Washington Times Smacks the Truthers

In an op-ed Monday the Washington Times smacks down the 9/11 Truthers:

People in the grip of the conspiratorial mindset think those who accept official explanations or the conventional wisdom are uncritical dupes. They dig into details of events seeking things that don't quite make sense, or perhaps make too much sense. They produce timelines bringing together seemingly disparate events they claim have a bearing on the event in question. And they spend hours delving into the supposed hidden motives of the malefactors they believe were responsible for events that were cleverly blamed on others.

Their supposed knowledge of the conspiracy makes them feel party to a secret truth. It gives them empowering insight into a mysterious hidden world, one that would crumble if only people would listen to them. But the same conspiratorial forces keep this knowledge under wraps by suppressing reports, destroying evidence, even killing witnesses. The true devotee of conspiratorial thinking is certain he is being watched as he untangles the web and draws closer to the ultimate truth. Why the titans of conspiracy who run the world don't simply do away with the intrepid truth-seekers is left unexplained. Maybe the tinfoil hats actually work.

The "Truther" label is ironic because this is a group of people who can't handle the truth. The Sept. 11 attacks on America were definitely a conspiracy, but one organized and executed by al Qaeda. The attacks succeeded beyond even what its planners thought possible, particularly in bringing down the World Trade Center towers, a tragedy that can easily be explained without reference to nano-thermite or the CIA. But the plan broke down at the strategic level. Osama bin Laden intended to start a war in Afghanistan, and he did, but it didn't turn out the way he expected. He probably thought by now he would be the Caliph of a united Muslim world, not a fugitive hunkered down in someone's basement in Pakistan wearing a burka.

As John Roche might have observed, bin Laden had the time to formulate a conspiracy, but the talent? Not so much. The so-called Truthers have way too much time on their hands as well.

Putting aside all the so-called "scientific" evidence the Truthers come up with, a conspiracy by the government to pull off the 9/11 attacks would have required the cooperation of hundreds if not thousands of people. When in history have that many people been able to keep a secret? Where is the whistleblower that you know would have come out by now if for no other reason than to sell a book and get on TV? The whole Truther theory is just not plausible for that reason alone. It defies what we know about human nature.