Americans must lose sheepishness about 9/11

author: Bridget Gibson

Reality has a way of correcting misconceptions, so on May 11, al-Qaida reared its ugly head and struck three housing compounds of the Vinnell Corporation.

Vinnell's history includes being owned by The Carlyle Group, and it has had contracts with the Pentagon since the 1950s. This company trains mercenaries in various regions of the globe. It has recruited, trained and supplied a group of people whom we would consider terrorists. Vinnell has been paid more than 0 million by our government since 1994 for "training and construction."

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Americans must lose sheepishness about 9/11

By Bridget Gibson

From the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, President Bush declared that the terrorists were on the run and we were winning the war on terrorism.

Reality has a way of correcting misconceptions, so on May 11, al-Qaida reared its ugly head and struck three housing compounds of the Vinnell Corporation.

Vinnell's history includes being owned by The Carlyle Group, and it has had contracts with the Pentagon since the 1950s. This company trains mercenaries in various regions of the globe. It has recruited, trained and supplied a group of people whom we would consider terrorists. Vinnell has been paid more than 0 million by our government since 1994 for "training and construction."

I'm certain that The Carlyle Group, known as venture capitalists, have "ventures" that befit their combined expertise and knowledge and have wondered what that knowledge might be. By owning and managing Vinnell Corporation, Carlyle must have understood the original purpose of that corporation, which was the recruiting and training of mercenaries for the goal of destabilizing various governments throughout the world. Pakistan is a prime example of their effort, as Musharraf was installed through a military coup.

Perhaps we should look at the most notable members of The Carlyle Group and see if we can discover what their new purposes might be:



George Herbert Walker Bush (former CIA Director and 41st U.S. president).

James A. Baker III (former U.S. Secretary of State).

Frank Carlucci (former CIA Director and Defense Secretary under Ronald Reagan).

John Major (former Tory Prime Minister of the United Kingdom).

It has been rumored that British Prime Minister Tony Blair has a position in waiting with The Carlyle Group.

Osama bin Laden's family was heavily invested with The Carlyle Group until Oct. 26, 2001, when the exposure of such close ties between the Bush and bin Laden families became known.

On that fateful day of Sept. 11, 2001, there was a high-level meeting in Washington, D.C., at the Ritz-Carlton between members of The Carlyle Group and the bin Laden family. These bin Laden family members were whisked out of the United States quietly aboard a private charter plane on Sept. 14.

According to the National Law Enforcement and Security Institute, the CIA was staging a simulated terrorist attack on 9/11. This simulation involved airplanes flying into buildings.

Is it possible that the reason that no jets were scrambled for the hijacked airliners was because our military had been advised that such a simulation was taking place? Is this the reason that none of the hijacked planes were intercepted?

Is this why Sept. 11, 2001, was chosen by al-Qaida? Did someone pass this information to someone else who should not have been privy to such? It is obvious that there is something amiss.

Why, on May 1, did George W. mislead the American public by declaring that the terrorist network was weakened and unable to strike us just days before another attack on American interests?

Who is close enough to whisper lying assurances into his ear?

Are our intelligence sources so poorly equipped to understand the threats that are real and should be known and prevented?

Something is not right here and I'm certain that I am not the only person wondering how deeply the secrets are buried. Whose interests are being served at our country's expense?

9/11 changed America. I would like to think that out of every tragedy, something good emerges, but I have seen my fellow Americans become more vengeful and less thoughtful by the day. We have allowed ragged and raw emotion to be our guide, forgoing any clear analysis to enlighten us as to what happened and why.

Our highest governmental offices are filled with people who have aligned themselves with group, such as Project for the New American Century, American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, that have, for years, openly stated that they seek and desire continual war on other nations.

The Project for the New American Century has a membership roster that mimics our Department of Defense. Its members have made no secret that they believe that America should utilize our military to begin a series of wars to conquer the Mideast and beyond. The Bush Doctrine that was introduced in October 2002 contains exact language found on their Web site.

We, as citizens of this nation, are compelled to understand that although being informed is shocking at times, our lack of knowledge and information can harm us and everyone else on this planet. We must work together as a collective citizenry to demand answers to our questions. We must have full disclosure about what happened on 9/11.

We must have transparency from our government and insist that the lies and the secrecy stop. We stand at the precipice.

My questions are: Are we going to be sheep fit only to be driven over the cliffs of ignorance? Or will we turn upon the wolves and begin to chase them back to the hell from which they came?

Bridget Gibson, a 1975 Tascosa High School graduate, grew up in Amarillo.

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