wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] C Heron from NJ July 18, 2008 - 12:12PM

  http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essaysaeed

  "If you read just one thing at this website, please read this essay. Don’t mind the length and complexity. Saeed Sheikh’s story is not just mildly interesting. Understanding the history of this young man may not only explain many mysteries of 9/11, including solid evidence of foreign government involvement in the attacks, but may also reveal if nuclear war in the near future is likely."

  
  
• [2] Steve (the other one) from Manhattan July 18, 2008 - 12:13PM

  Leonard - it's come out that Bush/Cheney were asking the telecoms to spy on us before 9/11 - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/business/14qwest.html

  - please ask your guest why the administration did this.

  
  
• [3] Josh from Red Hook July 18, 2008 - 12:21PM

  Jane Mayer just said "she's not a conspiracy theorist or anything." Jane, you're work is fantastic, impeccable even, but if you're claiming that you accept the establishment story of what exactly happened on that fateful day, then you must buy bridges on your day off from The New Yorker. After all of your research, all of your exposed deceits, you still think that nineteen Saudis captured American air defenses? That Hani Hanjour, said to barely be able to maneuver a Cessna on the tarmac, carried out the most astounding aerial feat in the history of aviation? That a stand-down drill overseen by Cheney on the morning of 9/11 was a coincidence? ON AND ON AND ON. Well Jane, it seems that you are indeed a conspiracy theorist. You have swallowed the most ridiculous narrative of the modern era as indisputable fact. I wonder what Jane might have to say about the Gulf of Tonkin.

  
  
• [4] hjs from 11211 July 18, 2008 - 12:27PM

  jon yu will be on the supreme court one day if we don't watch it.

  
  
• [5] Hugh from Crown Heights July 18, 2008 - 12:28PM

  Addington, Cheney, et al, give ample indication that they support something Robert Nozick termed the "night watchmen state" -- a minimal state that does little more than protect the nation against foreign threat and adjudicate domestic contractual disputes.

  That is -- no departments of energy, education, housing, interior and on down the line. No public schools, no public parks, no public water, no public roads.

  Very nearly an endorsement of a war of all against all.

  
  
• [6] John from New York City July 18, 2008 - 12:29PM

  Jane Mayer's book sounds like one worth reading. But as bumbling as our government may have been in the aftermath of 9/11, let us remember that hindsight is, while maybe not 20/20, is better that the vision we had at the time these events were unfolding. The 9/11 attack was a surprise attack that caught us off guard. Sure, lots of things were done wrong. But I doubt that the mistakes were based on evil intent.

  I hope we all appreciate how difficult it is to maintain security at a high level of alertness over a long period of time.

  
  
• [7] Jon P. from Hewitt, NJ July 18, 2008 - 12:31PM

  Please explain how today’s torture is even close to being as bad as what we did in North Vietnam?

  
  
• [8] Vinny from Upper West Side Lberal Middle Class Jewish Democrat in Manhattan July 18, 2008 - 12:32PM

  I repeat: Why hasn't the Bush administration and everyone in it been indicted and impeached? They have been illegal since the the day they stole the election in 2000 and no doubt either engineered or capitalized on the events of 9/11.

  
  
• [9] Jon P. from Hewitt, NJ July 18, 2008 - 12:41PM

  Has there ever been a war in US history that we did not torture the enemy? I’m not condoning it but everyone’s talking like Torture is something new…. Shouldn’t we be arguing against torture on a worldwide scope and not just picking on Bush because we hate him?

  
  
• [10] Brad from nyc July 18, 2008 - 12:42PM

  What was that last book the guest referenced regarding military people who have spoken out??

  
  
• [11] cabrini180 from Wahington Heights July 18, 2008 - 12:44PM

  I hope the ICC will indict you know who for war crimes once they are out of office.We are not signatories to the treaty but at least these creeps won't be able to so much as cross the bridge at Niagara Falls without being arrested.

  
  
• [12] paul peacock nyc from new york city July 18, 2008 - 12:45PM

  hi, i spilled into this from the brian lehrer show and i have to go to lunch, but ...

  th people on the side of the good are fantastic.

  but this is not /weird/, this is not /a strange period in american history/

  it is actually something so evil that it is almost beyond words to describe and i salute jane mayer for having the courage to wade into it, for having sufficient power and belief in herself to survive the experience, and not being permanently damaged by it but instead finding inspiration in those who tried to resist it.

  again, jane, i salute you.

  and if we should ever meet i would buy you a drink.

  i very much hope that your book rises up the charts. i will buy a copy and put it on my shelf as a reminder to me that darkness and evil can arise even in the country that stands for so many good things ...

  ... and will again.

  thank you.

  
  
• [13] Josh from Red Hook July 18, 2008 - 12:47PM

  Jon P.: Agreed, BUT: The salient point to notice about the current torture regimen is that it is so damn scientific, that it appears to be in a certain sense, experimental, and that the experiment implies further employment, future use, and ulterior motive. For more on this, I reccomend Alfred McCoy's book "A Question of Torture." Another point of concern is that this current regimen has been publicized. If we fail to question and condemn the regimen, despite publicization, then a blank check of sorts is written for the ruling cult in the White House, and a nasty picture of the US public's apathy and stupidity and coarseness is drawn for all the world, lowering their opinion of us and destroying any remnant of the moral high ground we may have once stood on.