How 911 Conspiracy "Debunkers" Operate

They ridicule, they ignore or construct a strawman, and then they ridicule some more.

Take this exchange I found last night by chance, from the GAO (a video game discussion site) forum. (Note, spelling, capitalization and punctuation have been corrected from the original.)

Let's start with a person named Hajaz, who asks--
"More importantly, explain how Bin Laden succesfully manipulated American public opinion with the 9/11 attacks? How did they push the American people towards Al Qaida goals?"

A person named "Boogie" responds--
"The whole basis behind Al Qaeda's attacks on 9/11 WAS to provoke a disproportionate response by the US in order to fan the flames of anti-Americanism in the Middle East and drive more muslims to their cause. Duh."

So Hajaz says--

If this was the aim of the 9/11 attack, then why didn't the US government state: "these terrorists are trying to provoke us into attacking Arab countries in order to fuel more hate against us, so we'll do the exact opposite (for example fair trade with third world, stopping blind support for Israel)."

There were so many things that the US could have done other then war, yet according to you guys, Bush did exactly what Bin Laden wanted him to do. That's pretty funny considering the Bin Laden tape that was released just prior to Bush's re-election, anyone remember that one? Bin Laden warning Americans not to re-elect Bush. Americans thinking Bush must be doing something right if Bin Laden doesn't want him re-elected. Instead they spread this BS about the Muslim religion hating American freedom.

Hajaz has a good point. Why did the US do exactly what Al Qaeda wanted them to do-- especially when so many Americans actually realized the goal of Al Qaeda was to provoke a violent reaction in the Middle East and books were even written on the topic?

It's a reasonable question, if you believe the official 9/11 story. Why did the US fall into such an obvious trap as invading Afghanistan and especially Iraq? It was obvious that military invasions of these countries would provoke Muslim outrage from the beginning, and it did.

Again, it's a good question. Intelligent people could differ on the answer, but it is certainly a reasonable question.

So what is the response to this question?

Someone name "Mac" says: "For god sakes man, take a poly sci class or read a book. You sound like a blithering moron."

Boogie chimes in: "Hajaz, you continue to be a blithering, incoherent source of entertainment."

(Gee, where have I heard that one before?)

Hajaz continues very reasonably: "Address points instead of going back to doing personal attacks, thanks. Boogie: Explain what you meant when you said that Bin laden's intention was to 'provoke a disproportionate response by the US in order to fan the flames of anti-Americanism in the Middle East and drive more Muslims to their cause'. You did mean that the US government reacted exactly as Bin Laden intended right?"

What is the response to this?

Boogie: "No, personal attacks are more fun. And from past experience, we know that when we address points that you can't refute, you simply ignore them or pretend they didn't happen. So instead, I'm simply going to mock and insult you for your utter lack of comprehension about Bin Laden's ideology, history, methods, and goals."

Who is unable to refute who, here?

Hajaz is NOT saying these are not Bin Laden's goals per se. He's asking why, if these are Bin Laden goals, is the US pursuing them?

But Boogie resorts to name-calling and acting like Hajaz is asking something different than what he is really asking.

Hajaz continues--

No. You fail to see the contradiction in what you're saying. Posting a pic of a book written by an American author on what might or might not be the motivation behind Bin Laden's actions doesnt take away what you typed on this page. According to you:
_ Bin Laden intended to provoke the US into attacking Arab countries and fuel more hatred against the US
_ the US is aware of this
_ the US attacks Arab countries and fuels more hatred against the US

Thus, by your reasoning, the US government and Bin Laden have the same intrest: fuel a conflict that justifies US occupation of the middle east and justifies the murder of thousands of innocent civilians.

Very straight-forward and logical. At some level, the US and Bin Laden have the same interests.

What is the response to this?

Mac: "Hey Hajaz, we don't keep you around to hear about your feelings. Now get with the crazy street person talk, dance monkey dance. Actually a point of all this is that you are an uninformed, clueless boob who has no reasoning skills. So calling you an idiot is on point."

I REST MY CASE.