The Government Reports on 9-11: Did They Get It Right?

1. The Government Reports on 9-11:Did They Get It Right? A presentation critical of the “Official Story” of What Happened on September 11th, An open source project of Visibility 9-11

2. Critique of the Official Government Reports on 9-11-01 This is an open source project of Visibility 9-11 and is an attempt to build a solid PowerPoint presentation for activists for use as an educational resource and specifically pointing out the large number of problems with the “official story” of September 11th. All are invited to download this document and add to it. Where possible, please provide links to supporting documentation for the information presented. Please keep to the present format when making additions which will include: 1- Try to find a nice graphic for most of your slides. Use what I have completed as a guide. 2- Try to imitate the format of the work I have already completed, ie. Fonts, text color, formatting, background, etc. 3- Source everything with embedded links in the text. 4- Use the best possible source for your documentation. 5- Please do not submit slides containing disinformation or controversial, unproven theories. If you have a question about what you might like to contribute, please send me an email. 6- As the title and opening slides indicate, all fair and documented criticism of the FEMA Report, the NIST Report, and the 9-11 Commission Report is welcome and encouraged. When you get an update worth sending, please email it to me for review. If I like your work, I will update the file at the website. -Michael Wolsey

3. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Also known as The 9/11 Commission Report.

4. Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers Also Known as the NIST Report.

5. World Trade Center Building Performance Study Also Known as the FEMA Report.

6. Introduction “…regardless of one’s opinion about its historical accuracy, The 9/11 Commission Report is one of the most important documents ever produced in the United States.” -David Ray Griffin, Author of The New Pearl Harbor; Disturbing Questions About The Bush Administration And 9/11

7. Why the 9/11 Commission Report is Important • 9/11 was one of the most important events in modern world history. • 9/11 was used as the excuse for the “war on terror” and the subsequent wars. • Suggestions made by the report are being implemented, despite the obvious failings of the report. • Did the 9/11 Commission Report dispel suspicions that the Bush administration, at some level, had a hand in the success of the attacks? Or was there evidence of a cover-up?

8. The 9/11 Commissioners “We have sought to be independent, impartial, thorough, and non-partisan.” The 9/11 Commission Report, Preface, xv.

9. Republicans Thomas H. KeanChair Fred F. Fielding Slade Gorton John F. Lehman James R. Thompson Democrats Lee H. HamiltonVice Chair Richard Ben-Veniste Jamie S. Gorelick Bob Kerrey Timothy J. Roemer Was the 9/11 Commission “Nonpartisan”? 5 Republicans and 5 Democrats. That’s nonpartisan right?

10. Major Problems With The Commission • The Chairman, Thomas H. Kean, is a Republican. • More importantly, the commission’s Executive Director, Philip D. Zelikow, is a Republican insider. • Republicans were in charge of both the investigation and the writing of the final report. • Is this nonpartisan?

11. Philip Zelikow, Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission • The most influential individual on the 9/11 Commission. • Duties of the executive director included: • Setting the agenda • Picking the areas to be investigated • Choosing the briefing materials • Choosing the topics for hearings • Choosing the witnesses • Directing the lines of questioning of the witnesses

12. Was The 9/11 Commission “Independent”? Philip Zelikow • Has extensive ties to Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor and current Secretary of State in the Bush Administration. • Member of the National Security Council under Bush I where he served with Condoleezza Rice. • Co-Authored a book with Condoleezza Rice, Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in State Craft, 1997. • Director of the Aspen Strategy Group, which involved Rice, Cheney, and Wolfowitz. • Served on the National Security Council’s transition team between the Clinton and Bush II administrations. • Served under President Bush on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

13. Other Conflicts of Interest • Gorelick and Zelikow testifying at the commission.

14. Was the 9/11 Commission “Impartial”? • Any impartial investigation would consider and investigate all possible suspects or theories. • Two basic theories on 9/11: • The “Official Conspiracy Theory”, that the attacks were completely the work of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network and 19 Arab extremists. • The “Alternative Conspiracy Theory”, that the attacks were only successful because the Bush Administration was complicit in allowing, facilitating, or engineering their success. • The 9/11 Commission did not even consider any theory outside of the “Official Conspiracy Theory”, therefore negating any appearance of impartiality.

15. Was the 9/11 Commission Thorough? “There are a lot of theories about 9/11, and as long as there is any document out there that bears on any of these theories, we’re going to leave questions unanswered. And we cannot leave questions unanswered.” -Thomas Kean, Chairman of the 9/11 Commission in the New York Times, October 26, 2003

16. Was the 9/11 Commission Thorough? • The commission was very thorough on anything which was consistent with the “official conspiracy theory”. • Everything which was inconsistent with the “official conspiracy theory” was either distorted or omitted entirely. • This lack of due diligence calls the entire report into question and broke the law!

