9/11: The Big Lie

Synopsis

The book questions the U.S. government version of the events and raises a large number of questions on the details of the events which, according to many observers, marked the beginning of the 21st century and changed the geopolitical world order. It makes the following claims:

First part: "A Bloody Stage is Set"

The actions that provoked the collapse of the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan and damaged part of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, were not the result of attempts by foreign suicide pilots, but were rather an action organized by a group within the U.S. administration; an internal plot aimed at driving opinion and forcing the course of events.

Second part: "The Death of Democracy in America"

The war on Afghanistan was not a response to the September 11 events, since it was prepared long before in coordination with the British. President Bush found support in evangelical groups to launch a crusade against Islam, according to the strategy known as "Clash of Civilizations". The "war on terror" was a pretext to reduce individual liberties in the United States and later in allied countries in order to impose a military regime.

Third part: "The Empire Strikes Back"

Osama bin Laden was a C.I.A. fabrication and never stopped working for the U.S. Secret Service. The bin Laden and Bush families jointly manage their wealth by means of the Carlyle Group. The U.S. presidential administration was taken over by some industrial groups (weapons, oil, pharmaceuticals) whose interests would be defended by the government, to the detriment of others. The C.I.A. would develop a program of interference at all levels, which would include the resource of torture and political assassination.

Response

The book was widely and heavily criticized by the French news media. The leading centre-left newspaper Libération wrote the book was: "the frightening confidence trick ... A tissue of wild and irresponsible allegations, entirely without foundation"; and the prominent French weekly news magazine, Le Nouvel Observateur commented the book's theory "eliminates reality". Both Libération and Le Monde launched special investigations to disprove Meyssan's theories. At the time, Le Monde also complained that inconsistencies in the public information made available about the terror attacks, as well as the lack of a comprehensive official account, were fueling the popularity of the book.

A few months after the launch of L'effroyable imposture, two French journalists, Guillaume Dasquié (former editor-in-chief of Intelligence Online) and Jean Guisnel, published their own book L'effroyable mensonge ("The Horrifying Lie"), which was a point-by-point rebuttal of Meyssan's work.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense has officially commented that the book's publication was "a slap in the face and real offense to the American people, particularly to the memory of victims of the attacks". The book is regarded as a significant international misinformation threat to national interests by the U.S. Department of State, which has issued an official rebuttal of its key claims.

References

References

1. [[Thierry Meyssan]], ''L'Effroyable Imposture'', 2002, {{ISBN. 2-912362-44-X
2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20041107155306/http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901020520-237165,00.html TIME Europe Magazine: May. 20, 2002 -- Conspiracy Theory - 1]
3. [https://www.theguardian.com/september11/story/0,11209,677112,00.html The Guardian - US invented air attack on Pentagon, claims French book]
4. Guillaume Dasquié and Jean Guisnel, ''L'Effroyable mensonge'', 2002, {{ISBN. 2-7071-3825-8
5. [http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive/2005/Jun/28-581634.html Identifying Misinformation: Did a Plane Hit the Pentagon?, United States Department of State] {{webarchive. link. (December 22, 2005)