911 Truth Movement - An Interview with Paul Constant

By Mark Taylor-Canfield - September 2008

Whatever you may believe about what happened on September 11th, 2001, you can't ignore the fact that a new movement has been born over the past seven years which has been actively questioning the official story.

Referred to as the "911 Truth Movement", this campaign has being ignored by the corporate news media, even while hundreds of websites and numerous DVDs continue to appear which are devoted to finding the truth about the events of that fateful day.

I had the opportunity to interview a local authority on the 911 truth movement. Paul Constant is a book reviewer and one of the editors at the Seattle-based magazine The Stranger. Constant is one courageous writer who has tried to sift through the conspiracy theories and the propaganda surrounding the events of 911. His article on the 911 truth movement for The Stranger magazine was re-published in the progressive national journal, The Utne Reader.

On a hot summer day on Capitol Hill at The Stranger in Seattle, Paul talked at length with me about the history of the movement.

"It started about five months after 911 when people started posting on Internet message boards. People were talking about whether 911 happened the way that they saw it. There started to appear Internet message boards specifically devoted to 911 truth."

"In the context that I wrote about it, 911 truth is just... basically their theory is that we weren't told the truth. Some people believe that there were actually no planes involved. Some people believe that the buildings were wired with explosives. Some believe that the Pentagon was shot with a rocket launcher and that no plane crashed in Pennsylvania."

"It's hard to pin down one specific movement online. 'We Are Change Seattle', which is the big Seattle group [that] started forming probably about two years ago. That's when they started having meetings and discussing what they were going to do to get their message out and when they started actually protesting events and handing out DVDs with their movies."

"There are so many groups and some people belong to more than one group, and some don't belong to any group. The primary one in Seattle is 'We Are Change Seattle' which is the large umbrella group. But there's also 'Engineers for 911 Truth' because there are engineers that say that building seven couldn't have collapsed the way it did. There's 'Firefighters for 911 Truth', too."

"When the movement started it was called '911 Visibility' and I believe there are still some of those groups out there. But they're always evolving and sometimes there are fights and as with any human organization they'll go their separate ways and they'll all form different groups."

How did you become interested in this subject?

"I fell into it exactly the way they wanted people to fall into it. I saw something that said 'Google 911 Truth'. I think it was a bumper sticker somebody put on a parking meter. It was totally guerilla. I was interested and I started looking them up and I was fascinated by the way they developed in such a short amount of time."

You wrote in your article that there are political groups that could take some lessons from them. What are a few of the strengths of these groups?

"Well, the strengths are that they are all about information. These people pay for blank DVD's with their own money and they stay awake all night reproducing them so that they can hand them out at events like Bumbershoot. They have a list of talking points. They have signs and t-shits and they're doing it all with their own money and during every presidential election people talk about the 'grassroots movement'.

"I think that political science students should be studying them because I feel like this is coming. And if it's not this, it's going to be something else and it's going to be really interesting and unlike anything anybody's ever seen before.

"The article I wrote last year was all about how effective they were at forming an organization. I don't think there's ever been anything quite like 911 truth groups. Political groups can learn a lot from them because they don't have a leader. They do have all sorts of videos. They have hundreds of videos, and there are thousands of websites, maybe tens of thousands of websites. They can communicate at the touch of a button. They are fast and they are information based. I think there is something they're doing that is the political group of the future."

Given that there has been this movement, that it seems to be relatively organized and that there are plenty of websites and DVD's - documentaries available on the internet, etc., how effective do think the movement has been in terms of getting the information to the public; also getting coverage from the media; and getting any kind of political response? Has there been any headway on those fronts?

"They have not gotten much media attention, honestly. They paid a lot of attention to my article because they were pleased to get attention from a media person, even an alternative media person. They feel like they're being ignored.

"They don't have... you know, Tom Brokaw isn't interviewing people about the 911 truth movement. Bill Mahre calls them 'nuts'. A lot of that is because they stand up and start screaming on Bill Mahre's show about how he's a part of the cover-up. So, it's kind of a natural reaction... All the media attention they've gotten is guerilla."

Have there been any political representatives who have displayed any kind of response to lobbies from groups that are questioning 911 in terms of new government investigations or independent investigations, congressional investigations?

"I know there are politicians who have called for new investigations but they don't directly mention truth movements. I think honestly, on a political level, citing the 911 truth movement would be sort of a 'kiss of death'. I mean, even Ron Paul, who truth groups rallied around as a figurehead never said anything about 911 truth because, you know, that was too far out politically for Ron Paul to bring up."

Has there been any headway with Congressman Dennis Kucinich? I've never heard him speak about this publicly.

"Basically, it's the same as Ron Paul. When I first started talking about 911 truth groups there were three ways they thought they were going to go in the election. They thought they could go with Kucinich; they could go with Ron Paul; or also Webster Tartly who's a conspiracy theorist who has written a lot of books on 911. He was talking for awhile about running for president on the 911 truth ticket. That never materialized and a few months ago he came out with a book that's accused Obama of being the head of the Weathermen.

"I feel that Kucinich had the same relationship with these groups as Ron Paul. He wasn't in a position where he could turn away their support and if he believed in what they are saying then he couldn't actively say it. So I'm not sure what his official position is because nobody has an official position on 911 truth.

"But I do feel that this is a watershed election. Nobody knows how the presidential election will turn out. I think that if McCain is elected, there's no chance of getting another investigation. Their best bet is Barack Obama, but even that is just a roll of the dice..."

There was a question raised during the official investigation about military exercises that were supposedly going on that day. Do you have any comment on theories regarding this supposed military exercise that was going on the east coast of the US?

"No. I've read about the fact that there were Air Force exercises going on and I've also heard that there were military exercises happening on 7/7 in London during those attacks. The thing is, I don't... I just don't know... I can't confirm what the nature of those were - nobody can. I'm not sure how much the one sort of conflates the other. I don't know if the fact the military operates under a huge cover of secrecy has anything to do with whether they actually were involved, and how much of that just has to do with the fact that they can be pointed at and people can say, 'look they were doing this, so they must be doing something evil'."

It seems to me that some people who become interested in this issue are at first very skeptical, but often the stories about building number seven really seems to intrigue people. Have you ever heard a good explanation for why that building came down?

"Well, there was actually a report that was released last week about building seven. Building seven is the way that a lot of 911 truthers get involved in the movement. They watch youtube clips of building number seven falling. It obviously wasn't a part of the twin towers and it wasn't struck by a plane and so some people assume that there was some kind of demolition gone awry that it was some part of the plan that didn't work the way it was planned.

"The 911 truth groups were immediate and surprisingly united in their claims that no building has ever collapsed that way because of fire. Of course, no building has ever been right next to two enormous skyscrapers when they've collapsed, you know, and an inferno going on inside of them for five hours or seven hours or whatever it was."

Do you know from that report if they mention how that fire was started?

"Yes, they say it was the debris that fell into the building from the towers."

After the interview I walked across the street to Cal Anderson Park and the bright August sunshine had turned into a brooding storm. It reminded me of just how fast minds can change when confronted with the truth. Despite being dismissed by the corporate media as "fringy conspiracy theorists", the 911 truth movement continues to ask questions and demand answers about the events of September 11th, 2001.

Democratic National Convention - Denver, Colorado 2008. My impressions of the DNC August 25th - 28th:

Long security lines at the airport. Sleep deprivation. Too many parties. Million dollar handshakes. Free drinks at the McCain bar for Hillary Clinton delegates. Feeling light-headed. Chasing down Congressman Jim McDermott. Where's the next event? What's your name? Where are you from? Obama or Clinton, where do you stand?

Where's my luggage? Where is my digital recorder? Do they really need to search me again? You can keep my fingernail clippers if you like. My press credential aren't enough? Yes, I'm a reporter for KBCS and Pacifica. No, I don't have any weapons. Yes, I'm going to stay for the convention. Yes, I have a place to stay, thank you very much. Why is this line so long? I've been here for hours. How long have you been standing here? I'm going to miss that speech. My editors will be pissed!

