Ruppert
Addresses Private, Mostly Muslim Group in New York; Reports Israel
Did Not Perpetrate 9-11 Attacks
by Greta Knutzen, FTW Canadian Correspondent
(Originally Published at From
the Wilderness- reprinted with permission)
photos by Preston Peet
Michael Ruppert
April 30, 2002
Long Island, N.Y. (FTW) -- Michael C. Ruppert,
FTW editor and publisher, delivered here on April 27 his 12th
lecture titled, "Truth and Lies of 9-11."
During the two-and-a-half-hour lecture held
at a Holiday Inn, Ruppert detailed the mounting and irrefutable
evidence proving U.S. government foreknowledge of 9-11; the obvious
inconsistencies of the official line dictated by the U.S. and
dutifully relayed through mainstream media institutions; the evidence
suggesting that the "war against terror" is fronting
a U.S. imperial agenda aimed at securing the world's oil resources;
and the dependence of the global economy and financial markets
on drug money. Ruppert presented this evidence to a gathering
of 100 professional men and women including doctors, lawyers,
stockbrokers and academics. Many were Muslim.
The private lecture was organized and funded
by Dr. Faiz Khan and Dr. John Kahoun. Both men specialize in emergency
medicine and experienced, first-hand, the destruction that occurred
on Sept. 11. Khan explained the decision to invite Ruppert to
present a private lecture to their associates and peers was motivated
by the belief that "the more people who know [the truth behind]
what is going on, the better."
Dr. John Kahoun, Dr. Faiz Khan, Michael Ruppert
The goal shared by Khan and Kahoun was to
present a "highly educational evening that promised to provoke
serious re-examination of paradigms used to interpret the current
state of affairs," Khan said. He made it clear the decision
to host Ruppert's lecture was not motivated by Islamic, leftist,
or progressive impulses. Ruppert's investigative journalism instinctively
resonated with Khan, who first learned about Ruppert through the
FTW website. Ruppert's research and analysis appealed to Khan
because, he said, it transcends party-political division, religious
preference and racial difference, and simply seeks the truth.
Khan and Kahoun intentionally limited the
size of the audience, and intended to use the private event as
a litmus test designed to gauge the reaction to Ruppert's lecture
among their friends and peers. Khan and Kahoun hope the interest
generated by the event will in turn generate the capital and support
necessary to fund a public forum in New York, wherein Ruppert
will be invited to deliver his lecture to a much larger audience.
Khan stated frankly, "The best way to facilitate the truth
is to help provide capital [for a cause you deem worthwhile].
Mike Ruppert has done all the legwork, what he needs is capital.
Facilitating a worthwhile enterprise through funding is the easy
way to contribute and act."
The Long Island audience responded positively
to Ruppert and the evidence he presented -- many wanted to know
when and where he would be speaking next. Attorney Raymond D.
Kohlman, who presently serves as a legal consultant to the government
of Pakistan, witnessed the positive response to the lecture and
thought it very likely Ruppert would be returning to New York
before long.
In 1999, Kohlman and his law partner, Dr.
William Pepper, successfully represented the family of the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. in a lawsuit claiming the civil rights
leader was the victim of a murder conspiracy involving the U.S.
government and not a lone assassin. The many years Kohlman has
spent defending controversial clients such as Bill Tyree, has
taught him "what the government is capable of." Reacting
to Ruppert's lecture, Kohlman said, "it sits very well,"
adding the true value lay in the audiences' ability to take the
factual information given by Ruppert and "start their own
search."
The information and analysis included in
Ruppert's lecture was unfettered by ideological bias and offered
a unique and accurate map of how the world works. Ruppert delivered
a frank assessment, based on the evidence of the precise nature
of Israeli connections to 9-11. Ruppert detailed evidence that
supports the conclusion that, while Israeli intelligence sources
had learned of impending attacks, they promptly informed the U.S.,
which did nothing to stop them. Ruppert stressed there is no evidence
to suggest Israel perpetrated the 9-11 attacks. Ruppert made it
clear he believes Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government
may be blackmailing the Bush Administration, because the Israelis
have evidence that the Americans had foreknowledge of the Sept.
11 attacks and did nothing to stop them. This blackmail, according
to Ruppert, is what has given Sharon the leverage he needs to
"act like an 800-pound gorilla in
Palestine."
Arshad Majid, a junior partner of a prominent
law firm in New York, attended Ruppert's lecture. In addition,
Majid opened a production company this year, Tiger Eye Productions,
which produces documentaries and hard news programs. Majid, who
was employed for many years as an assistant district attorney
and prosecutor for the state of New York, said the various theories
circulating within the Muslim community concerning the extent
of Israeli involvement in 9-11 run the gamut, including the theory
propagated in right-wing and some Middle Eastern circles, claiming
9-11 was the direct result of a Mossad operation.
Majid said Ruppert was the first journalist
many had heard who presented evidence that Israeli intelligence
had in fact warned the U.S. of pending attacks, and, he said,
Ruppert provided information that encouraged people to think for
themselves and begin asking the right questions of their government.
Kohlman stated many people seek "to blame the Muslim community
for the events of Sept. 11, and Ruppert gives [Muslims] information
they can use" to defend themselves against the tide of disinformation.
Everyone in the audience stayed for the entire
lecture, and most stayed in their seats for an additional hour-and-a-half
to listen and participate in the "questions and answers"
part of the event. Ruppert said after the lecture he "was
pleasantly surprised that the questions indicated a general consensus
that the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle
East was secondary to the broader issues of 9-11."
Khan and Kahoun's written invitation to their
guests at Ruppert's lecture encouraged the attendance of anyone
"wishing to live up to the responsibilities of true American
citizenship -- echoed in the intents of the founders of this nation,
who explicitly and implicitly stated that the citizen should forever
remain a watchdog over her/his government."
Within the present socio-political context,
debate regarding adequate definitions of the terms "democracy"
and "patriotism" is not merely an academic exercise.
Since Sept. 11, traditional definitions of patriotism and democracy
have been compromised by the sweeping measures curtailing civil
liberties enacted by the U.S. government in response to acts of
terrorism.
The sentiment implied within the Patriot
Act and reiterated in the speeches of President Bush and members
of his administration distil the concept of patriotism into stark
binary terms defined by the now familiar sound-bite, "you
are either with us, or you are with the terrorists." The
weight of law behind these words was evidenced by the detention
of approximately 1,400 non-U.S. nationals, many from Muslim and
Middle Eastern countries, who were detained by the U.S. government
without explanation in the months following Sept. 11.
According to some sources, most of them are
still incarcerated, seven months after the attacks with no charges
having been filed against them. An Amnesty International report
released in March stated many of the 300 individuals it had documented
as still in custody continue to be deprived of their human rights
in violation of international law. The exact number of incarcerated
Muslims, held for no other reason than their religion and ethnicity,
remains unclear as many thousands are being held in a limbo state
over immigration paperwork and can neither be deported, nor released
until the Immigration and Naturalization Service addresses their
status.
Greta Knutzen and Michael Ruppert
