The Hidden Powers
Behind The World Stage

Marcel Messing

First edition, December 2021

© 2021 www.obeliskboeken.com

© 2021 Marcel Messing - www.marcelmessing.nl

Cover design and drawings: Marianne van den Dungen
Editing: Marijke Messing
Photo cover: Enith Stenhuys
Translation: Team Obelisk

By popular demand, Marcel Messing’s 2006 book ‘Worden Wij Wakker?’ [Will We Wake UP?] has been republished in Dutch and is now also translated into English. Unfortunately, in view of a number of recent developments, it is becoming increasingly clear Marcel Messing at that time was providing a thorough preview of the very turbulent times we are now in.

Keywords: 9/11, September 11, 2001 attacks, terrorism, international politics, Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, United States, CIA, RFID chip, Google, radiation, surveillance state, Big Brother, biometric passport, internet, pandemic, vaccinations, transhumanism.

First edition, December 2021
ISBN: 978-94-6461-002-4
NUR: 728

An effort has been made to locate all copyright holders of the figures and photographs included in this book and to ask their permission. Should anyone nevertheless believe their rights have not been honoured, please contact the publisher.

Any part of this book may only be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system and/or transmitted in any form, by print, photo print, microfilm, recording, or other means, chemical, electronic or mechanical, with the written permission of the publisher.

Let’s say that everything you know is not only wrong,
it is a carefully wrought lie.
Let’s say that your mind is filled with falsehoods – about yourself, about history,
about the world around you – planted there by powerful forces,
so as to lull you into complacency.
Your freedom is thus an illusion.
You are in fact a pawn in a plot,
and your role is that of a compliant dupe,
if you’re lucky.

Charles Paul Freund, ‘If History is a Lie: America’s Resort to Conspiracy Thinking’, in The Washington Post, January 19, 1992

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,
or hidden that will not be made known.
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight,
and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms
will be proclaimed from the roof tops.

Luke 12:2-3

Yes, he who wants to reveal the truth to people
exposes himself to a lot of misunderstanding.

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov, March 8, 2006

Content

The 2021 English translation

Introduction (2006)

1The great revolution

1.1Time of transition or end times?

1.2September 11, 2001: attack or conspiracy?

1.3Bush’s secret

1.4The War on Terror

2Electronic warfare

2.1How big is Big Brother really?

2.2The all-seeing eye

2.3The enforced biometric passport

3The dangers of the chip

3.1Chip for modern slaves

3.2Our digital angels

3.3RFID: identification with radio waves

3.4Animals and children as an intermediate step

3.5The completely controlled man

4Internet: the Beast 666 or Big Boss?

4.1Military background

4.2The big Googler

4.3It’s all about the internet

4.4World-Wide Web consciousness

4.5The end of freedom or quickly wake up!

Light-Love meditation

There is light in people of light

Literature

About the author

The 2021 English translation

There has recently been a renewed demand for the book ‘Worden Wij Wakker? Over de verborgen krachten achter het wereldtoneel’, first published in 2006 by Ankh-Hermes and until recently only available as an e-book. It was being traded at high prices on the internet without my knowledge, so I gratefully accepted the offer of the publisher Obelisk to reprint the book. It’s now available again and the publisher has updated the notes and internet references.

Prior to this republication, my manifesto was published in early January 2021 Code Red Alarm. Not primarily caused by the Corona Pandemic, but because of what is hidden behind this Cover-up, and can be ordered at world of consciousness.com. The Dutch version of the manifesto (Code rood: Alarm! Mensheid en planeet aarde in gevaar) as well as the French (Code Rouge: Alarme! Danger pour l’Humanité et la Planète) can be found on my website. Since there are similarities to be discovered between the current pandemic and the so-called ‘swine’ flu, I have decided to publish the booklet Vaccinate or not? Contribution to the discussion of making a choice [in Dutch - Frontier Publishing, 2009, no longer available].

Inform yourself. Do not only investigate the prevailing views of specia¬lists, scientists, and journalists, but also of those specialists, scientists and journalists who have conducted sound research, that is not or hardly allowed to be discussed in the mainstream media. Read their books and reports and if you can’t or don’t want to take the time, visit their websites and draw your own conclusions. Do not be put off by those who use clever words and cliches to try to silence you and who usually do not do any proper research themselves. But above all: use common sense, trust your intuition and, as far as I am concerned, never make decisions if you are in doubt. My website will keep you informed of upcoming publications.

As a result of the book “Will We Wake UP?”, in a podcast with Jorn Lukaszczyk (The Truman Show ) in July 2021, I personally recounted the dramatic event of 9/11, how I experienced it in 2001, and what ‘coincidences’ have occurred in my life in relation to 9/11. Internationally, several authors have done in-depth research on 9/11.

It is obvious that we are living in an extremely critical time and waking up on a large scale is necessary now, more than ever before. Time is running out! Numerous events are coinciding: The pandemic, lockdowns, vaccination programs and the vaccination passport, global mass brainwashing and hypnosis, the super-fast rollout of 5G, the almost daily outbreak of revolutions and situations of civil war, the confrontation of a global refugee problem, famines, terrorist attacks, political corruption, dictatorship and terror, the collapse of established institutions and religions, the rapid degradation of the planetary ecosystem (caused in part by globalization), the decay of moral values, the many lies about the climate... Humanity, indeed all living beings, are dancing on the volcano in this ‘iron age’ called kali-yuga.

But right through all this, profound transformations are taking place, in which the soul, denied by countless materialistic scientists and philosophers, can awaken to its true essence. Only when we learn to understand, accept and integrate the Universal Law, among other things expressed in the archetype of the tree of life, only when we realize that all living beings in our universe and in parallel universes are connected to this and that this Law is intended to protect life and bring it to further development, can man make an enormous leap in his evolution of consciousness. Then he too will realize that it is not about vanity, arrogance, egotism, power, exploitation and demonism, but about truth, light and love.

The coming years will be decisive for planet Earth and all living beings. Everything depends on a rapid awakening in many areas through knowledge and understanding, through which a collective force of consciousness becomes feasible. I would like to wish you, the reader, all the best and much strength and inspiration at this very crucial moment. May Will We Wake UP? give you a better understanding of the current world situation.

Marcel Messing, December 2021.

Introduction (2006)

If, therefore, it is proper for anyone to lie, then certainly for the leadership of the state towards enemies or fellow citizens, with regard to the well-being of the state: all others, however, must refrain from it.

Plato (427-347 B.C.), The state III, 389

Much has changed in the world since September 11, 2001 (9/11). Now five years later, we see that more and more people are questioning the official account of those catastrophic events. If a few years ago you belonged to the conspiracy theorists and were looked upon with a certain contempt or disdain by the media, lately, more and more dissenting voices have begun to emerge. Those who gave unquestioning credence to the well-known story of the U.S. government, must recognize that there is more to it. Several policy makers and media experts are beginning to get the unpleasant feeling that it could all have been a gigantic lie, as a result of which around the world far-reaching decisions have been taken with major consequences for social life. Particularly in the areas of security and privacy. The first victim in a war is always the truth. Floods of false information then reach the media. This was already the case during the First and Second World Wars. Propaganda Minister of Nazi Germany Joseph Goebbels fully understood this when he said, ‘Thank god people don’t think,’ a quote he took from Hitler. For Goebbels, ‘truth was the deadly enemy of the lie,’ but also ‘the greatest enemy of the state’.

The time will come, however, when people will start to think more clearly than the manipulators of the mind ever thought possible. The time will come when people wake up. For every lie, no matter how blatant, leaves its traces. First, a few individuals conducting critical research will wake up, then larger groups, and finally all of humanity. Even dictator Adolf Hitler, responsible for hideous atrocities and terrible suffering, was aware of this. In Mein Kampf he wrote, ‘For the most brazen lie always leaves traces, even when it has been destroyed. This is a truth known to all who are masters in the art of lying, and who work relentlessly at perfecting the lie.’ Many today have worked and are working on perfecting the lie. Sometimes even with Machiavelli-like traits. But whether this is always done ‘in the interest of the state’? Whoever tells one lie, the Buddha said, will have to invent many thereafter to cover the first one. Until that one lie comes to light... The truth is always more powerful than the grossest lie, because the foundation of truth is light. And in the light of truth, according to the cosmic law of harmony, the darkness of the lie must yield.

In recent years, our world has rapidly descended into a level of increasing violence, growing fear, terror and devaluation of values. In many countries, the state responded by passing numerous new laws and regulations. Security quickly became more important than privacy. Since 9/11, innumerable cameras and eavesdropping devices have begun to spy on us at an ever-increasing rate. If someone behaves suspiciously for even a moment, he is subject to a strip search. Since 9/11, it is compulsory to carry an ID card at all times. (In some countries this was already the case.) The biometric passport was quickly introduced. Ingenious electronic control systems and increasingly large and sophisticated eavesdropping devices were installed. Satellite surveillance, connected to electronic equipment and mega-computers, which most people have never heard of, is increasingly permitted and considered normal. Security services are being given new programmes and tasks. In many countries, umbrella security agencies are being set up and counter-terrorism coordinators appointed. The army, police and other authorities regularly carry out exercises. After all, there may be attacks in European countries. Every day. In many countries, alarm codes orange and red have been put in place. There has never been so much talk of ‘big brother’ as since 9/11. Not the ‘Big Brother’ of cheesy soap operas or penny dreadfuls, but the terrifying, all-controlling, manipulating and dictating ‘Big Brother’ of Orwell’s novel 1984, who in our time has become the embodiment of increasing and total control and espionage, aimed at enslaving mankind. Since 9/11, fear has been exploited on a collective scale. An atmosphere of constant threat has been created and distrust of other groups and religions is growing. Polarization is increasing and so is a climate that we ourselves unconsciously have created in which the seeds of terrorist attacks can germinate. The virus of fear and despair has nestled in every part of our society. Many people have the feeling that this virus has been deliberately deployed. As if a powerful shadow behind it all is exploiting the state of fear for its own purpose. A number of people are beginning to realize that there is much more going on than what we are told by the media. The internet is buzzing with criticism, and all sorts of conspiracy theories are shared and discussed. Although this book points out the great risks of the internet and the forces that lie behind it, this medium can also be used in a positive way to unmask those who try to manipulate us. Something we should never forget.

It is as if something snapped in human relationships since 9/11 and at the same time there is a growing consciousness which seeks to extract the truth from the murky sea of lies. In doing so, thick mud streams that cause unbridled suffering and misery, seep through the mazes of the net. Day after day, brute force opens gates of unprecedented suffering and sorrow. But day after day, the light also reveals, step by step, the dark shadow in the background, creating the possibility of bringing the great suffering afflicting our planet to a halt.

The ‘war on terror’, which is drawing a colossal, sickening cloud of darkness over Earth and reinforcing antagonism, hatred and suffering everywhere, seems to have reached a critical point. Paradoxically, as a result, the collective consciousness is beginning to wake up. A mighty ray of light is gradually piercing through the cloud of darkness. Certainly, he who accuses others also accuses himself. The voice that reproaches is connected to the one who utters it. The eye that looks reproachfully at another is connected to the same light.

The chaos currently created in many parts of the world shows a certain structure that refers to hidden forces behind the world stage, which seem intent on creating a totally different world order. In this new world order, modern technology, especially electronics, is deployed on many fronts with the aim of enslaving man. Every day the sacredness of life is grossly violated. Until the infringed life turns against those who caused the infringement. After all, there are laws in the universe that one cannot keep breaking. What you sow, you will reap sooner or later. As the Buddha once said, ‘The ungodly shall prosper as long as the seed of his ungodliness is unripe. When the seed of the ungodly is ripe, his prosperity will come to an end.’

