9/11: US version of the Reichstag Fire? What about MH370?

The Reichstag was the German parliament in the 1930s. The name also referred to the building which housed it. On 27 February 1933 the building was destroyed by an arson attack. Like subsequent events which changed history, it was initially blamed on "just one man, acting alone" -- Marinus van der Lubbe, a somewhat retarded Dutch bricklayer who was caught at the scene. He was also a card-carrying Communist. Thus the Nazis were able to claim that the Communists were plotting against the German government, which was true enough but hadn't been confirmed by any overt acts until then.

The burning of the Reichstag was a turning point in the rise of Nazi Germany. Hitler, who had become Chancellor of Germany just four weeks before the fire, talked President Paul von Hindenburg into passing an emergency decree to suspend civil liberties in order to counter the "ruthless confrontation of the Communist Party of Germany".

After passing the decree, the government instituted mass arrests of Communists, including all of the Communist parliamentary delegates. With their bitter rival Communists gone and their seats empty, the Nazis went from being a plurality party to the majority. Subsequent elections confirmed this position and thus allowed Hitler to establish his Third Reich.

Some historians suggest that the Mr van der Lubbe, a mildly retarded and suggestible person, was put up to the arson by the Nazis themselves, as what is now called a "false flag" operation. It's a movie which the world would see again... and again...

Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth is one of many groups of "truthers" who believe that the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 on 11 September 2001 was caused by a controlled demolition. (The official investigation says falling debris from the nearby Twin Towers ignited fires in Building 7 and ultimately caused its collapse.)

One of AE911's members, architect Richard Gage, is on a speaking tour, "raising a red flag" (his phrase) not just in the USA but in Canada. "We're not trying to upset anybody," says the self-styled patriotic American, [but] "if there’s any question about what happened on 9/11, which created two wars and the loss of our civil liberties and massive economic hardship...then we’ve got to get to a real investigation and answer these questions."

Who would have been behind this controlled demolition and perhaps the whole 9/11 outrage? Fingers were naturally pointed at Muslim terrorists. But there were those -- including the creators of South Park-- who painted a different picture. Could it not have been the government of Bush the younger, seeking to create a "casus belli" as an excuse to start Desert Storm II and create a police state in America?

Consider what followed in the aftermath of 9/11:
- legislation like the Patriot Act in the USA (and similar "security" laws in Canada, the UK, and elsewhere)
- a de facto police state where the power of the military and "security forces" is unquestioned
- the drastic curtailment of the freedoms we used to take for granted: to bear arms, to criticize the government, to travel in our countries
- the invasion and brutal occupation of Afghanistan by NATO of Iraq and Afghanistan, and
- a resurgence of American imperialism in the guise of being the world's policeman.

Suggested reading: "Too Many Years Of Lies: From Mossadeq to 9/11" by Paul Craig Roberts, author of How America Was Lost: From 9/11 to the Police/Warfare State (just released) and The Tyranny of Good Intentions.

Which brings us to MH370, still unaccounted for as the guesses and theories multiply. The words "Muslims" and "terrorism" are on the tips of many tongues.

The pilot and co-pilot of the ill-fated plane were Muslims. (Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country.) MH370 might have been hijacked by Uighur (Muslim) terrorists as part of an attack on China. (Unlikely, but who knows.) Or the Taliban or al-Qaeda might have diverted the plane to a secret airstrip to turn it into a giant flying bomb!

Nothing can be ruled out! For Walt, "nothing" includes the possibility that the American military may have diverted MH370 to a location they control, like Diego Garcia, which should have been within range.

Why would they do this? To divert attention from the failure of Obama's foreign policy in the Crimea? Or -- far worse -- to set that stage for a catastrophe in Afghanistan -- not a long flight from Diego Garcia -- which would "require" the Americans to stay in the sandpit for another couple of years, even if the Afghans don't want them there. You read it here first.

See also: MH370: Three guesses from Walt