Could it be? A rant of pain.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

How COULD it be? How do we find out the truth? Who do we trust? How do we know? How can we be sure?

I am one distressed grannie. I have been doing some more reading about the 'war on terror' and I pretty much figured all y'all on DU who actually thought the whole thing was staged..all of it... well, I'll be truthful. I thought you were a bunch of KOOKS. Like that guy who inflates his scrotum and goes to peace demonstrations.

But.. but... I don't know anymore. I don't know what to think. You have reputable scholars and journalists like Paul Craig Roberts implying it was an inside deal. That would mean..gulp..the whole war on terror. It DOESN'T EXIST? I mean, I have no doubt there are extreme Muslims who hate us. There's plenty of hate to go around in the world. But did this administration, after basically and eight-year hiatus (during which they could plan a whole LOT) come up with this freaking scheme?

Now, how many of you are saying, "duh...Grannie...we've been telling you this for a while now." But again, I thought you were pretty extreme.

I am very upset at the thought that this concept could be truth. How do you decide? Who do you believe? Where do you go for information with no agenda that you can TRUST? What if we're wrong? What then?

Please don't toast me. I am so conflicted right now. This idea just blows the freaking crap out of my world view. help me

[SteppingRazor]

1. I think there's kernels of truth everywhere...

The problem is that there ARE kooks on our side saying some positively outrageous things, and you haveto separate the wheat from the chafe.

I don't think the truth lies in either camp, as either camp will spin the truth to coincide with their world views.

Yes, we were attacked on 9/11. Yes, there is a guy named Osama Bin Laden who funds terrorists. Yes, our response to 9/11 has created even more terrorists.

In other words, I don't believe in MIHOP, but neither do I believe in the war. Extremists on either side are mistaken.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. So your opinion

would be more that this administration has USED a real terrorist event in order to push its agenda?

[oregonindy]

7. considering their war plan written down and hatched back in the 90's

specifically said it needed a terror attack I am inclined to believe they had their hands in it someway

[SteppingRazor]

9. I think when that second plane hit the second tower...

certain people in this administration (**cough cough Rove cough cough**) were pumping their fists in the air and going, "Yes! This'll be great to shore up our base!"

I think others (**cough cough Wolfowitz, Perle cough cough**) were pumping their fists in the air and going, "Yes! We can take over the Middle East!"

So, for several reasons and from several factions within the administration, yes, 9/11 was greeted with hidden grins and eagerly dry-washed hands.

[Jackpine Radical]

16. Well, there is a third possibility, which we acronymize as LIHOP.

That is, the attack was carried out by OBL, but the Bushies did things that facilitated and perhaps encouraged the attack. Such as pulling the FBI off surveillance of Saudi citizens in the months before the attack, calling off air defenses on the day of the attack, etc.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Grannie, I believe the truth will come out,

there are too many people now waking up to the inconsistencies and out right lies perpetrated by the Bush administration. It is horrible to think a President would betray his/her own nation and would be difficult for many people to wrap their minds around this.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

5. It certainly is

hard to wrap my mind around. It hurts. But I hear from Republican sources that Bush I and II no longer speak. Why is that? Did Bush I figure out that Bush II has dirty hands? Or is it the other way around?

Is Bush II figuring out he has been a puppet and "his other Father" is going to be pissed as HELL at him?

[Uncle Joe]

11. I am not an admirer of Bush 1, however

I think for the good of the nation Bush 2 had better start listening to him instead of the neocon cabal that he has surrounded himself with.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. I have no idea, and I'm horrified to think that could be true.

But then, it would appear that we are governed by a cabal of psychopaths, so who knows?

By the way-- who is it that inflates his scrotum and goes to peace rallies??? That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard of -- I'm imagining a guy who looks like an upside-down Portuguese man-of-war. How do you DO that, anyhow? And why?

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Damn, and I was about to go to lunch before I saw that picture.

:)

[Just Me]

15. (((EEK))) Yuckola!

:scared: Is that FOR REAL?!?!?!

Nevermind. Don't answer that.

