Reply #129: obviously I did not say that

[Douglas Carpenter]

Al Qaeda to a large degree grew out of the American-backed anti-Soviet resistance in Afghanistan. Of course it is more complicated than just that. But that is a major part of its origin.

We can examine the history of this tendency and examine why they attacked America on September 11, 2001

This would require an analysis of America policy especially in the Middle East and an understanding of the resentment against American influence in the region.

This can be rather boring stuff compared to speculations about secret cabals. But it will provide a lot more insight as to answering the questions as to why the events of September 11, 2001 happened. Equally it a lot more insightful than dismissing the attacker simply as evil doers who hate us for our freedom.

These things like the American record in Central America are not so shrouded in mystery and secret cabals. The history of these matters can be examined without a whole lot of speculation.

Western hegemony did not begin with the Project for the New American Century - nor will it cease to exist if PNAC were to disappear; nor will the resentment against global hegemony or the policy of global hegemony disappear.

from:

Conspiracies Or Institutions: 9-11 and Beyond by Stephen R. Shalom
& Michael Albert

link: http://www.zmag.org/content/Instructionals/shalalbcon.cfm

snip:"First, the evidence conspiracy theories reveal can identify actual events needing other explanation. More, describing the detailed entwinements can become addictive. We find one puzzle and then another and another to uncover. The appeal is of the mysterious. It is dramatic, vivid, and human. And we can make steady progress, like in a murder investigation. Finally, the desire for retribution fuels forays into personal detail. It is a journalistic task with clear parameters and obvious satisfaction to be had, unless, of course, one rejects the entire premise, logic, method, and prioritization.

Second, conspiracy theories have manageable implications. They imply that all was well once and that it can be okay again if only the conspirators can be removed. Conspiracy theories explain ills without forcing us to disavow society's underlying institutions. They allow us to admit horrors and to express our indignation and anger or undertake vendettas, but without rejecting the basic norms of society. We discover that a particular government official or corporate lawyer is bad, but the government and law per se remain okay. We urge getting rid of bad apples, but leaving the orchard intact. All this is convenient and seductive. We can reject specific candidates but not government, specific CEOs but not capitalism, specific writers, editors, and even owners of periodicals, but not mainstream media. We can reject vile manipulators, but not basic institutions. And we can continue to appeal to the institutions for recognition, status, or payment.

Third, and least likely among Leftists, conspiracy theory can provide an easy and quick outlet for pent-up passion withheld from targets that seem unassailable or that might strike back. This is conspiracy theory turned into scapegoat theory. Some minority, some enemy, is tarred, and the talons are unleashed. Racism and conspiracies have long gone together, if not universally, certainly frequently.

Evaluating all this, it would be bad enough if conspiracy theorizing just attuned people to search after coteries while ignoring institutions, thereby reducing energies applied to useful ends as in the wasteful misallocation of energies of the many Kennedy assassination theorists of past decades. At least in that case the values at play could be progressive and we could hope, however faintly, that people involved would in time gravitate toward real explanations of more structural and important phenomena. But the sad fact is that the effects of adopting a conspiracy theory orientation can be and often are still worse."

snip:"Conspiracy theories often lead Leftists to establish connections to or tolerate alliances with right-wing crazies. One of the authors of this article was handed a stack of materials by a Leftist conspiracy enthusiast that included print-outs from Public Action, Inc. (http://www.public-action.com /), which, in addition to its 9-11 conspiracy claims, has links to many Holocaust denial sites. This is regrettably typical. "

snip:"Conspiracy theories lead us to counterproductive and wrong priorities. There are many pressing issues for U.S. Leftists today -- preventing war in Iraq, restraining Israeli aggression, fighting the assault on civil liberties, exposing the phony U.S.-Russian nuclear arms deal, and so on. Unfortunately too many Leftists have gotten wrapped up in supporting the... campaign to investigate what Bush knew and when. Just in the past few weeks, how much energy from people well on the Left has gone to the Bush question, with no credible gains, and away from directions where our energies are sorely needed? Leftists have gone from planning teach-ins on the Mideast to planning gatherings to talk about the detailed claims of who knew what when. (In fact, if we were to apply the "who benefits?" principle, we might ask whether conspiracy theorizing itself is a plot by the CIA to distract us all from the struggle against globalization? Imagine debating that conspiracy theory, hour after hour, and then debating about debating about...)

link: http://www.zmag.org/content/Instructionals/shalalbcon.cfm

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