"In defense of Representative McKinney"
                                                    By Keiler Hook

Let me state from the beginning: I do not think
that President Bush had previous knowledge of the terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11. Why, then, do
I come to the defense of Representative Cynthia McKinney? Well, my
explanation lies in the popular phrase, why "throw out the baby with
the bathwater?"

Cynthia McKinney, congressional representative from Atlanta, Georgia,
raised eyebrows last week when it was revealed that she spoke on a
radio program in Berkeley, California last month of a conspiracy theory
involving the Bush Administration and the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center and Pentagon. Many people, including myself, did not
take some of her accusations seriously. Since then, Ms. McKinney has
retracted her statements that directly linked Mr. Bush and his
administration to the attacks, but has stood by the remainder of her
charges.

Representative McKinney, on September 21, 2001, made some valid points
in a speech to Congress that was ignored. Here is a sampling of them:
Ms. McKinney commented on a September 20, 2001 Los Angeles Times report
that MOSSAD, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks, the
Israeli Intelligence Service, warned U.S. intelligence services earlier
in 2001 that a Mid Eastern terrorist group was planning a major assault
on the U.S. This report also went on to say that major U.S. targets had
been selected and our population would be vulnerable.

MOSSAD is a very respected, reliable, and feared intelligence gatherer.
Why did our intelligence agencies ignore the forewarnings of this
renowned institute?

Further on in this speech, Ms. McKinney related that a man in the
Cayman Islands warned that he overheard three Afghani men talking about
an impending attack on U.S. targets in late August 2001. The CIA
studied it, but, according to the Australian newspaper the Advertiser,
lacked staff to continue. Lacked staff? Where were they, planning coups
in South America?

In the same report, an Iranian in Germany on September 6, 2001 called
authorities and warned of an impending attack against the U.S. using
hijacked planes and specifically mentioned the World Trade Center. FBI
agents, according to the report, were tracking some of the alleged
terrorists, and the CIA was informed that a suspicious group of Middle
Eastern men were assembling in South Florida. Aren't we entitled to
know if these accounts are being investigated for their validity?

Representative McKinney did not say anything that hadn't been discussed
for months on the streets and in the media of Europe, Africa, Asia and
yes, even here. I wrote an article, not long ago, about the odd timing
of the attacks and the fact that there was almost an hour between the
first attack and the last attack. To my knowledge, none of those
questions raised by myself, along with others, has been answered. I
heard on television the other day that the FAA, when observing that the
first hijacked airplane had disappeared, thought it was a technical
error. What did they think was wrong when the third hijacked airplane
disappeared from sight?

This is America. Our government representatives and intelligence
agencies are here to investigate these reports, however rumored, and
give the public some explanations. It has been more than seven months
since September 11. Do we know anything more concrete than we did on
September 10, 2001?

Representative McKinney has every right to ask questions and demand
investigations to find the answers. If not her, who? The media? Aside
from the Internet and alternative publications, the media has not
demanded an investigation by the government. Why have we waited so long
to investigate these allegations?

Ms. McKinney has every right to comment on and to question the
administration; that is why she was elected. Let's not forget that
simply because we are offended by some of her remarks.

As I mentioned, Representative McKinney related most of what was on
that radio program in a speech to Congress days after the terrorist
attacks. She questioned then, as many of us did, how our intelligence
agencies could have failed so miserably in protecting our cities and
our Pentagon. Perhaps she felt that now was the time for her to spell
out more emphatically that there has to be a full investigation of what
happened on September 11.

Senator Zell Miller of Georgia issued a bristling statement calling Ms.
McKinney irresponsible. I think the whole Senate including Zell Miller
has been acting irresponsibly by not investigating thoroughly the
sequence of events leading up to the terrorist attacks.

On April 13, 2002 Ms. McKinney explained her comments further. Here is
part of what was said:


"This is not a time for closed-door meetings and this is not a time for
secrecy. America's credibility, both with the world and with her own
people, rests upon securing credible answers to these questions. The
world is teetering on the brink of conflicts while the Administration's
policies are vague, wavering and unclear . This is a time for
leadership and judgment that is not compromised in any fashion. This is
a time for transparency and a thorough investigation."
These are not the words of an irresponsible woman; these are the words
of a concerned citizen and a representative calling for accountability.
These are the words that should be repeated by each and every member of
the Administration, Congress and the press.

This is why I come to the defense of Representative McKinney. Beyond
her rhetoric, she is calling for a thorough investigation of the
September 11 attacks. What is traitorous, radical or irresponsible
about that?

 

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