[Peace-discussion] 9/11 Commission Chairmen Admit Whitewashing the Cause of the Attacks

[michelle]

For links and formatting go to http://tinyurl.com/mcec7 or=20
<http://vfpdissident.blogspot.com/2006/08/911-commission-chairmen-admit.h=
tml>
Monday, August 14, 2006
9/11 Commission Chairmen Admit Whitewashing the Cause of the Attacks

Below are three excerpts from an August 7, 2006, article by Ivan Eland=20
of the right-of-center think tank, The Independent Institute:

As both the Bush administration and its client government in Israel,=20
with their invasions of Arab states in Iraq and Lebanon, respectively,=20
make the United States ever more hated in the Islamic world, a new book=20
by the chairmen of the 9/11 commission admits that the commission=20
whitewashed the root cause of the 9/11 attacks=97that same interventionis=
t=20
U.S. foreign policy.

=2E.. Apparently, unidentified commissioners wanted to cover up the fact =

that U.S. support for Israel was one of the motivating factors behind al =

Qaeda's 9/11 attack. Although Hamilton, to his credit, argued for saying =

that the reasons al Qaeda committed the heinous strike were the U.S.=20
military presence in the Middle East and American support for Israel,=20
the panel watered down that frank conclusion to state that U.S. policy=20
on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. policy on Iraq are=20
=93dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim worl=
d.=94

Some commissioners wanted to cover up the link between the 9/11 attack=20
and U.S. support for Israel because this might imply that the United=20
States should alter policy and lessen its support for Israeli actions.=20
How right they were. The question is simple: if the vast bulk of=20
Americans would be safer if U.S. politicians moderated their slavish=20
support of Israel, designed to win the support of key pressure groups at =

home, wouldn=92t it be a good idea to make this change in course? Average=
=20
U.S. citizens might attenuate their support for Israel if the link=20
between the 9/11 attacks and unquestioning U.S. favoritism for Israeli=20
excesses were more widely known. Similarly, if American taxpayers knew=20
that the expensive and unnecessary U.S. policy of intervening in the=20
affairs of countries all over the world=97including the U.S. military=20
presence in the Middle East=97made them less secure from terrorist attack=
s=20
at home, pressure would likely build for an abrupt change to a more=20
restrained U.S. foreign policy. ...