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Revised WTC Freedom Tower Design Unveiled  A new design for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site slopes gracefully into a spire rising 1,776 feet, echoing the Statue of Liberty. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the tower - which would be the world's tallest - would "dramatically reclaim a part of the New York City skyline that was lost on 9-11."
 
The Unanswered Questions of 9/11 Widows by Ward Sutton, The Village Voice
 

What You Think You Know About 9/11 - But Don't

September10, 2003 -- The Saudi government paid off al-Qaida in exchange for immunity from terror attacks. Saudi princes knew in advance about the 9/11 attacks. Most of the Saudi officials who assisted al-Qaida all died mysteriously soon thereafter. The revelations in Gerald Posner's new book Why America Slept are an astonishing reminder of just how much we still don't know about 9/11 and its planning. But there is also plenty that we think we know but don't. I'm not talking about shoddy conspiracy theories (that Jews were warned not to show up for work at the World Trade Center, for example) believed by the ignorant and the paranoid, but widespread misconceptions held by everyday Americans. See the full article by David Plotz, in Rense.com, for six of the most common of these misconceptions.

The backlash against the Bush administration's policies implemented since 9/11 grows as the public comes to believe it has been misled:

Ashcroft Slams Critics as Patriot Act Backlash Grows

America's Interdependence Day
There is a shared global reality and interest. Parag Khanna proposes to let America, and the world, celebrate it -- on the day after 9/11. -- Open Democracy

Fleeing America
Since 9/11, thousands of New York's Pakistanis have left the US. Why do they want to escape? -- The Village Voice

News anchor Tom Brokaw summed up in two short sentences the drastic change in our world-view since September 11th. "Before 9/11," he said, "it used to be that the possible was unimaginable, and no one believed that anything could happen. Since 9/11," he said, "we now believe that the imaginable is the probable: anything can happen."  -- Source: The David Letterman Show, 6 February 2003

Congress Releases 9/11 Report
 
Congress released a report last week on the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Response to the report continues to reverberate throughout the Arab world.
 
Particularly controversial are the 28 pages which the Bush administration, citing national security concerns, has refused to declassify. Paragraph after paragraph, ostensibly dealing with Saudi Arabia, have been blacked out by government censors on these pages.
 
Revealed by the remaining text of the report was information that two of the 9/11 hijackers received money from a student in Los Angeles. The student had links with officials at the Saudi consulate, and according to the report, had access to seemingly unlimited funding from Saudi Arabia.
 
The Arab world, despite their differences with Saudi Arabia, has for the most part responded in united support of the wealthy kingdom that has enjoyed a friendly relationship with the US. But many are saying that the report plainly exposes Saudi ties to al-Qaida.

9/11 Report Builds Case

By Senator Edwards for the Homeland Intelligence Agency

July 24, 2003 -- Senator John Edwards (D - North Carolina) cited pre-September 11 intelligence failures last fall when he first called for creation of a new agency to take over domestic intelligence from the FBI. A member of the intelligence and judiciary committees, he said efforts by Director Robert Mueller to refocus the bureau's mission after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were "too little too late."

The Bush administration fought the congressional review and sanitized portions of the report, citing ostensible intelligence reasons. "The American people deserve to know the truth," Senator Edwards said.

The report detailed how the FBI bungled chances to uncover the September 11 plot because of its lackadaisical investigation of al Qaeda's presence in the United States. In San Diego, for example, and FBI informant had extensive contact with two of the hijackers, but the bureau didn't piece the information together until after the attacks. That failure, the report concluded, missed "perhaps the intelligence community's best chance to unravel the September 11 plot." The bureau also failed to notice that terrorists were taking flying lessons and English classes in the United States.

Under legislation introduced by Senator Edwards earlier this year, a new domestic intelligence agency would focus on information gathering, not law enforcement, so it could do a better job tracking terrorist operatives in this country and coordinating intelligence with local law enforcement and other federal agencies. To guard against civil liberties abuses, the measure would require court approval before information could be gathered on religious or political groups, and it would establish a special office to protect civil liberties.
-- Excerpted from Senator Edwards' website

9/11 Conspiracy Links

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Link to Free Screensaver

Administration Grants Restricted Access to President's Intelligence Briefing

November 17, 2003  -- Nearly one year after its creation, the 9/11 Independent Commission announced an agreement with the Bush administration Wednesday about access to the Presidential Daily Briefing. -- The Daily Mis-Lead

Moussaoui Defense and Prosecution Both Make Same Recommendation:

Dismiss the case against Zacarias Moussaoui, federal prosecutors are urging US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in a motion released Thursday. The Justice Department wants the case against the terrorism suspect tossed fast so it can get on with the business of appealing Brinkema's earlier orders granting Moussaoui the right to question other government prisoners. The DOJ's motion to dismiss was released a day after the release of a motion by Moussaoui's legal team, who made the same recommendation ... -- September 26, 2003 (Law.com)

WMD, 9/11, and James Bond

An interview with Dexter Ingram of the Heritage Foundation, by AllSpies Productions' Cort McCadden

Cort: Dexter, explain for our readers that may not be as familiar with your position what you do at Heritage Foundation on a typical day? And what if we were really in another 9/11 scenario, how would your day change then?

Dexter: There's no such thing as a "typical" day now when analyzing world threats...especially since 9/11. There are days when so much is going on you're just trying to stay focused and think critically and there are days when not much is going on and your trying to play catch up. A lot of my job is reading and listening. I read major papers first thing in the morning, watch the news, attend lecture series, go to lunches, exchange emails, etc. Much of it's a certain amount of common sense.

When I speak on a topic I try to lay out the facts and make an informed decision based on those facts. There are very few absolutes out there. Any given day this past year the hot topic has ranged from India/Pakistan, Iraq, North Korea, and domestic terrorism.

Cort: How did you go from being in the Navy to Heritage Foundation? What led you in this direction?

Dexter: I come from a military family. My dad's a retired Navy crypto. My brother's a weather officer in the NAG and my sister is an Air Force Intel officer. It made sense that I too would join the Navy. Serve your country, see the world, get a great education, and learn to fly... can't beat it!

A lot of life is right place, right time. That's what happened with Heritage Foundation. They liked my military background, my computer knowledge and communications skills and hired me. I've been really lucky, it's been an exciting time to be involved in national security policy.

Cort: In a recent issue of my former employer, Newsweek, there was a front-page story on the Al Qaida being still active in the USA. What are your thoughts on the level of activity of these America cells? Do they still pose a major threat to US security?

Dexter: There will always be those who have ill will towards the US. Some are foreign threats... some domestic. We've done a lot since 9/11 to beef up our Intel and we've also hunted down many individuals and groups that were plotting some attack on our soil. I have no doubt that there are other groups out there. Whether Al Qaida and it's cells or sympathizers. I hope we never see anything like 9/11 again, but there are a lot of ways terrorist could try to disrupt our way of life, even if it's not through mass casualties... but fear.

Cort: Have the recent reports coming out of Iraq about not locating WMDs hurt the reputation of the American intelligence apparatus? If yes, how? If no, why not?

Dexter: There have been inquires on the Hill and in the media about not finding WMDs. Whether it was an Intel problem or lack of communication within the administration questions will be asked. I think the more time passes and the more former scientists involved in Iraq's WAD program talk, we'll see that we weren't too far off base. Iraq's a pretty big country and the borders are pretty porous. Even before the war UN arms inspectors said many of the previously known chem and bio agents were unaccounted for.

Iraq admittedly had them at one time. Saddam even used them killing over 5,000 Kurds in his own country. He also used them against his neighbor Iran. Were they destroyed, hidden, or passed to those networks, groups or countries that have ill will towards the US? Time will tell.

Cort: How did you get interested in the world of espionage? Were you a huge fan of James Bond as you grew up?

Dexter: As I mentioned above I grew up around the military and stories of my dad and his friends doing things most people will never know. The excitement, sense of service, and selflessness these men showed made me want to emulate them. To me they were the real Bonds out there. There's definitely a difference between reality and fantasy though. -- SpyZine

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