The Root of September 11 -- The Love of Money

So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of all money? ~Ayn Rand

On Sunday, February 13, 2011 a group of Muslims attended a fundraiser while another group of self-described "patriotic Americans" gathered to protest the event, holding signs that read, "God Bless the USA."

Why were these patriotic protesters so upset?  In the words of one angry demonstrator, "Never forget 9/11!"

Imam Siraj Wahhaj was the featured speaker of the ICNA (Islamic Society of North America) Relief USA event. Wahhaj has said things like, "Neo-cons are all Zionist Jews." And "The wars against Iraq (Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom) were manufactured by the Jews in America to avert attention from the two [Palestinian] Intifadas." And "[T]he Israelis were in control of 9-11," which "was staged to give an excuse to wage war against Muslims around the world."

I don't pretend to know who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, but unfortunately, some people did pretend to know.

Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the 9/11 Commission wrote (over six years later),

"What we do know is that government officials decided not to inform a lawfully constituted body, created by Congress and the president, to investigate one the greatest tragedies to confront this country." (January 2, 2008 New York Times oped, "Stonewalled by the CIA")

They have also written,

"...the after-action reports, accident investigations and public testimony by FAA and NORAD officials advanced an account of 9/11 that was untrue." Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission

So while there is no certainty about who orchestrated the attacks, we do know there have been a number of entities which have benefited from them. The most obvious group is munitions manufacturers and security firms that have realized record profits since America's "New Pearl Harbor." Since the Department of Defense spends over half of our total annual federal budget, the financial institutions who have loaned us money to "defend" our empire have also enjoyed record profits.

The most ironic beneficiary however, is the United States government's increased power over its citizens. This government and the mainstream media that supports it would have us believe that the terrorist groups who "hate us for our freedoms" are comprised of Muslims, yet the group who has successfully restricted our freedoms most is the US Congress when they enacted legislation such as the USA PATRIOT Act. 

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act... Matthew 7:16 New Living Translation

The Americans who gathered at the protest event appear to have overlooked some important pieces of information. It seems to have gone unnoticed that there are a number of valid alternatives to the position that "the Muslims did 9/11."   Additionally, they seem to be blind to the usurpation of our freedom perpetrated by our government -- not by any Muslims. Perhaps these Americans who so freely hate all things Muslim (and love all things American and Israeli) have made some additional oversights and hold some further misconceptions.       

Misery Loves Company (Business)

In his article, "The Irony of Israel's Benefits from International Terrorism", Anthony Reich (an Israeli citizen and sympathizer with other writings such as "The Threat of Muslim Terrorism" and "Why I Want My Son to Serve [in the Israel Defense Forces]") writes,

"Not very long ago, terrorism was limited to certain countries around the world. Israel was viewed as being one of these countries... [and developed] tactics and technologies which help to secure the country and her citizens.

"At one time, the only consumer of these capabilities was Israel. As international terror has spread around the world, the number of customers for the anti-terror devices has grown dramatically.

"Today, many security systems that are deployed around the world are Israeli systems, or are based upon ones developed and used in Israel. ... Each time the security level is raised for any reason, Israeli companies are benefiting financially from the increase [in] security requirements. Israeli companies are major beneficiaries of the enormous sums of money spent by the US Homeland Security and many other countries."

Andrew Buncombe writes,

"US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan -- an estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed -- that American ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is having to import supplies from Israel."  ("US Forced to Import Bullets From Israel, GIs, Marines Use 250,000 for Every Rebel Killed," The Independent, September 25, 2005)

Swiss business school, IMD's 2010 edition of the "World Competitiveness Yearbook" named the Israeli economy as most durable in the face of crises. Uriel Linn, president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce said in response to the report,

"It should be noted that Israel's ranking first in terms of the market's durability in the face of crises is the direct result of the Treasury and the Bank of Israel's actions, which withstood the pressures and did not pump funds into failing organizations and financial systems as the US and Europe did."

That may be accurate, but Naomi Klein, in her book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism said,

"After the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, Israel's economy was devastated but then came 9/11, and suddenly new profit vistas opened up for any company that claimed it could spot terrorists in crowds, seal borders from attack and extract confessions from closed-mouthed prisoners.

"Many of the country's most successful entrepreneurs are using Israel's status as a fortressed state, surrounded by furious enemies, as a kind of twenty-four-hour-a-day showroom--a living example of how to enjoy relative safety amid constant war ... Israel now sends $1.2 billion in 'defense' products to the United States -- up dramatically from $270 million in 1999.

"That makes Israel the fourth-largest arms dealer in the world."

George Washington in his 1796 Farewell Address to the United States Congress gave a (timeless) warning against foreign influence:

"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. ... The nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave... either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.

"Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to...bloody contests. ... So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists ... betrays the [nation] into a participation in the quarrels and wars of [the favorite nation] without adequate inducement or justification.

"And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country ...sometimes even with popularity. ... As avenues to foreign influence [advance] in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, [and] to influence or awe the public councils! Such an attachment of a small or weak toward a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.

"...Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests.