After a second stolen election and another murderous assault upon Iraq, the dark side of the US government should be obvious. Yet, when confronted with news of a terminal illness, disaster, individuals experience a range of emotions, the first being- denial.

Behind denial lies fear. Fear, “the mind killer” destroys rational thought; “war” itself is recognized as “collective insanity.” Wars, however, are not spontaneous; they are planned; they serve powerful interests; aggressors are generally trained mercenaries, following orders. Historically, wars are engineered, benefiting the merchants of death and financiers. In Yugoslavia, the IMF and the World Bank prepared the way for the dismemberment of the country. Victors claim the spoils, while victims pay the price. The most lucrative business on Earth is war.

The World Wars were marked by the rise of national fascism; the Millennium is witnessing the rise of transnational fascism, where imperial powers share in the looting of conquered nations. In the era of “globalization,” new alliances pit corporate interests against the vast majority.

Aung Sung Suu Kyi wrote: "It is not power that corrupts, but fear -- fear of losing power and fear of the scourge of those who wield it."

Behind the trappings of wealth, in limos and mansions, are a frightened group of people who fear losing power and control in an increasingly “unmanageable” world. Protesters converge on significant gatherings where global policies are “decided.” The shutting down of the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999, was one of a series of global protests. A major protest was scheduled for Washington DC in September 2001, but was cancelled in the wake of 9/11.

9/11 was a desperate act by a frightened few, trying to cling to power, using their traditional methods of war and terrorism to frighten people into silence and submission. The PATRIOT Act mirrored the Enabling Act that Hitler passed after the Reichstag Fire; both were designed to dismantle democracy. Similar legislation has been passed in other countries to relabel dissenters “domestic terrorists.” Recently, in India, people rescinded their anti-terrorist legislation. In the US, four states and 357 cities and counties have passed resolutions against the PATRIOT Act.

The “War on Terrorism” benefits the arms/security/surveillance/oil industries, Bechtel, Halliburton, the Carlyle Group. Bogus Terror alerts, war, have terrorized people, but no one can remain in “panic mode.” When people “come back to their senses,” and think critically about the “War on Terrorism;” they should be able to see that it really is a “War of Terrorism” against Americans and the world. The Big Lie cannot stand.

Cheney believes (as did Napoleon) “You don’t have to suppress the truth forever, just until it doesn’t matter anymore.” The truth does matter now, the sooner people recognize it, the greater our chances of getting humanity off of the war path.

Rachel Corrie’s father told a story about her (the young American woman who was killed by a bulldozer as she stood to protect the home of Palestinians, as part of the International Solidarity Movement). As a very small child, just age two, Rachel had posed a question to her father-

“Is being brave, part of growing up?”

Many Americans have had no idea of how much violence the US government has sponsored, and do not know how to stand up against it. Rachel understood this, and stood in solidarity with the people of the world and stood for the values that America is supposed to stand for, inspiring a new generation of activists.

At the International Citizens’ Inquiries into 9-11, we showed that the government lied about 9-11, destroyed evidence, engaged in a major cover-up, and was complicit in the attacks. Our largest obstacle in getting out the facts to the press and the public has been fear and denial. However, each day more people are coming to the conclusion that “9-11 was an inside job.”

In brief, Al Qaeda was created by Saudi Arabia and the CIA through Pakistan’s ISI, and remains a CIA asset. The Money Man behind 9-11 was meeting with top US officials during September 2001, including Porter Goss and Bob Graham on the morning of the attacks. Those in charge of the official inquiry were people who should have been investigated. The so-called “Independent Commission” was worse than the Warren Commission, and the Commissioners had major conflicts of interest, particularly oil; they failed to address most of the key questions.

The failure of the military to intercept the hijacked planes is explained by the multiple wargames being conducted that morning. One deployed fighter resources to Northern Canada and Alaska, another placed false blips on radar screens; the CIA was conducting a drill to respond to the simulation of a plane crashing into the National Reconnaissance Office, and a “live fly hijack drill” was underway. The multiple exercises combined to make it impossible for fighter jets to interfere with the attacks. Cheney was in command that morning. The book - Crossing the Rubicon- The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil, by Michael C. Ruppert, and the documentary - The Great Conspiracy- The 9-11 News Special You Never Saw, by Barrie Zwicker, detail Cheney’s role in 9-11 and key facts that should have been headline news years ago.

Individually and collectively, Americans need to “be brave, to grow up,” to overcome fear, to think, to face the harsh realities that the rest of the world has witnessed. There is a disparity between American ideals and American policy.

People are rising up in the United States, and around the world against war, and the dominant institutions, the IMF, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, transnational corporations, that clearly benefit a global elite, at tremendous human cost, and threaten the planet.

