Commentary

Conspiracy Theories vs. Serious Discussion

In the wake of the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, speculation, wild accusations and conspiracy theories have become the order of the day. This comes as no great surprise, as conspiracy theories are a cornerstone of American popular culture.

The hallmark of all conspiracy theories is the assertion of conclusions based on little or no objective evidence. In many cases this lack of evidence is compensated for by the manufacture of so-called "facts". Since these ''facts" are usually hidden from the public by one or another intelligence agency, it is impossible to check their veracity and we are asked to simply have blind faith in the honesty of whoever is offering the theory in the first place.

The main conspiracy theories being promoted these days are those of the U.S. administration, which solemnly claims that Osama bin Laden is responsible for organizing the terrorist attacks on the United States. We are shown old videos of a bearded, turbaned man with one "expert" after another explaining why bin Laden hates America (and is, therefore, obviously behind the attacks). We are told stories of supposed shadowy networks that carry his directives to all corners of the globe. But when the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan asked for real evidence linking Osama bin Laden to the recent attacks, the U.S. administration refused to provide any, blustering that there was already plenty of evidence linking him to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa.

In other words, the entire world is being asked to suspend rationality and simply accept without question whatever theories the U.S. dishes out. After all, what possible motive could it have to mislead world public opinion?

Offensive as these official conspiracy theories are, they are not unexpected. In fact, most people have actually come to expect such fantasies from the U.S. government. However, it is disturbing that some who claim to oppose U.S. policies are also indulging in similar flights of fancy. For example, wild accusations are being thrown around that the suicide attacks were organized by the CIA to justify fascism and war. Once again, speculation replaces hard evidence and, of course, confirmation of the claims is impossible.

Such assertions make no sense. Any rational person realizes that the U.S. has had no difficulty justifying its numerous wars of aggression over the past 50 years. For over four decades, the justification was the "need to contain communism". Following the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the U.S. engineered one war in the Persian Gulf region and another in the Balkans, portraying its intervention as humanitarianism. It invaded Panama under the hoax of a "war on drugs" and is preparing a war against the people of Colombia and neighbouring countries under the same pretext. In other words, it hardly needs to inflict massive casualties and economic damage on itself to justify going to war.

Similarly, claims that the incident was organized in order to impose fascism in North America are rather incredible. Fascism is not the preferred form of rule for capitalism. Liberal democracy is much more conducive to the maintenance of the capitalist system. Fascism is a last resort when capitalism is faced with massive revolutionary opposition and is in serious danger of being overthrown. Anyone who thinks that the anti-globalization movement poses such a threat at the present time is seriously mistaken. There is no doubt that the capitalist states intend to take advantage of this tragedy to strengthen their repressive apparatus and to pass legislation which they may find useful in the future, but any talk of imposing fascism is simply alarmism.

In the face of the current campaign of misinformation, disinformation and irrationality being waged by the U.S. and its allies, rational discussion is the greatest weapon in the hands of progressive people. Giving in to hysteria and promoting alternative conspiracy theories to oppose the official conspiracy theories accomplishes nothing except lowering the level of discussion and diverting people from the real issues. The promotion of irrationality in any guise and from any quarter must be opposed at a time when rationality is most urgently needed.