The Coverup Exposed By The 9/11 Families "They lied, they all lied." --Patty Casazza (one of the "Jersey Girls") "We don't know the whole story, not at all" -- Lorie Van Auken (one of the "Jersey Girls") "9/11 was the ... more »biggest 'don't ask-don't tell" --Sally Regenhard, lost Firefighter son. "Press for Truth" is an astonishing portrayal of the lengths our public servants will go to protect themselves from any accountability. --Scott Horton, Antiwar.com Although independent investigations began within weeks of both Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy assassination, the same was not true of the attacks of September 11th. Most are unaware that formation of the 9/11 Commission was strongly opposed by many in Washington, including the Bush administration. It was only due to pressure from the 9/11 families, led by a particular twelve calling themselves the Family Steering Committee, that, fourteen months after the attacks, the first hearing finally began. These twelve remained active in monitoring the Commission?s investigation, providing a list of hundreds of specific, well-researched questions to the Commissioners. In the end, the 9/11 Commission Final Report failed to answer seventy percent of them. In 9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH, five of the most prominent members of the Family Steering Committee, including interviews with three of the "Jersey Girls," tell their story for the first time, providing the most powerful argument yet for why 9/11 still needs investigation. Adapting Paul Thompson's definitive Complete 9/11 Timeline (published by Harper-Collins as The Terror Timeline), the filmmakers stitch together rare, overlooked news clips, buried stories, and government press conferences, revealing a pattern of official lies, deception, and spin.« less
Director:Ray Nowosielski Genres:Documentary Sub-Genres:Documentary Studio:Disinformation Format:DVD - Color DVD Release Date: 09/12/2006 Release Year: 2006 Run Time: 1hr 25min Screens: Color Number of Discs: 1 SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Languages:English
The best 9/11 video I have yet seen. This does not venture down the road of supposition that so many Alex Jones-types do, but sticks to the facts. A lot to do with the "Jersey Girls" (who I only knew from them being bashed by "conservative" commentators – but have since learned they are not crazy women with agendas), but does not only focus them. This is the video I would recommend to anyone exploring the "Truth Movement."
Movie Reviews
Pointed and Relevant, Misses Some Big Points
Robert D. Steele | Oakton, VA United States | 10/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've taken a strong interest in serious DVDs recently, and have a list of serious DVD's that I recommend. This is one of two 9/11 DVDs that I am reviewing, the other, is Aftermath, Unanswered Questions from 9/11.
I have five pages of notes. A few key aspects of the film:
1) Over and over, Bush, Cheney, and Rice seen as liars and hypocrites simply by playing their past statements on television against reality.
2) Movie opens with the wall of notes and photos of the missing--for those that don't get out to see the real world; this is precisely the kind of wall that appears in areas devastated by genocide or a major natural disaster.
3) The movie speaks of the 2 hour delay in getting fighters up, and appears completely unfamiliar with "Crossing the Rubicon" which documents the anti-terrorism exercise being played out that day with Dick Cheney in charge. My bottom line: the entire cover up is about protecting Dick Cheney from being derelict in both ignoring terrorism and intelligence from day one, and possibly being malignantly culpable in using his operational control of the government (including the President's movements) to *allow* 9/11 to happen as a pretext for war.
4) The 4 widowed mothers, the Jersey Girls, are compelling in indicting the Attorney General and the FBI for grotesque ineffectiveness and inattention, to include constantly changing the FBI people assigned to the 9/11 investigation.
5) The widows are compelling in suggesting that the incompetence of the Bush-Cheney Administration is a great threat than terrorism The reality is that the Bush-Cheney Administration is *very* competent at pursuing its own malignant objectives against the public interest.
6) The movie does well at documenting how no skyscraper has ever fallen to fire, in showing how both towers came down perfectly as if by planned pre-placed demolitions, and how WTC 7 (the home of the Secret Service and the CIA) also game down perfectly despite not being hit. I am not a fan of conspiracy theories, often suggesting that given a choice go with incompetence over conspiracy, but I do believe that Dick Cheney in particular has lied to the public, to the 9/11 Commission, to Congress, and that he must be held accountable.
7) Republicans spent 100 million according to the movie (I remember only 50 million) on investigating Clinton-Lewinsky, and assigned only 3 million, later grudgingly raised to 14 million, to the 9/11 investigation. That says it all.
8) Paul Thompson is the real hero of this story, and his TIMELINE, which I have reviewed, is superb. See also my reviews of "Fog Facts" and "Lost History."
9) The movie excels at documenting all the warnings received by the US from specific governments at specific times, contrasting that with the televised lies by Condi Rice and Dick Cheney, as well as "deer in the headlights" views of George Junior. The movie overlooks the two walk-ins to the FBI, one in Newark and one in Orlando, prior to 9/11.
10) The July 2001 G-8 summit, and Bush's vacation home, had anti-aircraft defenses for the first time in history. At the same time John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial and on 9/11 a number of senior Pentagon people cancelled trips planned for that day. I have "LIARS" written in all caps three times at this point in my notes.
11) The most compelling point made by the movie is that if the government had shared this information with the public, then all three planes might have been protected by the passengers, as was the case with the third--passengers armed with knowledge did what the Pentagon and White House could not or would not do.
12) Sy Hersh's work is featured, and overall this movie suggests that the Taliban was created by the Pakistani intelligence service, and that Bush is a real hypocrite for honoring Pakistan while declaring war on all those who support and harbor terrorists. Hello? The money trail clearly connects Al Qaeda and Pakistan, in sharp contrast to the lies told about Al Qaeda and Iraq.
13) The movie ends very powerfully, first with a total condemnation of the corporate media that "went along" and would not even run BBC stories by Greg Pabst, stifling both dissent and investigative journalism.
14) Bottom line: they all lied, now we need to know WHY they lied. 9-11 is the biggest don't ask don't tell in history, with no answers, no accountability.
These four widows, and honorable people like Sy Hersh, Paul Thompson, and Greg Palast, deserve respect from all of us--they are doing precisely what Thomas Jefferson would have wanted them to do, saying as he did, "A Nation's best defense is an educated citizenry." In my view, terrorism is the least of our problems. The capture of the federal government by corporations is the real enemy.
Edit of 16 Oct 06: View this with "Loose Change" (second edition) which is unfortunately not sold via Amazon."
Intimately human look at the central issue of our time
cvairag | Allan Hancock College | 09/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Independently made films now seem to be one of the few ways in which Americans can get closer to the facts about what's going on. Although I am in utter disagreement with the other reviewers: 1) most of the so-called "conspiracy theories" are not bunk and should not be dismissed without a deep and respectful hearing. The perjorative, randomly applied, "catch-all" term "conspiracy theory" is quite loosely thrown around by people who simply do not know what they're talking about and wish to sound like they do. For instance: "Loose Change" IS a heavily researched film that every American should see. 2) "Farenheit 911" was NOT the 'partisan' effort that facsist pundits in the employ of corporate media interests wanted and succeeded in getting most Americans to believe it was so that they would not see it. In reality, "Farenheit 911" was an enormous work of ART and a courageous act of patriotism (one only wishes every film, especially this one, was as well wrought).
That off my chest - 911 / Press For Truth powerfully tells the story of the realizations which have arisen since the terrible tragedy of that day through the perspective of family members of a number of those who died in the targeted structures.
Their experience highlights:
1) The U.S. government was specifically evasive and NOT interested in getting to the truth of what happened and in fact
blocked and stalled the inquiries of the bereaved American citizens.
2) The much delayed 911 Commission was a "whitewash" - avoiding all tough questions - specifically holding NO accountability - and headed by politically partisan figures.
(Nicely shown by the film is the dissent of one of the few non-partisan commissioners, Max Cleland, the triple Vietnam War amputee, who was later mysteriously defeated for re-election in Georgia through what is now widely suspected to be voting machine fraud.)
3) Paul Thompson's celebrated, but not widely enough known, 911 Timeline revealing a definite link between Al-Quaeda and Pakistan military and government intelligence - and a extensively detailed exposition of Osama Bin Laden's mysterious escape from Tora Bora.
4) The recognition that we much need some sort of public (not corporate), non-partisan oversight of the media. Like a national press accountability day?)
5) It's time we start making judicious treatment of those who have innocently suffered most (in deference to those with the most money and/or power) in our country - THE PRIORITY.
There is more here - much more - and YES - EVERY AMERICAN VOTER SHOULD SEE THIS FILM. But, please try to view it with an open mind. Isn't it time for America to get out of the patriarchial quietism of the 'Bill O'Reilly mode of denial' and finally begin to grow up into the stature of the true world leader this great nation could and should be?
"
EVERY American MUST See This Film !!
Bill Douglas | 09/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This film is NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY. It simply lays out mainstream news reports in a timeline. A timeline that becomes disturbing very quickly.
However, the main truth one walks away from when cold hard facts are laid out is that govt., media, and all of us should have been asking some hard questions. The 9/11 widows and families thru their grief found the strength to do just that. For that they have been attacked by Republican operatives like Anne Coulter, who called them "harlots . . . who enjoyed their husbands death."
The TRUTH is, that the way the US govt., and particularly the Republican Party have treated the 9/11 family members is a disgrace that will drag on our beloved country for many years.
The ONLY way to correct the wrong done to these brave widows and families of 9/11, is to launch a whole NEW 9/11 investigation that looks into EVERYTHING about 9/11, not just what fits with the "official" story of the Bush Administration. Of course we should not just do this for the 9/11 family members who courageously have fought for it, but also for ourselves. Two wars and now a possible 3rd with Iran are being pushed on Americans using the hammer of 9/11. This administration, and their friends in Congress have attacked opponents of wars using the hammer of 9/11, and they have hijacked our foriegn policy to a militarist "endless preemptive war" policy using the hammer of 9/11 to beat down opponents here and internationally. The way the 9/11 victims have been used by this administration will go down in history's anals of shame.
Where was the Air Force for an hour and a half on 9/11?
How, after getting specific warnings of planes being used as missiles and the WTCs being possible targets, before 9/11, could our President have thought the first tower being hit on 9/11 was "a bad pilot or something"?
How did the three WTC buildings defy physics and fall at near free fall speed, becoming the first 3 steel reinforced skyscrapers in history to collapse due to fire and/or external damage? WTC building 7 was not hit by a plane that day. Why did it collapse like a classic controlled demolition on that day.
Although this documentary doesn't explore the WTC issue in the depth I would have liked, it is a brilliant expose of the fact that this govt. fought the 9/11 widows every step of the way and that 70% of the victim's families questions remain unanswered.
Again, this film MUST be viewed by every American. Get it, watch it, pass it on to everyone you know. Only thru truth can our nation heal. The truth is being covered up. This cannot stand. This documentary is a wake up call. I thank the producers and the Jersey Girls for their heroic efforts to fight for truth."
Easily the Most Devastating 9/11 Documentary Thus Far
Anthony Ian | Chicago, IL United States | 10/18/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This movie is to 9/11 what the BBC's "The Men Who Killed Kennedy" series was to JFK--that is, after you see it, you will never again believe the "official" story about what happened. You will be left with question after question after question.
Forget fringe movies like "Loose Change," which undercut their own message by jumping to conclusions and engaging in wild, baseless speculation in many scenes.
This movie puts the 9/11 Timeline to devastating use, completely blowing out of the water the idea that we had no real warnings prior to 9/11. It also shows what a sham the 9/11 commission was--a modern day Warren Commission--and you'll be floored when you see who was put in charge of it (remember the original choice? That's right: Henry Kissinger).
The reason this movie works so well is that it doesn't ask and answer questions for you, as "Loose Change" did--just lays everything out right in front of you, and you will be floored.
Easily without a doubt the golden standard movie for all those who are interested in the REAL story of what happened on 9/11.
You will never be more distrustful of government, after watching this.
Brilliant."
Every American should see this
Avicenna | New York City | 10/12/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is really a fantastic flick in my opinion. They did a spectacular job on this. It's 1 hour and 24 minutes long and very well done. It is not so much speculative as retrospective. It covers the story of the 911 Families' quest to get an independent investigation of the events leading up to and on 9/11, what became known as the 9/11 Commission (some call it the 9/11 Omission), chaired by former NJ Governor Keane. It shows why the 9/11 Families were disappointed and that the Commission was neither thorough nor independent. It is not so much opinion as many, many news clips of Administration officials making hard to explain mendacious statements on major media outlets which in the context of what has occurred since, now seems absolutely shocking. It gives the inside story of what it took to pressure the government into forming the Commission in the first place and how reluctant the government was into investigating the tragedy. Clips of Dan Rather and other media people at the end attempt to answer the question of why main stream media has for the most part dropped the ball in reporting this important story to the American people. A must see for anyone who still believes in the American electoral process. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about 9/11 you will find a few surprises here."