The main reason why what really happened on 9/11 is so controversial:

[milkyway]

the mainstream media has never investigated what happened on that day. 9/11 was the biggest incident in half a century, yet the media decided that they would do nothing more than pass along government statements. The media did not always behave like this (certainly not in the 60's and 70's), but they no longer serve their duty to provide a check on government. I have never seen anything from the NY Times, Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, CBS, NBC, or ABC that wasn't simply providing us information that the government gave them and wanted us to know. Skepticism should be the very heart of good journalism, yet in regards to 9/11 the mainstream media have been unquestioning believers.

Thus, because the mainstream media with its vast resources has been negligent it has been left to much smaller groups to take a skeptical look at the government's version of 9/11. With very limited resources and personnel, they do not have the access to sources and evidence that the mainstream media would have. They continue on, despite the predictable and ridiculous charge of "conspiracy nut" being constantly hurled at them. It was, and is, the obligation of the media to provide an independent, authoritative investigation of 9/11, if for no other reason than to reasonably prove that the government version of events is correct.

One of three things happened on the morning of 9/11:

1. MIHOP--the government was actively involved in planning and executing the attacks.

2. LIHOP--the government was purposely negligent in stopping the attacks.

3. the attacks were successful due to massive incompetence on the part of the government.

I'm a LIHOPer. The one simple thing for me that places the government version into question is that nearly one hour after the government knew for certain that the nation was under attack, the military headquarters of the most fearsome power the world has ever know was successfully attacked by some horizontal-flying losers piloting commercial jets. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, we have probably spent $4 trillion dollars on our military as the world's unopposed superpower. Despite this, the one time when our nation actually needed defending, our so-called Department of "Defense" failed. Half of our tax dollars goes to the military. Where do I go to get my money back?

Whichever it was of the three listed above, if the press had fulfilled their duty bush, cheney, rumsfeld, rice and many more would no longer have their jobs.

[LuminousX]

1. my current conspiracy theory

is the media realized if they investigated 9/11 failures, it could bring down the Bush government and result in complete distrust and unrest with D.C. at a time when the nation needed to stand together instead of divided against itself.

[milkyway]

3. I'm sure that's how many in the media felt. The NY Times delayed

publishing its counting of the Florida votes that showed that Gore would have won if all votes had been counted.

[gumby]

6. it's not only the media

how about the Kennedy assassination?
Iran-Contra?
October Surprise?
Coup 2000?
BCCI?
Savings & Loan theft?

9-11 is just the latest in a looooong tradition of keeping us rubes in the dark, and it's not just the media. (see White-Wash Hamilton, etc)

[Nordic]

2. the media has failed, and not only in regards to 9/11

But in EVERY SINGLE aspect of their responsibilties.

It's been driving me nuts, and I wish to God there was a way to hold them accountable but unfortunately there are no laws on the books to do so, no precedents.

Look at how they're NOT reporting what Graham has said in the last two days.

This should be the biggest scandal in the HISTORY of the entire United States.

And it's being ignored.

It is simply THE BIGGEST CRIME EVER in the United States, the pure treason of the Bush Administration. They are working for Saudi Arabia, NOT the US.

Our country has been taken over and most people have no idea. Bush IS the Manchurian candidate.

[DulceDecorum]

9. About those 28 classified pages:

SENATOR GRAHAM AND THE SAUDI ARABIAN GOVERNMENT
HAVE BOTH REQUESTED THAT THE INFORMATION BE RELEASED.

Congressional Record: April 28, 2004 (Senate)
Page S4615-S4616
TEXT OF AMENDMENTS
SA 3074. Mr. GRAHAM of Florida submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 3048 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill S.
150, to make permanent the moratorium on taxes on Internet access and
multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce imposed by the
Internet Tax Freedom Act; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows: ....................................
(2) the twenty-eight pages of the joint inquiry report
discussing foreign government involvement in the September 11
terrorist plot should be immediately declassified and
publicly released in their entirety, as well as any other
joint inquiry documents and testimony whose classification
can no longer be justified;
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2004_cr/sa3074.html

THE "28 PAGES": ONCE MORE WITH FEELING
For the second time this week the U.S. Senate took up the question of whether to endorse declassification of the "28 pages" on foreign support for the September 11 attacks which were censored from the recent report of the congressional joint inquiry on 9/11.
As a consequence of the continued withholding of this material, argued Sen. Bob Graham, "we have taken a substantial amount of the impetus and sense of urgency out of the recommendations for fundamental reform."
Nevertheless, a majority of Senators voted to block consideration of the proposed amendment in support of declassification. See the October 29 floor debate here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2003_cr/s102903.html

THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 26, 2003
Dear Senator Graham:
Thank you for your recent letter in which you urged the President to consider declassifying all portions of the Report of the Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001. On his behalf, let me update you on the Administration's viewpoint regarding this matter.
As you know, we worked very closely with the Joint Inquiry and made every effort to declassify as much information as possible. Indeed, a large portion of the report was cleared for release with little substantive change. However, the parts of the report which are to remain classified contain information relating to sources and methods, to ongoing investigations tied to the September 11, 2001 attacks, and to law enforcement and intelligence collection targets. ...........
Sincerely,
Condoleezza Rice
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