17. The 9/11 Commission’s Mandate • The 9/11 Commission was created by Public Law 107-306, 107th Congress, November 22, 2002.* • Under Title VI, section 602 the commission was required to: • “(1) examine and report upon the facts and causes relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001…;” • “(2) ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evidence developed by all relevant governmental agencies regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding the attacks;” • “(3) build upon the investigations of other entities, and avoid unnecessary duplication, by reviewing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of–” • “(B) other executive branch, congressional, or independent commission investigations into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, other terrorist attacks, and terrorism generally;” *Note that this was 438 days, well over one year after the attacks of September 11th, 2001.

18. Other Formal Disaster Investigations • The sinking of the Titanic - 6 Days

19. Other Formal Disaster Investigations • The Assassination of JKF - 7 Days

20. Other Formal Disaster Investigations • The Challenger Disaster - 7 Days

21. Other Formal Disaster Investigations • Pearl Harbor - 9 Days

22. What About September 11th? • September 11th, 2001 - 438 Days

23. What About Funding for the Investigation? Was the 9-11 Commission given enough money to conduct a proper investigation?

24. The Clinton/Lewinski Scandal • $40,000,000.00 spent on investigating Bill Clinton’s extra-marital affair.

25. Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster • $50,000,000.00 spent on investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger.

26. The 2005 Presidential Inauguration Party • $40,000,000.00 spent on Bush’s 2005 inauguration party.

27. How Much Did They Spend On Investigating September 11th? • Originally funded with just $3,000,000.00. • Eventually increased to only $15,000,000.00.

28. Did The Bush Administration Really Want An Investigation? • December 21, 2001: Senators Introduce Bills to Create Independent 9/11 CommissionTwo bipartisan pairs of senators introduce legislation to create independent 9/11 commissions. Senators Joe Lieberman (D) and John McCain (R) propose to create a 14-member, bipartisan commission with subpoena power. At the same time, Robert Torricelli (D) and Charles Grassley (R) propose to create a 12-member board of inquiry with subpoena power. White House spokeswoman Anne Womack is noncommittal about the proposals, saying, “We look forward to reviewing them. Right now, the president is focused on fighting the war on terrorism.” [New York Times, 12/21/2001]

29. Did The Bush Administration Really Want An Investigation? • January 24, 2002: Cheney and Bush Pressure Senator to Avoid 9/11 InquirySenate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D) later claims that on this day, Vice President Cheney calls him and urges that no 9/11 inquiry be made. President Bush repeats the request on January 28, and Daschle is repeatedly pressured thereafter. • Newsweek summarizes one of these conversations: “Bush administration officials might say they’re too busy running the war on terrorism to show up. Press the issue ... and you risk being accused of interfering with the mission.” [Newsweek, 2/4/2002] • Senator Daschle later got an Anthrax letter which effectively shut the Senator up.

31. Did The Bush Administration Really Want An Investigation? • May 23, 2002: Bush Opposes Special Inquiry into Terrorism WarningsPresident Bush says he is opposed to establishing a special, independent commission to probe how the government dealt with terrorism warnings before 9/11. [CBS News, 5/23/2002] • “President Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice his opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11.”

32. Did The Bush Administration Really Want An Investigation? • He [President Bush] later changes his stance in the face of overwhelming support for the idea. [CBS News, 9/20/02] Victims families are not convinced. • "It's carefully crafted to make it look like a general endorsement but it actually says that the commission would look at everything except the intelligence failures.“ Stephen Push Lost his wife on AA 77

33. Did The Bush Administration Really Want An Investigation? • For more information on how the Bush administration did not want an investigation, visit Jon Gold’s blog page titled “What Qualifies as Suspicious Behavior?” at 911blogger.com.

34. To Summarize… • The Bush Administration did not want a formal investigation into the events of September 11th. • 438 days after September 11th, a formal investigation was finally authorized. • The Bush Administration fought the creation of the 9-11 Commission, and later refused to cooperate with the Commission. • The 9-11 Commission was vastly under-funded. • The Commission itself was compromised, with many conflicts of interest within its’ membership. • The 9-11 Commission failed in their mandate to provide the fullest possible account of the events of September 11th.

35. Part One: The Commission’s Omissions and Distortions

36. The “Hijackers” At least six of the nineteen men identified by the FBI as the suicide hijackers have turned up alive and well after 9/11.

37. Waleed al-Shehri • Alleged to have been on Flight 11 which struck the North Tower at the WTC. • The BBC reports al-Shehri is one of 4 alleged hijackers who have “…turned up alive and well.” September 23, 2001. • The Daily Trust reports “A Saudi Arabian aircraft pilot who was named as one of five suspects on board one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Centre, has turned up alive and well in Morocco.” September 24, 2001. • On Sept. 22, 2001 Associated Press reported that al-Shehri had spoken to the U.S. embassy in Morocco.

