SF mayor Willie Brown, and several Pentagon officials were warned not to fly on or about 9/11 • Attorney David Schippers attempted to share exact details with John Ashcroft, as provided to him by FBI agents, weeks before the attacks • Profits from very unusual stock trades on AA, UA and MDSW point to insider knowledge • The Secret Service appeared to know that the President was not a target

14. Other FBI Whistleblowers • Coleen Rowley • In August 2001, Rowley’s Minneapolis FBI Office requested permission to search the computer of Zacarias Moussaoui because they believed he might “fly something into the WTC.” This request was not only denied, but FBI HQ changed the evidence file, downplaying Moussaoui’s connection to Al Queda. • A congressional report later said FBI HQ’s new file on Moussaoui was “patently false” • Rowley wrote a memo blasting FBI HQ • The 911 Commission did not interview her, and called the dispute a simple “difference of opinion” • Moussaoui is now the government’s only convict for the crimes, and may be put to death for “failure to act”

15. Other FBI Whistleblowers • Sibel Edmonds • Accused FBI of intentionally failing to translate documents relating to certain foreign governments • Fired for writing a letter about this to the DOJ, and later gagged by Ashcroft court order • Has since stated she has considerable evidence of deep wrongdoing within the US government and has suggested they knew details of the 9/11 attacks • None of her 3 and a half hour testimony to the 9/11 Commission was included in the 9/11 Commission report

16. War games? • Apparently five war game drills were in progress on 9/11/01 • Some involved hijacked airliners, insertion of fake radar blips and pulling fighter jets away from the northeast US • Some were “live-fly” exercises, where actual aircraft were simulating hijacked airliners as the real attacks occurred • NORAD, FAA and others affected

17. …totally outfoxed and overpowered the entire US military and intelligence apparatus? • The military’s story changed several times • 9/11 to 9/14/01 – no jets scrambled until after buildings hit • 9/18/01 – jets scrambled but too far away • July 2004 – jets scrambled late due to FAA failures, but went in wrong direction and at fraction of speed

18. …as well as the security systems of several airports? • Directors of the company Stratesec, responsible for security at UA, Dulles airport and the WTC, included Wirt Walker (CEO) and Marvin Bush • There were no Arabs on the flight manifests that were released. Airlines have since refused to release passenger lists.

19. …then performing expert aerial maneuvers, flew several hijacked planes into buildings? • Hitting a specific building at 500 mph is not easy • But “Aviation sources”, as reported by the Washington Post, said the plane that hit the Pentagon “was flown with extraordinary skill” • The 911CR said Hani Hanjour, flying the Pentagon plane, was a “terrible pilot” but was also “the operations most experienced pilot” • Hanjour’s pilot application was rejected several times, and instructors refused to go up with him again

20. No 757 wreckage at the Pentagon? • No 757 wreckage in photos, inside or outside of the building • Engine may have been from a missile • Donald Rumsfeld said that a missile damaged the building • Damage to building is questionable • FBI refuses to release the videos they confiscated from area cameras

21. …and crashed one in Pennsylvania? Did it crash or was it shot down? • Aircraft debris spread over 8 mile distance • USA Today, Washington Post, ABC News and CBS News all reported that shoot down order was given approximately 20 minutes before crash • Major Daniel Nash, one of the F15 pilots sent to NYC, said he was told a military F16 had shot down an airliner in Pennsylvania • Reports from people on the ground suggested the plane was brought down by a military missile

22. The OCT per the 911CR… • These terrorists were acting on behalf of Osama Bin Laden (OBL)? • Video confession appears to be a fake • OBL was known to be a CIA asset during the Russian/Afghanistan war • In July of 2001, OBL was treated in an American hospital in Dubai (UAE) and visited there by a CIA operative

23. …and no other foreign or domestic agencies? • Foreign agents celebrating near WTC • Evidence of Saudi funding • Evidence of involvement by Pakistan’s ISI • PNAC (Cheney, Lehman, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, etc.) called for a “New Pearl Harbor” in 2000 • US had plans to invade both Afghanistan (reported by BBC) and Iraq (per Paul O’Neill) before 9/11

24. The OCT per the 911CR… • They were able to accomplish this because of “deep institutional failings” within the US government? • No one was held accountable • Many were promoted • We had no clue, yet full story was available within days (all hijackers identified in detail by 9/14) • Recommendations were not implemented

