Second, he warns readers not to be fooled into thinking the book is "a search for truth," because my "mind is all but made up." By pretending to equate my state of mind before I began my research with my state of mind after I finished it, he appears to warn readers that I arrived at my views before examining the evidence. However, since he must know otherwise (assuming he read the introduction), he has simply helped the reader notice that it is his own approach that he has described. For he then says, "Griffin simply cannot accept that our national security system totally failed all on its own on September 11." So, although my book revolves around the choice between these two theories--official complicity or massive official incompetence--Baer announces that the latter is the truth, saying that the attacks succeeded because of "a confluence of incompetence, spurious assumptions and self-delusion on a grand scale," thereby suggesting that my book can be dismissed not by refuting its evidence but by dogmatically accepting the incompetence theory.

Third, Baer says that the incompetence theory is really implausible. After pointing to the failure of NORAD to protect us on 9/11, he asks: "Can it really be that incompetent?" He also shows that the claims of the FBI and CIA to have been "surprised by 9/11" are implausible.

Fourth, Baer uses strong words to denounce the book's ideas, calling them "wacky," "monstrous," and referring to one of my sources as a "crackpot author." This resort to name-calling is Baer's clearest signal that in his view the book's evidence cannot be challenged on its own terms.

Fifth, after pointing out that the Bush Administration used 9/11 as a pretext for the war in Iraq, he calls it a "senseless war." He thereby pretends not to be aware that the desire for a pretext to take over a country with the world's second-largest known oil reserves could have provided a powerful motive.

At this point, I must add that despite my admiration for Baer's subtle way of supporting my case for an investigation into the charge of official complicity, he misleads readers by suggesting that the case for the claim that the Bush Administration reaped foreseeable benefits from 9/11 rests entirely on this pretext for the attack on Iraq. I pointed out, however, that 9/11 was also a pretext to pass the Patriot Act, to attack Afghanistan (for oil, gas and bases) and to jack up military spending, especially for the US Space Command, with its goal of weaponizing space. But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise splendid review.

David Ray Griffin
Santa Barbara, CA
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Nation Company L.P.