[EstimatedProphet]

18. OWWWWW!!!!!

[Options Remain]

6. there are a lot of ideas anyone could take for granted

that others would view as extreme. The only difference is perspective and the willingess to understand.

[acmejack]

8. We are normal (relatively any way) people.

I was an independent moderate, but have driven to the extreme positions I now hold. It has been distilled to what sort of life we want for those grand kids. Will it be a socially just, egalitarian society? Or will they be wage slaves, controlled by corporate masters?

I am very tired of an elite controlling our Country, taking us to war, feeding their interests at the expense of our own. Killing our children while their's enjoy a life of ease. No damned more!

[Just Me]

12. The truth, especially this one, is painful and frightening and distressing

Your reaction and feelings are perfectly normal. When the whole picture came to light for me, I felt like I was in shock for at least four full months.

Trust me, this stage of conflict in which you find yourself will pass.

:hug: Hang in there. It'll be alright! :hug:

[Junkdrawer]

14. Do you think former Senator Bob Graham is a kook?...

Read his book: "Intelligence Matters"...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400063523/002-0051947-9555222?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance&tagActionCode=ruggedeleganc-20

Then you may want to read:

Prelude to Terror: the Rogue CIA, The Legacy of America's Private Intelligence Network the Compromising of American Intelligence

by Joseph J. Trento

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786714646/002-0051947-9555222?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance

Examine the relationships between the rogue CIA, the Saudis and this administration and I think you'll see which end is up...not that that makes the world any easier to take.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

20. I sure don't think he is a kook

I've met him and I teach his grandson. I will get the book.

[earth mom]

17. It's rather a rude awakening isn't it?

I've no doubt that we've all been taken on a wild and sinister ride where many innocent people have been used up and discarded as a means to an end. I can only wonder who is next... :scared:

A good rule of thumb is: Who Benefits and Follow the Money. Since we all know the elites and the corporations have benefited big time, it's not hard to figure out what's really going on. You might as well forget about trusting anyone in Washington and that goes double for the media whores.

Sorry Toto, but we're not in Kansas anymore.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

22. It is a painful thing

to even ponder.

[BJW]

19. Just a few suggestions

Always, remember the past, which puts the present in proper context.

Now, by what I mean "past" goes farther back in time than just *s admin. I'd like to encourage you to read the book House of Saud, House of Bush--which is an excellent, well-researched and thoughtful book that goes back into the past and connects the dots to the present situation.

I never believed what *s admin was selling, because I remembered the past.

[EstimatedProphet]

21. Well, imagine the frustration we feel

I was in DC at the time of 9/11 and the invasion too, and it was frustrating to me to see how many people I had previously looked at as sensible falling for what was clearly bullshit, and then claiming that I was extremist because I didn't want to kill everyone in the Middle East.

It feels good now to see the tide turning.

As for whether we're wrong, it's very clear. On one side, we have people who are just asking questions and saying that if the questions aren't answered, they can't support blindly what is going on. On the other side we have people that say that anyone who asks questions is a traitor. Which side would you rather be on?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

23. I bought it

hook line and sinker. Because let's face it, Osama Bin Laden looks like a character in a child's book. Terrifying bad guy. And I was very, very angry. I grew up almost literally in the shadow of those towers. You can see them from the hill behind my childhood house. And I am just a trusting person. I have rarely been betrayed or hurt in my life.

It has been an awakening that comes in small doses. Maybe as my mind can accept it. For me to acknowledge that 911 might have even been an inside job (when just last week I was saying on this very board that I had been reading and decided it was not MIHOP) is remarkable. And while I was never a hawk, I understood the concept of revenge. But now? Revenge for WHAT? For something we might have engineered, or at least facilitated? And at the very, very, least...exploited a sad tragedy carried out by a tiny faction of extremists.

I feel rather like I might throw up.

[GardeningGal]

24. I know exactly what you're going through.

I went through the same thing myself. I did not believe some of the stuff that was out there (still don't on some of the more extreme ideas), but the more I read the more I believe our government had a lot to gain by pushing the War On Terror message.

For me, the FOLLOW THE MONEY statement is the one that should be focused on.

[Blue_In_AK]

25. TG, I'm glad to see you decided to stick around. :-)