25. The Official Conspiracy Theory, as presented by the 9/11 Commission report, is… • …false because the report does not, by a long shot, provide the fullest possible account of the events surrounding 9/11 • …false because it omits or distorts many of the most important facts, apparently in an attempt to support pre-determined conclusions • …false because the recommendations have not been taken seriously

26. Interested in why this story is false? • Ask Lee Hamilton, Vice Chairman of the 9/11 Commission • In this room on March 27th • Ask your government representatives or your local media • Visit www.st911.org and sign petition

27. Now which one weighs more? Afghanistan War and Iraq War 20,000 Americans killed or wounded 30,000 civilians killed, how many wounded? Torture Skyrocketing national debt Loss of rights and Constitution threatened Lost opportunity to pursue real problems The NIST WTC Report

28. The OCT part II – Collapse of the WTC buildings Three “investigations” • ASCE - led by Gene Corley • No access to samples or blueprints • Not allowed to solicit help from public • FEMA - report released May 2002 • Some good information, but no answers (e.g. 4,000 gallons of jet fuel gone in 5 minutes) • NIST - report released September 2005 • 8 media/public meetings – info trickled out • 10,000 pages, 42 companion reports • $20 million • WTC7 not included

29. Important preliminary considerations • No tall steel-frame buildings have ever collapsed from fire, but on 9/11, we’re told there were three • Steel evidence destroyed despite outraged cries from public and fire experts • Like the 911CR, a full investigation was not considered until 9/11 families demanded it • Apparent conflicts of interest on NIST Team • Charles Thornton – Tomasetti’s partner • SOM – Larry Silverstein insisted they design the new WTC7 building and Freedom Tower • Most, if not all, contractors involved depended on good government relations

30. Important preliminary considerations • January 2002 • Bill Manning, editor of Fire Engineering magazine, said the “official investigation…is a half-baked farce that may already have been commandeered by political forces whose primary interests, to put it mildly, lie far afield of full disclosure.” • Dick Cheney called Senate leader Tom Daschle and asked him to “limit the scope and overall review of what happened [on 9/11]”, claiming resources would be pulled from the War on Terrorism. President Bush met with Daschle privately and asked him to limit the investigation.

32. The NIST’s WTC team • Started with pre-determined conclusions • Shankar Nair -- "Already there is near-consensus as to the sequence of events that led to the collapse of the World Trade Center.”-- Chicago Tribune September 19, 2001 • Charles Thornton -- "Karl, we all know what caused the collapse." -- talking to Karl Koch shortly after the attacks. • And worked toward “leading hypotheses”

33. Progression of theories supporting fire-based failure • Towering Inferno • Nuclear meltdown temperatures, everything melted • Column failure • Columns buckled outward • Pancake Theory • Floors collapsed like records on a spindle • NIST’s new theory • Sagging floors pulled exterior columns inward (column failure)

34. Early theories – Towering Inferno • Melting steel ? • Henry Koffman, USC –”The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the intense heat from the jet fuel fires melted the steel infrastructure.” • Hyman Brown of Colorado -- ”Steel melts, and 24,000 gallons of aviation fluid melted the steel. Nothing is designed or will be designed to withstand that fire.'' • James Glanz of NY Times – the steel turned to “licorice” • Chris Wise, “structural engineer”, as reported by BBC – “the columns would have melted, the floors would have melted..”

35. Early theories – Towering Inferno • Exaggeration of fires, temperatures and column damage • Eduardo Kausel, in 2001 Scientific American article – “No building has or will resist this kind of fire.” • 2002 A&E / History Channel video “Anatomy of September 11th” reported temperatures of 2500 F • 2002 NOVA video “How the Towers Fell” said two-thirds of WTC1 columns severed, and temperatures at 2000 F • US News and World Report – “weakened by the nearly 2000 degree heat, the remaining columns buckle.” • But later, NIST tests indicated much lower steel temperatures (500 F)

36. Where’s the fire? Windsor building, Madrid, February 2005 Twin towers shortly after WTC2 hit

37. Who would design a building for plane crashes but forget the jet fuel fires? • Eduardo Kausel of MIT – The WTC buildings were designed to withstand Boeing 707 impacts but were “never designed for the massive explosions nor the intense jet fuel fires that came next – a key design omission.” • Loring Knoblauch, CEO of UL agreed, writing to me – the jet fuel fires were not “reasonably foreseeable.” • But would real structural engineers do this?