Suppose we have been deceived. That we have been told blatant lies for decades under the guise of truth. Suppose that there have been plans on the table for years about the destiny of this planet. Plans that we never suspected, plans that are already well advanced. This book first poses the question of whether we are living in a transitional period or end times. It then discusses hidden backgrounds of September 11 (9/11), explains President Bush’s secret, reveals some of big brother’s electronic control and spying techniques, and discusses the great dangers of the chip, especially the implantation of the subcutaneous microchip in humans. Finally, the role of the internet is explored, where many of the aforementioned themes converge. Not only are we in danger of being locked up in a gigantic electromagnetic cage of radiation in the coming years, which will completely dehumanize us, the forces behind the world stage are also busy getting a stranglehold on man step by step through a strangling control system. First, they make a direct attack on his privacy and then they use super-advanced electronic technologies to attack his soul quality. A power elite, consisting of a collective of top people from politics, religion, business, banks and secret services, does not hesitate to enslave mankind to its goals, its world order. This is the most brutal attack on the principle of love. An attack that makes the atrocities of 9/11 pale in comparison, because for the first time in human history the decisive spiritual evolution of humanity is being hacked into in an extraordinarily devious manner. All the more reason to wake up quickly, very quickly, and start responding appropriately, taking action where necessary. The stakes are high.

There seems to be a war going on between light and darkness, although this is an obvious black-and-white simplification. ‘Gray’ also participates and in each of us there is a shadow that we like to conceal, but which is waiting to be transformed. Even in the darkest consciousness of a person, a glimpse of light remains. This is what the Bhagavad Gita, one of the world’s most famous wisdom stories, shows. In the final battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the sons of light and of darkness meet face to face.

In our time, dark forces seem to want to dust everything over, while forces of light are actually trying to transform and transcend the dark. An intense expulsion is taking place of a process that was hitherto invisible to most people’s eyes. Just as a river can flow underground for a while and then suddenly resurfaces, so it is with the ‘flow’ of hidden forces behind the world stage. For a certain time, the stream is visible, its course traceable. Then suddenly, it goes underground to carve out the bed of an entirely different history than that of the historians. Once above ground - and this seems to always occur at the end of a cycle - there is a short window of opportunity to see what was going on, unbeknown to us. Hidden forces built a pyramid of power and falsehood, cast a controlling all-seeing eye over the planet, waiting for the time to set their capstone of arrogance on this pyramid but oblivious to the fact, that during this underground building of the pyramid of power there is also a pyramid of light at work. In this pyramid the cornerstone is equal to the top stone, there is no hierarchy of power, which wishes to exploit the base. In this pyramid; love, compassion, wisdom and patience are central and every living being is a valuable building block in the temple of life. Within this pyramid, there is even an attempt to turn the enemy into a friend. Not through a sugar-sweet method of half-heartedness or misdirected goodness, but through the transmission of information of what is going on in the world. In the hope of thus alleviating suffering and restoring the original goodness of man, in which millions, indeed perhaps billions, of people have lost faith.

When the sacredness of life is seriously violated, where burning desire from totally sick minds threatens to destroy everything and everyone, when creation sighs in travail, the conscious human being can no longer be a silent bystander. As Martin Luther King once said, ‘evil advances so rapidly because good men stay silent’. With this we certainly do not want to fall into the pitfall of dualism of good and evil, but emphasize that not every human being is trapped in a state of consciousness of demonization, which is currently raging across the world. Certainly, everything is one. But that does not mean that duality doesn’t exist, although some philosophers claim so. The possibility to deny a choice is also a choice. And doubting whether truth ever comes to light exists only by virtue of not daring to doubt the doubt. The unity of being is only seen and experienced when duality is also understood and experienced. On the chessboard of black and white, one is not asked to judge or condemn, but rather to develop the gift of distinction and cleanse blends of black and white in one’s own being. Only then will pros and cons disappear in the single light that shines on both good and bad.

