9/11 and the crisis on the left

An elite corps of left-wing luminaries is moving to try to stem the influence of the 9/11 truth movement with the time-honored mantra that the "conspiracy theory" is drawing off too much energy that should be used for real leftist concerns.

Following in the footsteps of Noam Chomsky (see below) are Christopher Hayes, writing in the Nation, and Alexander Cockburn. All three make the same argument.

As the Democrats maneuver to decide what to do in Washington, we can expect to hear an increasing cacaphony of this kind of stuff. The aim: head off new investigations of the events surrounding the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax attacks.

The problem for Chomsky et al are these points: more than a third of Americans think 9/11 was an "inside job"; more than half think there is a coverup of important facts concerning 9/11; and more than 57 percent are very concerned by intrusive post-9/11 surveillance laws and edicts.

Though I know of no poll concerning the beliefs of intellectuals concerning 9/11, I daresay the percentage of those who are convinced of conspiracy is far higher than the 36 per cent reported by a Scripps-Howard poll for the public at large.

So the hidden hand of the left, as represented by these leftwing icons, has the troublesome task of overcoming thes impressive political realities.

It should be noted that there was a core group of professionals who fought to get the truth out about the 2004 exit poll results. Though elements of the left did make some noises about election problems, there was no concerted effort to expose the massive election rip-off. However, the continued pressure from these experts eventually had a cumulative impact, which was reflected in the recent midterm results.