An independent Israeli-Palestinian journal has published an analysis of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, pointing to a strong possibility of conspiracy internal to the United States. The publication, I&P—Israel & Palestine Strategic Update, edited by Israeli peace activist Maxim Ghilan, brings together pro-peace Israeli and Palestinian authors and political activists. The publication also calls for an "independent investigation of the possibility of domestic-initiated terrorism."
Written within two days of the attacks, I&P put forward three possible conspiracies, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and in fact could include elements of all three.
The first would include "Arab terrorists, maybe abetted by an anti-American Arab state, such as Iraq or Afghanistan." The second could involve a "pro-American provocateur-state, such as Israel, which would wish to drag America and all the world into an anti-Muslim crusade." The third could involve "a domestic American right-wing cabal of politicians and military men, maybe using fanatics—whether white militiamen or Arabs.
"Such a bunch would have the automatic sympathy of wider circles inside the Bush Administration, who want to change priorities. Their own agenda includes abolition of the U.S.-Russian missile ban, a shift of national (and budget) priorities from domestic and social needs to security, i.e., repression.
"Such a hypothetical group of powerful American conspirators could be found among the Southern, Christian fundamentalists. Their Protestant wing is now part and parcel of the Bush Administration. They are powerful in Congress.... Their Catholic fundamentalist counterpart is no less powerful inside Washington's Beltway, in the CIA, the FBI, and DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration], or in finances. As for the outer fringe of affluent and extremist Zionists, including those Jewish money-men who support [Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon, they too must be considered suspect. In fact, if such a conspiracy exists, it would almost obligatorily be linked to the most extreme, fanatic minority inside Israel's army and secret service establishment which entertain cordial relations with their Christian counterparts in the U.S. This alliance ran a radio station in occupied southern Lebanon that now broadcasts from northern Galilee."
The analysis echos that of 2004 Democratic Presidential pre-candidate Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., who has pointed to rogue elements with access to U.S. security and intelligence capabilities as likely culprits. Like LaRouche, the analysis is careful not to prematurely name names of potential conspirators, but points to the direction in which one should begin investigation.
The 'Runaway Ally' Scenario
The possibility that a powerful Arab terror network, such as that headed by Osama bin Laden, was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks, I&P points out, if true, would be the "most extreme example of Third World despair" in the face of the ravages of what is seen as a U.S.-led policy of globalization—a policy which has led to genocidal levels of death and destruction throughout the Third World which have gone virtually unnoticed.
Nonetheless, I&P points out, the thorough penetration and manipulation of many of these groups by Western and other state intelligence services, casts serious doubt on the possibility that such groups initiated such an attack, despite whatever role they may have played in carrying it out.
Going into more depth about why the possibility of a "runaway ally," particularly such as Israel, should not be dismissed, I&P points out how, in the 1950s, Israeli agents tried to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Cairo in order to discredit the regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser. During the 1967 war, Israeli warplanes sank the USS Liberty in the eastern Mediterranean, which was monitoring Israeli broadcasts and radio communications, and there is the case of Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of spying for Israel.
The motivating factor would be the failure of the Bush Administration to fully back Sharon's policies, "including his wish to kill Arafat and dismantle the [Palestinian] Authority. This could have led to a decision by Israeli "extremists" to do something "to draft the U.S.—forcing Washington to adopt Israel's concept of a global war against terror and a war against Iraq, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan....
"The allies of Israeli extremism exist, both inside the U.S. Christian fundamentalist camp and in the power structure in Washington and Wall Street. The runaway ally scenario is, therefore, a very plausible one."
'A Virtual Takeover' In The United States
Citing the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City as a precedent, I&P points to a group internal to the United States as a crucial area of investigation. Even senior Israeli military officials suspect the internal American angle as a real possibility. I&P quotes remarks by former Israeli Air Force commander Ben Eliahu on Israeli TV2 that, in his "professional view, the pilots must have been American, not foreign, given their technical style." More broadly, I&P points to elements in the United States which want a dramatic change in the agenda of the Bush Administration, with or without President Bush:
"After the Republicans successfully 'won' the Presidency, in the wake of Florida's controversial elections, extremists in the new administration have become increasingly disappointed with the new President's failure to show leadership or to adopt violent action.... A relatively small number of individuals in the military-industrial complex and on its fringe have found themselves increasingly losing influence on the Presidency. They are also furious at Bush's 'weaknesses.' The new War on Terrorism will grant these networks unexpected decision-power and juicy budgets. The faltering U.S. economy will profit, unemployment will fall.
"Military-linked industries will increase production.... Funds for secret services and for the Pentagon will be generously handed out. Frantic 'hit 'em advisers' and a war-loving specialist as Paul Wolfowitz, will see their influence increase, ultra-conservative and fundamentalist think-tanks and other nasty side shows of the right will prosper. So will the Zionist lobby.
"Public opionion, fuelled by horror and national shame and anger at the perpetrators, will support these forces and increase the Christian fundamentalist influence. Xenophobia will grow as will white supremacist militias in backward areas. Anti-Arab feeling will spread Zionism's theses. Inside the U.S. and in the world, repression and authoritarianism will increase hugely."
'Independent' Investigation Needed
I&P then calls for the formation of "an independent investigation of the possibility of domestic-initiated terrorism" (emphasis in the original). The call states: "Independent and official researchers would do well to start by asking themselves which American pilots might conceivably have participated in the hijackings. Lists of Gulf War veterans linked to the militias should be particularly looked at.
"The investigators [must] ask themselves the classic question: Who profits from the crime?"
The publication calls for investigating government, political, industrial, banking, and secret service circles for traces of a possible conspiracy. Also, individuals with links to militias and Arab terrorists. "The most rabid ultra-Zionists should also be investigated. Help should be obtained from lucid, sane, Israeli and Zionist circles as well as from army and intelligence officials inside the U.S. Establishment, from all those in America and elsewhere who stand opposed to a right-wing takeover of the United States.
"To conclude this first analytical response to the terror attack on the American people. The truth must be revealed, entirely, fully. Nobody should be immune to investigation. The real culprits must be identified and removed. And when this is done, the U.S., together with the rest of the Western world, must rethink its politics of global development, and wage a war far more important than the one against terror: a war against the causes of global despair."