Reality sometimes turns out to be completely different than we thought. Even when we think we have come to know it to some extent, new doors are constantly opening. The sometimes-shocking facts in this book are, of course, not intended to instill fear or promote doom and gloom, but to provide information that will hopefully enable us to deal appropriately with the problems that confront us in the years ahead. Everyone matters. It would be wrong and dishonest to conceal this and not take the reader seriously. To say that everything will resolve itself is to participate in a big lie. That is not what I am advocating. Perhaps for some people it is a free ticket to continue their complacent lives for a while. Possibly infused with a ‘new-age’ sauce. Certainly, to have faith that everything will be all right is ever more necessary, but equally so is our joint effort. The final act of the present world stage will not end simply by the intervention of an allsolving deus ex machina.

Finally, a word of thanks to all those friends who have been such a great help in writing this book, especially Joli Coeur. I sincerely hope that this book, which is merely an introduction to this complex theme, may touch many hearts and minds. So that we may all wake up soon! May the light of truth and love lead and guide us all in the decisive years ahead! May the Great Spirit, as our red brothers, the Indians, so often call the universal force that permeates all life, protect us on our journey.

Marcel Messing, 2006

1
The great
revolution

We are at the peak of an incredible global change. A pivotal moment in which we are making decisions that will affect life on Earth far into the future of what we call time.
We can throw open the doors to the mental and emotional prisons in which the human race has been locked for thousands of years, or allow the agents of that control to complete their agenda for the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical enslavement of every man, woman and child on the planet: with a world government, world army, world bank and world money system, and a population microchipped as its foundation.
I know this sounds bizarre, but if the human race turns its eyes away from the latest soap opera or game show long enough to keep its brain busy, it will see that these events are not about to happen, but that they are already happening. The pace at which world politics is increasingly coming under centralized control, and that of business, banking, military affairs and media is increasing by the hour. The microchipping of people has already been suggested and in many cases is already taking place.
Whenever a hidden agenda is about to be implemented, there is always the period when what is being hidden must penetrate the surface for the final jab into physical reality. (...)
If you want to know what kind of life this means, unless we wake up soon, just look at Nazi Germany.
That is the world that awaits the world’s population if the plan that I call the ‘brotherhood agenda’ will unfold from the year 2000 into the first twelve years of the new century.¹

David Icke, author.

1.1Time of transition or end of time?

You will hear of wars and rumours about wars,
but see to it that you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Matthew 24:6-8

The torrent of publications on the critical situation of our planet is unstoppable. Shores of illusions are being eroded by it. We can no longer close our eyes to this. And fleeing is not an option either.

Climatologists warn of catastrophic climate changes, astronomers speak of extraordinary solar eruptions, astrologers emphasize the powerful influence of the Age of Aquarius. The grim dance of Kali, goddess of strife, is said to have begun. In ancient Indian wisdom she plays an important role. She is said to have opened the creaking gate of the Iron Age several years ago and put her name tag on it. The Puranas, Sanskrit for ‘ancient stories’ of Indian wisdom literature, knew about it, too.² Thousands of years ago they already outlined our current era in startling detail. A nutcracker for the rational mind. Anger, lies, immorality, lawlessness, strife, wars, bigotry, false ideologies, degeneration of the sacred, diseases, hunger, murder and manslaughter, abortion, deranged sexuality, natural disasters, climate disturbances, degeneration of character and language, materialism, juvenile gangs, false gurus, decline of religion, disappearance of respect for life - it’s all there. God-fearing ministers cannot improve it, preachers of doom cannot make it worse.

Not to mention, of course, the wisdom of the Indians. That is up for grabs, although obviously not every intuitive Indian is a sage and not every rational European is a fool. Mayans, Incas, Aztecs, Iroquois, Hopi and Blackfoot Indians all speak of the great upheavals of our time. Anyone who plows through the Bible again, or browses the myths and wisdom books of various cultures or consults the prophetic works of religious literature will find plentiful references to our time.

