Canada Free Press -- ARCHIVES

Because without America, there is no free world.

Return to Canada Free Press

WTC Captive Insurance Co., toxic exposure

9/11 "Truthers" ignore tragedy of first responders

By Judi McLeod

Monday, July 23, 2007

So-called 9/11 "truthers" bypass the truth even when it begs for answers.

Here's a theory worth probing: The WTC Captive Insurance Co. has "squandered" money that should go to 10,000 cops, firefighters and other workers ill from toxic exposure at Ground Zero. (Susan Edelman, New York Post, July 22, 2007).

According to many conspiracies about 9/11 is the one that insists al Qaeda is not responsible for the destruction of the World Trade Center, the U.S. government is.

"The Pentagon was not hit by a commercial jet"; it was hit by a cruise missile. United Flight 93 did not crash after its occupants rushed the cockpit; it was deliberately taken down by a U.S. Air Force fighter." (www.time.com, Sept. 3, 2006).

9/11 First responders According to some "truthers", the entire catastrophe was planned and executed by federal officials in order to provide the U.S. with a pretext for going to war in the Middle East and, by extension, as a means of consolidating and extending the power of the Bush/Cheney administration.

In the cloud of confusion conspiracies create; the real tragedies of 9/11 take the back seat.

Among the estimated 36 per cent of Americans who believe it was their own government and not al Qaeda who staged 9/11 are celebrities and university professors. 9/11 truthers now maintain a presence in anti-war protests.

Truthers get their message across on the Internet; crop up on talk radio; have their message repeated every time a celebrity joins their burgeoning legions and have even scored an interview on American cable television's top rated show, the O'Reilly Factor.

And now as we approach the sixth anniversary of September 11, 2001, according to a former Reagan official, the White House is planning to stage a new 9/11.

Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, has issued a public warning that the Bush Administration is preparing to orchestrate a staged terrorist attack in the United States, transform the country into a dictatorship and launch war with Iran within a year.

"…Roberts blasted Thursday a new Executive Order, released July 17, allowing the White House to seize the assets of anyone who interferes with its Iraq policies and giving the government expanded police powers to exercise control in the country." ( HYPERLINK "http://www.RogueGovernment.com" www.RogueGovernment.com, July 20, 2007).

Speaking on the Thom Hartmann radio program, Roberts said: "When Bush exercises this authority (under the new Executive Order), there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule."

"The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," Roberts said, adding that the so-called neoconservatives intended to use a renewal of the fight against terrorism to rally the American people around the fading Republican Party.

"The administration figures themselves and prominent Republican propagandists…are preparing us for another 9/11 event or series of events," he said. "You have to count on the fact that if al Qaeda is not going to do it, it is going to be orchestrated."

According to Roberts, the orchestration of another 9/11 by the American government is now a fact.

One of those old-line Republicans disenchanted with the neoconservative politics of the Bush administration, which are seen as a betrayal of fundamental conservative values, Roberts is also providing answers should there be no outcry from American patriots.

Suggesting that in the absence of a massive public outcry, only the federal bureaucracy and perhaps the military could put constraints on Bush's current drive for a "fully-fledged dictatorship", Roberts suggests, "they may have had enough. They may not go along with it."

That's 9/11 conspiracy theories from the man who has been dubbed the "Father of Reaganomics".

While 9/11 conspiracies like Robert's continue to surface on the Internet, no one seems willing to champion the cause of real 9/11 injustices.

In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan last week, 9/11 responders blasted WTC Captive Insurance Co, which manages the $1 billion FEMA fund. Responders lamented the Captive's mounting expenses--$75 million so far, including $47 million on law firms.

"They charged the city-run WTC Captive is a cash cow for its employees, consultants and lawyers, and has "squandered" money that should go to 10,000 cops, firefighters and other workers with illnesses blamed on toxic exposure at Ground Zero. It has paid just $45,000 to a carpenter who fell off a ladder."

Patton Boggs, based in Washington, D.C., leads the battle against Ground Zero responders, commanding up to $850-an-hour--one of the highest billing rates in the country.

The firm has focused on a bid to dismiss all the 9/11 suits on the grounds the city should have immunity because it was responding to a terror attack.

Lost in the murky cloud of 9/11 conspiracy theories are painfully tragic facts, one of them being that more attention is paid to conspiracy theories than to the fate of the victims in the aftermath of the massive attack.

While truthers continue to chase phantoms, real life victims of Sept. 11, 2001, are still chasing compensation some six years later.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2018 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2018 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement