Lefts have to be better if they expect to function.
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Herein lies the heart of this debate.
There is, I have observed, a robust aversion amongst many progressives and leftys of all types to the appearance of being conspiracy buffs. This was last seen most dramatically in the debates over who/what/when/where that swirled like dust devils around the details of the Kennedy assassination.
The aversion is understandable. Your beliefs are already at odds with the majority’s and there’s a need to avoid giving your ideological adversaries an easy shot.
Subtlety is possible however.
There are two, major approaches to the question of 9-11 that I’ve seen:
One. The ‘Bush knew’ crowd.
No need for comment. Not because it’s entirely out of the question (though I don’t believe it) but because we already know the Bush team to be a collective of tortured souls we shouldn’t trust. Verifying complicity would only complete a puzzle whose finished image we already know.
Two. The ‘dereliction of duty’ crowd.
This is, in my opinion, a more fruitful line of inquiry. That is, the entire basis of the state of emergency laws passed and actions taken post 9-11 is that the ‘authorities’ lacked the necessary tools to detect and intercept terrorist activities. If an investigation were to demonstrate that the entire state intelligence and interdiction apparatus was asleep at the switch and not using existing information and legal instruments to prevent terrorism this would be a powerful counter-measure to demands for expanded power.
McKinney’s statements, from my reading, fall more squarely in the dereliction of duty camp and should, for that reason, be considered more seriously (and less derisively) than we’re seen. Even on this list.
DRM
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It is always important to look carefully at how questions are formulated, whether in the sciences or inquiry into human affairs. One often finds hidden assumptions that should be unearthed, critically analyzed, and often rejected. When that essential preliminary task is undertaken, we often find that the questions cannot be answered, and should be recast.
N. Chomsky
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