The Project for a New American Century, the neo-conservative cabal occupying the White House, wrote in detail of their imperial desires and the likelihood of resistance from the public,

“The process of [military] transformation is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event- like a New Pearl Harbor.”

9-11 was the event they needed to pursue the militarization of the country and world conquest. It was also a gamble, and depended upon an acquiescent media to pull it off. John Galtung, peace activist, when asked about the differences between the Americans and the Russians, said, “In Russia when people hear the Party line; they know it’s the Party line. In America, they don’t.” Or to quote William Randolph Hearst “News is something somebody desn’t want printed; all else is advertising.” In war- the first casualty is truth.

The quick passage of the PATRIOT Act, the rush to war against Afghanistan, Iraq, counter-terrorist wars against other countries, the construction of Homeland Security, the revamping of the Intelligence Agencies, the construction of a “Global Security State,” are being hurried through Congress as quickly as possible. The speed of the changes, the psychological war directed against the public has formed a crucible which is forging a vast resistance movement.

The craziest Conspiracy Theory, of all, was linking Iraq to 9/11 which Cheney used to sell his war. 9/11 is the Achilles Heel of a failing paradigm, already suffering from loss of credibility and legitimacy.

Children can see “The Emperor has no clothes.” It was logistically impossible for a lone nut to assassinate JFK in 1963; nineteen guys with boxcutters couldn’t possibly have outwitted the multi trillion dollar Defense Department and brought down all those buildings.

What has happened is that people have raised questions that officials cannot answer. Through a vast cooperative effort, researchers from all over the world, activists in a multitude of cities, filmmakers, writers, artists, musicians have challenged the Big Lie. The spotlight on the darkness has exposed the secrets, the crimes, the treason committed at the highest level of government.

The 9-11 Truth Movement was nurtured by a free flow of information, analysis, thousands and thousands of people helping one another to put together the pieces of a vastly complex puzzle. Truth and courage are needed to overcome fear and recognize the deeper problems we face, which are beyond left and right, beyond rich or poor, beyond gender or race.

Our current debt based monetary system concentrates wealth and power, while destroying the planet; it is only supported by belief in the current system. When faith in the US government collapses; dollars are likely to collapse, as well, with far reaching effect. Fear paralyzes people who cannot imagine a better alternative to the dysfunctional, criminal, financial system which surrounds us.

Money, next to brute military force has been the most powerful tool of empire, but money is little understood, how it is created, how it works. The antithesis of the gift, debt-based money relies on fear and scarcity to maintain its value and power. The war economy fails to recognize the value of life. The failure of the financial system, the totalitarian corporations, the institutionalized violence, however, is giving new life to a more powerful force. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Rachel Corrie and others, are beginning to awaken to the power of truth, non-violent resistance, solidarity with others; recognition that respect and cooperation are essential survival skills, and bring joy, meaning and hope to our lives.

We are grappling with The Big Lie versus Truth, Fear versus Courage, War versus Peace. We must stand up to the frightened necrophiliacs that believe that if they cannot own or control something; they have the right to kill it. There is a rising consciousness that the hope of the world is to acknowledge and respect all people; that real security means healthy relationships between people, between people and planet, not the military domination of the many by a dysfunctional few. Americans should rein in their own government and call for compassionate impeachment, the lifting of the American boot off the throat of the world. Imagine redirecting the world’s resources away from killing and controlling the planet to healing.

The time for a Global Truth, Peace and Justice Movement is now. To help others overcome fear, we must help light the path, and encourage the emergence of genuine community that comes from the free exchange of gifts.

P.S. By chance, on the following day, the presidents of ABC, CBS, and NBC were at Stanford University on a panel discussing the recent election. I was able to raise the 9-11 issue with them publicly (the event should be aired on C-Span). I also gave them Deception Dollars and a copy of this talk... although it was certainly geared for a different audience!!! The printed version included an excellent graphic on the wargames which I found at http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/11/301613.shtml

This speech was included as a chapter in -

Women and the Gift Economy: A Radically Different Worldview is Possible ,
Edited by Genevieve Vaughan (an independent researcher, activist, social change philanthropist, and author of For-Giving: A Feminist Criticism of Exchange.) Inanna Publications and Education Inc., 2007, 388 pgs.
www.yorku.ca/inanna/forth.html

Women and the Gift Economy: A Radically Different Worldview is Possible is an attempt to respond to the need for deep and lasting social change in an epoch of dangerous crisis for all humans, cultures, and the planet. Featuring articles by well-known feminist activists and academics, this book points to ways to re-create the connections, which have been severed, between the gift economy, women, and the economies of Indigenous peoples, and to bring forward the gift paradigm as an approach to liberate us from the worldview of the market that is destroying life on the planet. Contributors to this volume argue that shifting to a gift paradigm can give us the radically different worldview which will make another, better, world possible.

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