38. Saeed al-Ghamdi and Ahmed al-Nami • Both alleged to have been on Flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania. • “The Saudi Airlines pilot, Saeed Al-Ghamdi, 25, and Abdulaziz Al-Omari, an engineer from Riyadh, are furious that the hijackers' "personal details" - including name, place, date of birth and occupation - matched their own.” • Ahmed al-Nami said, "I'm still alive, as you can see. I was shocked to see my name mentioned by the American Justice Department. I had never even heard of Pennsylvania where the plane I was supposed to have hijacked.” Telegraph September 23, 2001.

39. Mohand al-Shehri, Salem al-Hazmi, Abdulaziz al-Omari • It is reported that the Saudi embassy said that Mohand al-Shehri is "not dead and had nothing to do with the heinous terror attacks in New York and Washington." • Shortly after the attacks, several sources reported that Salem al-Hazmi, 26, was alive and working at a petrochemical plant in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. • Abdullaziz al-Omari said "I couldn't believe it when the FBI put me on their list. They gave my name and my date of birth, but I am not a suicide bomber. I am here. I am alive. I have no idea how to fly a plane. I had nothing to do with this." Telegraph September 23, 2001, BBC September 23, 2001.

40. What Did The 9/11 Commission Report Say About This? • The report regurgitates the FBI’s original list of 19 names (pp. 1-5) and their pictures (pp. 238-39). • The report fails to mention any of these errors, even though they were widely available on the Associated Press, Telegraph, and the BBC. • The report contains many details of these 6 men, even theorizing that Waleed al-Shehri was the hijacker who stabbed one of the flight attendants on Flight 11. • Is this “exacting investigative work” described by Kean and Hamilton as “superb”?* *The 9/11 Commission Report, Preface, xvii.

41. What Does The 9/11 Commission Report Say About Mohamed Atta? • The report identifies Mohamed Atta as the ringleader of the hijackers. • Atta is portrayed as a devout Muslim. • The report describes Atta as “fanatically” religious.

42. The 9/11 Commission Omitted All Evidence Contradicting Their Version • Evidence, reported by Newsweek and the San Francisco Chronicle, indicate that Atta enjoyed gambling, alcohol, and lap dances. • Daniel Hopsicker has discovered that while living in Florida, Atta lived with a hooker, used alcohol and cocaine regularly and ate pork chops.

43. Are These The Behavior’s of “Fanatical” Muslims?

44. Are These The Behavior’s of “Fanatical” Muslims? A Wall Street Journal editorial from October 10, 2001 titled “Terrorist Stag Parties” alleges that several of the hijackers including: “…Atta—spent $200-$300 each on lap dances…” in Las Vegas strip clubs.

45. The 9/11 Commission Report Admits Atta Met With Other Operatives in Las Vegas Shortly Before 9/11 • The 9/11 Commission Report concludes that they saw “…no credible evidence explaining why, on this occasion and others, the operatives flew to or met in Las Vegas.” (pp. 248). • The report failedtomention any of the other mainstream reports indicating Atta was not a “fanatical” Muslim.

46. More About Atta:Planted Evidence? • Two of Atta’s bags failed to make it onto the doomed flight. • These bags contained items such as Atta’s international driver’s license, passport, flight manuals, a copy of the Koran, and his last will and testament. • On October 1, 2001, Seymour Hersh wrote in the New Yorkerthat it appeared to investigators that these items were “meant to be found”. • How would Atta be able to board a flight without his identification and why would he bring his will on a flight doomed for total destruction? • None of this was even mentioned by the 9/11 Commission Report.

47. Was Hani Hanjour The Best Pilot? • The report identifies Hani Hanjour as being the pilot on Flight 77 which allegedly was flown into the Pentagon (p. 225). • The report asserts that Hanjour was specifically picked for this role because he “was the operation’s most experienced pilot ” (p. 530, n147). • The implication that Hanjour was a good pilot, in fact, the “most experienced pilot” of the 9-11 hijackers, is directly contradicted by the report itself in 3 different places (pp. 25-26, p. 242, p. 520, n56).

48. The Amazing Maneuver To Hit The Pentagon “… just as the plane seemed to be on a suicide mission into the White House, the unidentified pilot executed a pivot so tight that it reminded observers of a fighter jet maneuver. The plane circled 270 degrees to the right to approach the Pentagon from the west…Aviation sources said the plane was flown with extraordinary skill, making it highly likely that a trained pilot was at the helm... ” Washington PostSeptember 12, 2001.

49. The Amazing Maneuver To Hit The Pentagon The 9/11 Commission itself admitted, “American 77 was then 5 miles south-southwest of the Pentagon and began a 330-degree turn. At the end of the turn, it was descending through 2,200 feet, pointed toward the Pentagon and downtown Washington. The hijacker pilot then advanced the throttles to maximum power and dove toward the Pentagon.” (p. 9)

50. What did Hani Hanjour’s Flight School Teachers Have to Say? The BBC reported on May 17, 2002 that: “Instructors at a flying school in Phoenix, Arizona express concern to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials about the poor English and limited flying skills of one of their students, Hani Hanjour.”