REDACTED PORTION OF 9/11 REPORT WILL NOT BE RELEASED. Reuters reports that the White House will not declassify the remaining 28 pages of the congressional report on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The 28 pages were redacted from the version of the report released to the public, and deal with whether there was a Saudi Arabian or other foreign government link to the attacks. In a letter to presidential candidate Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.), national security advisor Condoleezza Rice said the pages would not be declassified because it could jeopardize current investigations. SENATOR GRAHAM AND THE SAUDI ARABIAN GOVERNMENT HAVE BOTH REQUESTED THAT THE INFORMATION BE RELEASED. Rice said that the information may be declassified in the future if it will not harm efforts to fight terrorism.
http://www.rcfp.org/behindthehomefront/archive/2003_10.html
Last entry.

Strange is it not?
SENATOR GRAHAM AND THE SAUDI ARABIAN GOVERNMENT
HAVE BOTH REQUESTED THAT THE INFORMATION BE RELEASED.
Senator Graham is a patriot working in the interests of his country.
That is why he wants the 28 pages released.
But why is SAUDI ARABIA making the same request?
Shouldn't they be trying to silence Senator Graham?
Are the Saudis really THAT stupid??
Or do they simply know something the rest of do not?

Statement by
HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister
The following statement was released by HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal following his meeting with President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington DC on July 29, 2003:
We have nothing to hide. And we do not seek nor do we need to be shielded. We believe that releasing the missing 28 pages will allow us to respond to any allegations in a clear and credible manner; and remove any doubts about the Kingdom’s true role in the war against terrorism and its commitment to fight it.
I have conveyed these views in a letter from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah to President Bush. The President expressed understanding of the Crown Prince’s position, and renewed his own appreciation for our role in the war against terrorism. The President indicated that release of missing pages, at this time, would compromise operations and undermine ongoing investigations. And anyone who believes that this President will cover up for anyone culpable in the events of 9/11 must be out of touch with reality, or driven by ulterior motives.
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2003/07/sa072903.html

In my view, the delay reflects the excessive secrecy with which this
administration appears to be obsessed and which is keeping important
findings of our work from the American people. Such censorship also
saps the urgency of reform and precludes the American peoples' ability to hold its leaders accountable.
The most serious omission, in my view, is part 4 of the report which is entitled "Finding, Discussion and Narrative Regarding Certain
Sensitive National Security Matters." That section of the report
contained 27 pages between pages 396 through 422. Those 27 pages have
almost been entirely censured. This is the equivalent of ripping out a chapter in the middle of a history book before giving it to your child or grandchild and then telling her "good luck on the test."
The declassified version of this finding tells the American people
that our investigation developed "information suggesting specific
sources of foreign support for some of the September 11 hijackers while they were in the United States."
In other words, officials of a foreign government are alleged to have aided and abetted the terrorist attacks on our country on September 11 which took over 3,000 lives.
I would like to be able to identify for you the specific sources of
that foreign support but that information is contained in the censured
portions of this report which are being denied to the American people.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2003_cr/s072403.html

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
July 29, 2003
WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING BY SCOTT McCLELLAN
(Excerpts on Declassification of 9/11 Report)
QUESTION: The President laid out two reasons why the administration believes it cannot declassify those 28 pages. But that said, isn't there something in that 28 pages that can be declassified? And secondly, do you have anything to say about how the Saudis have cooperated in the war on terrorism, because they say that they are being unfairly maligned here and cannot respond to blank pages?

Q: Saudi Arabia is an ally, and what can the President say to them today, what can he offer them today as a means of rebutting these accusations?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, and they will continue to be someone that we work very closely with in the war on terrorism. Saudi Arabia recognizes that -- the importance of confronting the threats posed by al Qaeda. Terrorism has hit their own soil from members of al Qaeda. And so, this is something we'll continue to work very closely with Saudi Arabia on, and we understand their concerns. But I hope that the American people recognize the importance of what we are doing.
Q: But if it's not completely -- if everything in there is not going to jeopardize national security, then is there something that they can offer the Saudis today to help them rebut these accusations?

Q: So CIA and the NSC -- was Condoleezza Rice a part of this?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and fully supportive of the steps that we're taking.
Q: Do you know who made the decision?

Q: Scott, I hope you clear up something for me. On this whole issue of the redacted pages and the Saudi request that we release them, I'm very curious about the timing of this. Saudi Arabia is supposed to be our ally and doing great things in the war against terrorism. There are 28 pages in a report that seem to allege or detail possible links between Saudi officials and Saudi money and terrorists. The Foreign Minister comes over here to personally appeal to the President that this be released so that they can answer these charges, and even before he walks into the gate, you're up there saying, we are not going to change our decision, nothing is going to be released. Are we sending some kind of message --
MR. McCLELLAN: I think we made our position known during the joint committee process, as well. And I'm not going to get into any position where I'm prejudging ongoing investigations or prejudging where they may go. We're going to pursue them, where they may go.
Q: I'm just curious about the timing that -- he wasn't even allowed to come in the gate before we said, no. He wasn't allowed to make his pitch. That just strikes me as odd that we've come down so firm beforehand.
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I think that you're reiterating what we've already said. We certainly understand the concerns of Saudi Arabia and we appreciate those concerns. But we have concerns, as well, concerns about compromising our nation's security, or compromising ongoing investigations, something we won't do.

