Is Chip Berlet's earlier post today [9/25/02] seriously suggesting that there was no "conspiracy" involved in 9-11?

In other words -

"ol' Osama Bin Laden did the whole darn thang all by his lil' ol' self [assumably by remote control of the airplanes.] Just like 'lil Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK, Connally and a by-stander at least 300 yards away in just under 6 seconds with a mail order rifle.

Berlet appears,as he did on John Weiner's KPFK program earlier this month, to be attempting to discredit any investigation into a possible wider circle of responsibility for the terrorist attack by linking such calls to the most absurd and discredited right-wing and anti-semitic propaganda from the past century.

The guiding thrust of Berlat, and others in "the Nation" crowd, such as Marc Cooper, Norman Solomon and David Corn is - "the culprit is the systerm itself, not individual conspirators", and anyone who suggests otherwise is attacked as a "conspiracy nut".

In short, their arguments lead to the conclusion that no events in history are, or ever were, caused by conspiracies, only lone nuts unwitingly manipulated by the "system".

[Just so no one is confused: the definition of conspiracy is simple - an event brought about as a result of the intentional plan[s] and/or action[s] of more than one person.]

Berlet's post offered no non-conspiratorial explanation for the many annomolies that have emerged, and have been reported by many responsible progressive journalists, and even at times in the "main-stream" corporate media. Even the cowardly, lets-pass-the-Patriot-Act-without-even-reading-it Congress has ordered up an "commission" to investigate ["commission?" -can you say Warren, e.g. Allen Dulles, Commission?]

Can Berlet offer a non-conspiracy, loner explanation for the many anomolies?

To name just a few of the most widely reported:

1. Pakistan received reports in SUMMER 2001 that US was planning to attack Afghanistan in October 2001.

2. FBI'S Chicgao office in early 2001 prepared a search warrant for the "20th' hijacker arrested for visa violations, so that he missed [we're told] his 9-11 flight. but FBI brass sabotagued the warrant so that it would be denied by the court.

3. Another FBI agent in charge of investigating terrorism quit in disgust in the SUMMER of 2001 because his probes were thwarted by the Bush regime's "hands off Saudis" policy.

4 Someone[s] bought 'put' options that American and United Airlines stock would fall, just before 9-11.

5 Fighter jets ready to scramble on the 9-11 hijacked planes were called back [Chip mentions this in his post, but offers no proof that the allegation is false]

6. In the days following 9-11, while all other non-military flights were grounded, members of Bin Laden's family living in the US were flown out of the country on private jets, despite protests of law enforcement investigators who wanted to question them.

Lets wait for a reply from ol' Chip, or his buddies -but

don' t hold your breath.