9/11 Conspiracy Theories Gain Ground, Study Finds

By Matt Purple CNSNews.com Correspondent September 11, 2007

(CNSNews.com) – The idea that the Bush administration participated in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is not limited to fringe Web sites and conspiracy theorists, according to a poll commissioned by a Web site that promotes alternative explanations for the events of Sept. 11.

The poll, conducted by Zogby International for 911Truth.org and released last week, found that 31 percent of Americans do not accept the official explanation for Sept. 11 — that “19 Arab fundamentalists executed a surprise attack which caught U.S. intelligence and military forces off guard.”

Among that 31 percent, around 26 percent agreed that the American government “knew the attacks were coming but consciously let them proceed for various political, military, and economic motives.” Almost 5 percent believed that U.S. officials “actively planned or assisted some aspects of the attack.”

Among self-identified Democrats, 42.6 percent chose an explanation other than the official one, as did 19.2 percent of Republicans and 30.5 percent of Independents.

Those who doubted the official explanation also tended to be low-income, single, and young. They most frequently associated with a liberal or progressive ideology.

“The number of people who question is growing,” Mike Berger of 911Truth.org, a leading 9/11 conspiracy Web site, told Cybercast News Service. “The issue is that there has not been mainstream media coverage of any of the anomalies, the omissions, the lies regarding what we know.”

“The mainstream media have basically tried to dismiss anybody who raises questions,” he said.

In addition to questioning the official explanation behind the events of September 11, other poll results indicated that some Americans are warming to the idea of alternative 9/11 explanations and reflected an extreme dissatisfaction with the Bush administration.

About 67 percent of those polled indicated they believe that the government should have properly investigated the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7, which was not hit by a plane and crumbled eight hours after the Twin Towers. Tower 7’s destruction is seen as a smoking gun by many conspiracy theorists, who contend that the building was brought down by explosives.

Others disagree. According to a Popular Mechanics investigation of many prevalent September 11conspiracy theories, Tower 7 was only a block from the Twin Towers and the rubble produced from their collapse started a fire that ultimately destroyed the building. Nevertheless, many in the 9/11 Truth movement were unconvinced.

Further, 31 percent of respondents believe that impeachment proceedings should be brought by Congress against President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, or both. This number was most heavily concentrated among self-identified progressives and liberals, 60 percent and 52 percent respectively.

The poll is based on 1,000 telephone interviews conducted by Zogby International and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

The new media

According to Berger, alternative explanations for 9/11 were generally ignored by the mainstream press and gained traction only through alternative forms of media, such as Internet blogs.

“Rather than being a passive receiver of information as we have been in the past, you’re able to go on the Internet and choose your own sources of news and evaluate [that information] yourself,” he said