Q: Aside from declassifying these pages, what is the administration going to do to help the Saudis deal with this issue?
MR. McCLELLAN: What are we going to do? Well, I think that there's a meeting going on. Obviously, it's going on as I speak, so there's nothing I can report back to you on that meeting at this point. But what we're going to do is continue to work with the Saudis to confront the terrorist threat that both our countries and the world face. So we're pleased with the cooperation we've had. We're going to continue to work with them, and we have a good friendship and we will continue to move forward on that friendship.
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2003/07/wh072903b.html

SENATOR GRAHAM AND THE SAUDI ARABIAN GOVERNMENT
HAVE BOTH REQUESTED THAT THE INFORMATION BE RELEASED.
That request has been denied by the Bush Administration.

[Kid_A]

4. THE TRUTH. NO MATTER WHAT.

That should be the motto of the media in this country. Do your research, and let us know what you find out. Even if the news is something terrible that nobody wants to know, if it's what really happened then it's what we need to know.

And if the truth is something HUGE, like the government being intentionally lax towards terrorism because of the enormous political benefit they would get after an attack, then it's even more important for us to know the truth.

Sometimes I wish there was a way to make the media entirely automated, with no people involved in filtering out what we get to hear. Tell us EVERYTHING and let us deal with the facts.

[forgethell]

5. I go with #3, myself.

I think the LIHOPers and MIHOPers are nuts. But, although I think the war of terror has not been waged in the besst possible way, by a long shot, and that we can do it better, the incompetence of government is a permanent characteristic, regardless of which party is in power. Otherwise, my father wouldn't be getting my mail, with my address on it at his house. Just becasue we have the same name.

[Old and In the Way]

7. The 52 minute delay between the Pentagon hit and the 2nd WTC

crash did it for me as well. Washington unprotected? Riiiight. 77 manages to attack a defenseless Washington, but, luckily, the pilot picks the one location that was totally reinforced and nearly vacant. Riiiight. The pilot, who couldn't fly a Cessna well enugh to get his pilot's liscense, can fly a 757 at cruise speed, do a 270 degree turn while dropping 7000 feet and place it inches off the ground before hitting the Pentagon. Riiiight.

I'd like a real investigation to focus on the bizarre flightpath of 77 and what appears to be a holding pattern awaiting 93 to join the attack. If 93 had gone off on time (it was delayed 20 minutes on the tarmac), all 4 planes hit around 9:00. A simultaneous attack would have been coverable; if 93 goes into the Capital, Bush declares martial law and Bush gets to be the dictator he told us he wanted to be.

[milkyway]

11. 52 minutes is right. When the first plane hit, the government knew their

had been three hijackings and now this first attack on the WTC let them know for certain we were under attack, by what method, and what planes would be used to do it. I refuse to believe that our military could screw something up this badly. If they cannot defend themselves from amateur unarmed pilots with almost an hour's warning, how can they defend us from anything else?

If someone were to pull a gun near the President, the Secret Service would be on him in half a second. This is something that rarely ever occurs, yet these guys are always alert and vigilant just in case it does. Our military defends the nation in the same manner. In the unlikely event that someone would attack us, we have people standing by ready to act almost instantly. Yet on the morning of 9/11, our military and the bush administration did nothing, as if preserved in amber.

[Old and In the Way]

12. And the same people are still in charge.

Not one person held accountable for the failure of the AF to stop 77...they probably did stop 93, but won't admit to it. I wonder why?

Another thing I'm wondering about....all the cameras in the classroom. Rather odd that Bush's PR people would set up such a hi-profile photo-op, particularly with the hijacking/crashes underway. Bush seemed to be just sitting there, waiting for something to happen....like maybe another cue?

[Veggie Meathead]

8. There are two things about the Press that nag at me:

1.There seems to be no one who seems to have expressed any doubts about the official version.
2.All of their stories show a uniformity that would have done Pravda proud.

Other than that I am very proud of our 'Free" press.

[milkyway]

10. If the mainstream media covered 9/11 as it did Whitewater, we would

frequently see on the front page of the NYTimes articles like, "9/11 Truth Group Claims a Jet Did Not Hit the Pentagon on 9/11," followed by a lengthy airing of the charges. Near the end of the article we would read, "Despite these charges, the bush administration still maintains it was not complicit in the 9/11 attacks."

During Watergate the mainstream media saw it as their job to tell us what the government did not want us to know. They worked their butts off trying to scoop the competition. As the great Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! has said, the press was the only profession to be given special consideration under the Constitution because they served the essential function of being a check on government, not a megaphone for it.

[stickdog]

13. My opinion is that even more than the BFEE, corporate media is the enemy.

The BFEE COULD NOT have gotten away with 10% of its anti-populist (to say the least) agenda without the full complicity of corporate media.