Main Core Can Be A Key to 9/11

Salon recently published an article entitled Exposing Bush’s historic abuse of power about a database known as Main Core. The article was focused on domestic surveillance in the US and connected up with a lot of other threads I have noticed swirling around 9/11. It strikes me that this could be the key to uncovering how the intelligence agencies, in particular the NSA, failed in the run up to 9/11 (and a lot more besides), and I will try and explain here how and why I think Main Core could be linked to the attacks.Given that the article also said that lawmakers are considering the launch of an investigation modelled on the Church Committee into the programme, as well as other aspects of surveillance, this represents a very decent chance of getting to the bottom of what actually happened.The Salon article followed others in the Wall Street Journal and Radar, and, if you haven’t already read them, it would be well worth your while.

Bob Woodward on Main Core

Reading Bob Woodwards’s 2006 book State of Denial some time ago one passage immediately leaped out at me. It was about domestic intelligence gathering by the CIA and NSA—beginning before 9/11—and Woodward had seen fit to throw it in, pretty much as a sidebar, on pages 323-325. I turned it into two entries in the 9/11 Timeline, After July 1997: CIA Obtains Domestic Call and Financial Information to Support ‘Black Ops’ and (2003 and After): Corporate CEOs Balk at Providing Customer Information to Three US Intelligence Agencies. It was fairly clear that this was the tip of the iceberg and that there was a lot more to come out; I was interested because I thought it must be related to the information we have about the NSA in the Yemen hub category.

Revamping the 2008 Credit Crisis Project

One of the groups/projects in the Commons is the investigation into the 2008 Credit Crisis, managed by a contributor who goes under the moniker “iamthewalrus109.” “Walrus,” as we’ll dub him 🙂 , has plans to revamp and expand the project. To cover single issues such as the S&L crisis, for example, doesn’t do justice to the overarching nature of this complex and multilayered problem. In an e-mail to me, he says, “I think this is why our society has myopia when it comes to these issues. The fact that this project brings together issues and events that may seem disparate brings the possibility of a fuller comprehension of the swindling and machinations of the investor class and or the elite. Nothing of this sort has been done, hence why I asked to create such a project.” We’re excited at the prospect of such an intensive inquiry. He also thinks that the project should be renamed to more accurately reflect the complex nature of the investigation. From here on out, he’s taking the reins of conversation of this project. Naturally, we invite anyone with some knowledge of, and interest in, the subject to join in the investigation.

Embassy Bombings Category Summary Part 2: Links to 9/11 Missed

This is the second part of a summary of the 9/11 Timeline’s embassy bombings category, the first section of which can be found here. This part looks at the investigation of the bombings by the US, and the missed opportunities to focus on operatives who would later go on to be involved in the 2000 USS Cole bombing and 9/11.

The Collapse of Fortress Bush

The Collapse of Fortress Bush: The Crisis of Authority in American Government, by Alasdair Roberts. 2008 New York University Press

I’m not starting this new category with a sensationalistic, partisan book — there are plenty of those out there, and I like some of them 🙂 This book has obviously been given a dramatic title by its publisher to try to take advantage of the wave of books criticizing the Bush administration. Likewise, the cover photo — a stern Bush laying down the law from a podium while enormous engines of war loom over him — adds to the sense that this is another scathing indictment of all things Bush.

New Categories Being Implemented

Okay, you talked me into it. If we’re going to discuss the projects, we need categories to organize the discussion. Otherwise the whole thing becomes a big mess. The categories are in the system. I’m cheating and adding all the categories to this single post. They will display in the sidebar. You won’t be able to miss it: it will be by far the single biggest menu over there.

There is also a “Books We Read” and a “Miscellaneous” category. The first one gives us a chance to talk about the books we’re reading. The second one is, well, miscellaneous. Think off-topic chats over coffee.

Put it to use, folks!

Aliases of 9/11 Figures Revealed

This is a list of aliases used to refer to people involved in US intelligence operations against al-Qaeda in run-up to 9/11. The aliases appear mostly in 9/11 Commission report and the Department of Justice inspector general’s report. A lot of the aliases were revealed at the Zacarias Moussaoui trial, others in Lawrence Wright’s patchy The Looming Tower.

Recent Contributors

We’d like to welcome NewMex and JFTracy to the Commons. NewMex likes to remain anonymous, so we won’t pry, but he does say he will be contributing primarily to the 9/11 group. JFTracy is a professor of media studies at Florida Atlantic who has contributed to the 9/11 group and is, so far, part of the Neoliberalism, False Flag Attacks, Domestic Propaganda, and Neoconservative groups. We’re glad to have you both on board.

We’re looking for new contributors as well: Volunteer at the Commons.

Welcome to the discussion!

Okay, you’re here, now what? The basic information is in the About This Page article–it’s to your right. Take a quick look and come back.

Now, the next step is to get the discussion going. We want to know what you think about what you’re reading on the Commons. Fire up a post and let us hear your thoughts. We’ll respond as quickly as we can. Better yet, you guys will get some lively discussions going without us. You’re very welcome to do so.

You’ll notice that there aren’t any separate threads for the different groups on the site: the 9/11 Timeline, the Iraq Occupation project, the investigation into the torture of detainees, the Neoliberalism and Globalization group, etc. That’s because we’re in the middle of revamping the taxonomy of the site and the titles may change. Instead of putting ourselves through the hassle of making a bunch of categories and then having to change them, we’re opening up the blog with one big free-for-all discussion. We’ll differentiate when the new taxonomy is in place. Sorry for the initial lack of focus, but it won’t be for long.

Again, welcome aboard, and let us know what you think. Be respectful of one another, but don’t be shy. We’ll be tossing in some conversation starters periodically as well as some more factual content, so check back regularly to see what’s being talked about.