The U.S. Constitution asks of us that we know personal freedom. Freedom is often mistaken for a neglected privilage, when it is truely more a responsibility. Analogous to our character as citizens, the Constitution is meant to be modified as the world changes and our understanding advances. Democracy is responsive to change through a citizenry prepared to read, reason, and react. The 3 R's of citizenship, if you will. The Constitution was written in large part due to a respect for the rights and responsibilities of representation. And it was understood at the time that the populace should be discouraged, by disign, from overly relying upon external authority. Our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press, are again both privilages and responsibilities. We take advantage of what others have done to sustain these rights, while we must work to sustain them for the generation to follow. Working to sustain or freedom involves accepting the fact that many people in this country are not free.
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. (1918) - Theodore Roosevelt. MORALLY TREASONABLE!!! He is saying that those who would sacrifice the truth in allegiance to an external authority, are not prepared to be citizens of a democracy.
Now lets bring this into the present context. I strongly believe that to accept that there must be no criticism of the 'official version' of 9/11, or that we are to stand by that 'version', right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. I mean to imply that it is the understanding of the individual that carries the truth. Not a document or organization. Citizens are supposed to be able to read and review news and basic documentary evidence, use their reason and knowledge to bring that information into the context of related information, and then act upon what they come to believe is the truth. But a democratic truth is always subject to debate, and so citizens must also be able to adapt in light of a reasonable challenge to their understanding. Unfortunately, the public response to 9/11 has demonstrated that many individuals do not believe that it is possible for them to effectively review any evidence, or come to any alternative conclusions.
And now to a demonstration of my point:
What do YOU see here? You DO see something. Do you see the reason that someone at the Pentagon indicated the first frame of five as "Plane"? What are the elements of that reason that YOU can detect, and what conclusions do YOU draw? Forget the 'versions' and 'authorities' for a minute. Just look! I suggest grabbing the pictures to your desktop, dragging them larger, setting them side by side, and comparing the area near the ticket box that mostly obscures the "Plane". Or you can set them to full screen and tab between them.
Here's what I see. I have examined these picture relative to one another in order to determine what structure is evident in the first. Zooming into both I have found a vapor trail that is distinct in the first image and diffuse in the second. In the first image I also see a structure above and forward of the vapor trail. The presence of the vapor trail is the only reason I assume that structure to be the tail fin of some kind of aircraft. Otherwise I find no evidence of an aircraft in this image. The stuctures appearing directly around the ticket box might at first appear to be part of a plane. However, due to over-exposure the background structure of buildings and trees in the impact image have less contrast than they do in the 'plane' image. If you darken the contrast of the impact image to compensate, you first find that the images look far more alike, and second that all of the structures around the ticket box, are present in both images with the exception of the "tail fin".
So that's the info I've reviewed, and now I must apply what knowledge I have through a reasonable process in order to put this in context and draw my own conclusions, if possible. My first impression of the images, assuming no prior knowledge of the attack, would be that a missle struck the Pentagon. CAUSE THAT"S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!! However, the Commission Report states that flight 77 hit the pentagon. So looking at the image again, I consider whether it looks as though a 757 is hitting the pentagon. First of all, when I first saw the pictures I knew that the vapor trail did not originate from a 757. It just didn't look right. And that supposition was, upon some further investigation, found to be based on experience. FACT: Large commercial aircraft don't make sizable vapor trails at low altitude. Maybe a whisp of turbulant air at the wingtips. I've been to the airport and seen this. I've watched television shows about military aircraft and seen this. Its just something we've all seen numerous times. Now secondly, the 'plane', entirely hidden by the ticket box, seems too small to be a 757. I've got pretty good visual and spacial acuity. I'm good at estimating scale relative to depth. And I think I can well imaging the size of a 757. You can see that the Pentagon is only four stories high, and yet if the 'plane' were any more than a story tall, it would be too long to be hidden by the ticket box. 757's are pretty long relative to the height of their tail fin, so the 'plane' does not appear to be long enough to be a 757. And as it turns out these suppositions are widely supported through incredibly basic geomety that results in something like this image.
The analysis done by the creator of this image, as with so many others, suggests that the 'plane' is about 20% too small to be a 757. And this is not rocket science here people. No chemical analysis required. No expert testimony. Just common sense, and some basic math. I mean to suggest that both my intuitive reading of these images, and my research indicate the same thing.
These are not images of a 757 hitting the Pentagon.
Now, I need take this no further to know that there are some unanswered questions I have for officials at the Pentagon. Questions that some 'official' source should have asked long ago. It appears as though the Pentagon has provided false information. It matters not in this consideration where the 757 went, or what struck the Pentagon. Maybe flight 77 struck just after these images were taken. We may never know. What matters is that the Pentagon released these images in order to respond to a growing controversy about what struck the building, and the images do not appear to well support their story. They prove that some kind of aircraft struck the Pentagon. But they also make it apparent to the curious eye, that something else happened that day that has not yet been 'officially' acknowledged. And ultimately if there is any conclusion that I draw from these considerations it is that I can not trust what the Pentagon tells me. Of course Rumsfeld has an explicit policy of lying to the public in the interest of national security, so I'm not really moving anywhere with this one.
I've tried here to represent the fact that personal analysis is an important part of being an active citizen. I am more likely to ask important questions about things that directly affect my life if I am engaged in examining the information before me with a critical eye. I am also trying to represent the dangers of overly relying upon 'offical' sources that continue to demonstrate that they can not be trusted. Democracy demands independent journalism as a public oversight of government. Oversight can not come from within. Citizens demand answers to the questions they have about the actions of their leaders. Those who rely entirely upon their leaders for the 'truth' are not capable of providing that oversight, neglect their freedom, and erode the democratic principles upon which this nation was founded. - R.C.