Meanwhile, outside on the streets, Iraq Veterans Against the War were marching to the Pepsi Center facing threats of tear gas. One hundred thirty-five arrests. Code Pink women singing anti-war songs - "We Shall Overcome". Rage Against the Machine throwing a free concert at the coliseum. Pepper spray, unwarranted detainment, dispersal orders, an officially designated "protest-zone" (Where are my First Amendment Rights?). Denver police in riot gear wearing no name tags for identification, Hmmm... kind of reminds me of Seattle during the WTO protests. What's that smell? Call over the legal observers. Quick, someone get a photo of this!

Folks from the 911 truth movement are there to hand out DVDs. Someone mentions that Alex Jones is here. Hey, what does Ralph Nader have to say about 911? Anything?

American Indian Movement representatives were dismissing the entire political spectacle as just another hoodwink. "Where are the representatives of the indigenous people inside that convention?" "There are oppressed people all over the world that they just walk on like they are garbage..."

An Obama delegate says to me, "I'm really concerned about what happened on 911. I was talking to some people outside who gave me a DVD. Do you think they're crazy?"

Security checks, background checks, being elbowed in the back by the Fox cameraman. Why are the corporate reporters always so crass? I'm exhausted after traveling and staying up all night. I admit I lost my temper. I said,

"Did you get your little five second sound bite? Oh, isn't that cute. He's leaving now. Don't stay too long, you might miss something."

"No, I'm not drunk. Why don't you go home now and let us cover this event? You'll just use your footage for more propaganda."

"What's that? What about my long hair? No, I don't need a haircut. This isn't 1950. Why don't you take your Brooks Brother's jacket and hit the road and stop acting like a punk. What did you say?"

The Fox guy looks like he'd like to do something he'd probably regret. Fortunately, cooler heads prevail.

Where's the food? Where's the lounge? Who's that coming out of that hotel? Is that Jimmy Carter? No, it's Bill Clinton!

I see many diverse faces among the Obama delegates on the floor of the convention center. Cold icy stares from the Clinton supporters. Who's going to get control of that huge money-making machine? Shouldn't the Clintons and Obama just arm wrestle for it?

I see another sign at the protest - "911 - Ask Questions!"

A woman from Brazil, a photographer asks me, "Do you think any of these politicians will ever tell the truth about the trade towers? Do they even want to know? Where is bin Laden and why hasn't he been held to justice by your country?"

Finally he speaks. It's the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. The crowd is exuberant. They are witnessing history right before their eyes. Women begin to cry. Grown men shout like excited children. People hug each other and kiss total strangers. Is this the moment we've all been waiting for? Will it really matter? Will the United States finally enter the 21st century?

I see a beautiful family up on the stage. Fireworks are shooting over our heads. Tons of confetti comes down from above. Streamers are flying, the crowd is elated. The media is amazed. The neo-cons frown. They ask themselves, "How did this happen?" The Democratic Party leaders are asking themselves, "Why didn't we see this coming?!" Party hacks are getting drunk off the realization that something new is being born. They don't know quite what to do with it. Surely they can turn this into just another mad dash for money, can't they?

Meanwhile, out on the streets, police are lining up to block another group of demonstrators who are trying to get close to the delegates. A police captain picks up his megaphone and declares, "Anyone in this vicinity will be arrested unless you disperse. We will use pepper spray and tear gas to clear the area. Leave immediately or you will be arrested!"

A quick response by the Obama team avoids another riot. But on Monday, 91 people were arrested. Tonight a rep from his campaign meets with the veterans and they deliver their letter. "Leave Iraq immediately, give aid to the returning veterans, and make reparations to the Iraqi people."

Barack Obama's assistant on veteran's affairs meets with the IVAW, takes the letter and goes back inside the ivory tower of officialdom. Delegates are still arguing over Hillary versus Barack and corporate logos cover everything. I follow the protesters home as they celebrate their small victory and this democracy on parade. But deep inside, I wonder if it will amount to anything at all...