38. Not this guy. John Skilling, the engineer responsible for designing the WTC towers, had this to say in 1993 when asked if he considered plane crashes in his design. “Our analysis indicated the biggest problem would be the fact that all the fuel would dump into the building. [But] the building structure would still be there.”

39. Early theories – Pancake Theory • Karl Koch -- “I could see it in my mind’s eye: The fire burned until the steel was weakened and the floors above collapsed, starting a chain reaction of gravity, floor falling upon floor upon floor, clunk – clunk – clunk, the load gaining weight and momentum by the nanosecond, unstoppable. Once enough floors collapsed, the exterior walls and the core columns were no longer laterally supported and folded in.” • FEMA report – “a pancake-type of collapse of successive floors”

40. Pancake theory collapsed • August 2004 floor model tests by Underwriters Laboratories • No floor collapse = no pancaking “The results established that this type of assembly was capable of sustaining a large gravity load, without collapsing, for a substantial period of time relative to the duration of the fires in any given location on September 11th.” NIST report

41. Original design claims • “The World Trade Center towers would have an inherent capacity to resist unforeseen calamities.” • For the perimeter columns (83% of total columns), “live loads on these columns can be increased more than 2,000% before failure occurs.” • One “could cut away all the first story columns on one side of the building, and partway from the corners of the perpendicular sides, and the building could still withstand design live loads and a 100 mph wind from any direction.” All quotes from Engineering News-Record, 1964

43. NIST’s explanation of Why and How the WTC towers collapsed 1. The aircraft severed “a number of columns” 2. Loads were redistributed (from -20% to +25%) 3. Insulation (fireproofing) was damaged 4. Some floors began to sag 5. Sagging floors pulled exterior columns inward causing them to buckle 6. Instability spread around entire building 7. “Global collapse ensued”

44. 1. How many columns were severed? • NIST now admits only a small percentage of columns were severed • 14% in WTC1 • 15% in WTC2 • But since one “could cut away all the first story columns on one side of the building, and partway from the corners of the perpendicular sides, and the building could still withstand design live loads and a 100 mph wind from any direction”, we know the buildings could withstand > 25% column loss without a problem.

45. 2. How much load was re-distributed? • NIST says loads on some columns were decreased (as much as 20%) and on others loads were increased (up to 25%). • But again, since the original design claims were that, “live loads on these [perimeter] columns can be increased more than 2,000% before failure occurs”, these columns should have supported the extra load and much, much more.

46. 3. Insulation (fireproofing) damaged? • NIST reports “The towers would not have collapsed under the combined effects of aircraft impact and the subsequent multi-floor fires if the insulation had not been widely dislodged or had been only minimally dislodged by aircraft impact.” • NIST then goes on to say “dislodgement of thermal insulation from structural members could have occurred.”

47. 3. Was the insulation (fireproofing) “widely dislodged”? • How? • NIST devotes one sentence to the testing that was done to prove insulation loss, saying “an array of 0.3 inch diameter pellets moving at 350 mph” was able to strip insulation from some truss bars. • Forget the floors, what about the columns?

48. 3. Was the insulation (fireproofing) “widely dislodged”? • Exactly how did a Boeing 767 transform into an array of 0.3 inch pellets that could widely dislodge so much fireproofing from so many steel columns? • NIST estimates accelerations required to dislodge insulation would be 20 to 730 g, and that the aircraft impacted at about 100 g. • What were the forces involved, and how did these change as the debris scattered? How about angles of impact?

49. 4. Some floors began to sag? • Only very slight sagging is visible in NIST photos from UL tests (and no collapse) • How does sagging so dramatically change the force applied to columns at floor connections? • NIST says shear force was 14,000 psi in some places, but the heat-treated perimeter columns were rated at 100,000 psi and the welded plate connections were rated at 90,000 psi

50. 5. Sagging floors pulled exterior columns inward causing them to buckle? • Some experts have pointed out that “the core columns cannot pull the exterior columns in via the floor.”(Lane and Lamont, 2005) • How many columns buckled at first? Was it more than the difference between the 15% from aircraft impact and >25% that design claims said would not be a problem? (i.e. was it more than another 30 exterior columns?) • How did this happen?