However, with prophetic proclamations, we continue to struggle. Bookshelves full of what is going to happen, should have happened, yet did not happen. Even in the granary of prophecies there is chaff among the wheat. One must wield the wand carefully and let the chaff of charlatans be blown away by the wind. Especially in the eyes of the rational Westerner. The latter accepts more easily a weather forecast based on satellites and computers or prophetic claims of scientists about computers, nanotechnology, imminent epidemics or climate changes than the warnings of biblical prophets such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah, or the likes of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce or Jakob Lorber. However, those who accept a certain margin in their time predictions can also learn a lot from them. The physicist, astronomer and philosopher Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker recognized this. During World War II, he participated in the development of an atomic bomb in Germany, but had great conscientious objections to it. He once said, ‘I personally believe that the growing criticism of the technocratic world is the foreshadowing of deep crises, even disasters. It is unforgivable not to listen to Cassandra and Jeremiah’.³ Jesus noted that a prophet is not recognized in his own community. St. Paul expressed himself in similar ways. In his first letter to the Thessalonians he writes, ‘Do not despise the prophetic word, but examine everything and retain what is right’. (1 Tes.5:20-21).

Regardless of how one feels about prophecies, many feel that things will come to a climax in the coming years. We are seeing all too well what is going on. More and more floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, famines, volcanic eruptions, wars, droughts, desertification, wildfires, hurricanes and insect plagues. Old values and norms are crumbling. Forecast: if we do not achieve a breakthrough at all levels on our planet before 2010, its degradation will begin at a rapid pace. This is what Professor Ervin Laszlo, international scholar, former concert pianist and founder of the Club of Budapest, said.⁴ Short-term prophecy is apparently allowed these days. Especially when solutions are offered, like Ervin Laszlo does. And it remains good practice to light a candle in the hour of darkness. How about a few hundred million torches? Or even more?

For your consideration, a casual sample from the granary of prophecies. The wand did some preliminary work. It is up to each person to remain alert to whether the signs of the times are correct.

I have had visions of these times of Earth changes
and what you need to survive them.
I feel a responsibility to share my knowledge
with those who are ready,
who are open to it. If they don’t want to hear it,
then there is nothing I can do about it.⁵

Sun Bear, Indian visionary from the Ojibwa-tribe

As it was at the time of Noah, so it will be again:
love will diminish and completely freeze.
The sense of God and the belief in a pure doctrine of life
revealed from the heavens to mankind will be changed into a dark,
dead superstition full of lies and deceit.
The rulers will again treat the people like animals
and have them slaughtered cold-bloodedly and unscrupulously,
if they do not submit to the will of the rulers without any opposition.
The powerful will put pressure on poor people and persecute
and suppress every free spirit using all possible means.
As a result, suffering will come upon the people,
such as there has never been on earth.⁶

Jakob Lorber, prophet, musician and composer (1800-1864)

We need to do everything we can to wake ourselves up and everyone around us. We need to listen to the wisdom of the prophecies, open our hearts and minds to the possibilities, begin to realize what is going on and then take action.⁷

John Perkins, author and economic hit man (ret.)

And thus, the gods will go away from men - a grievous thing!
Only evil angels will remain, who will mingle with men and violently force
the poor wretches to commit all kinds of ruthless crimes, wars,
plundering and cheating, all things that are against the nature of the soul.
Then the Earth will no longer be balanced, the sea no longer navigable,
the circulation of the stars in the sky disturbed.
The voices of the gods will necessarily be hushed and silenced.
The fruits of the Earth will rot away, and the Earth will be barren.
Even the air will no longer be pure and in time will no longer circulate.
Thus, the era of the old world will end.
There will be no more religion, and everything will be in disorder,
all that is good will vanish.
But when all this has taken place, Asclepius, God [...] will cleanse the world of evil
by washing it away with floods of water, burning it away with fire,
or destroying it by wars and epidemics.
And He will restore to His world its original beauty
so that the cosmos will again be deemed worthy of admiration and reverence,
and God, who created and restored such a wonderful work,
will again be praised with never-ending songs of praise.
Such is the new birth of the cosmos: it is such a restoration of all things
as to make them right again, a holy and awesome restoration of all nature,
brought about in the course of time by the eternal will of God.⁸

Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius

1.2September 11, 2001: attack or conspiracy?

Once, when he happened to mention the war against Eurasia,
she surprised him by nonchalantly noting that
in her opinion that whole war did not exist.
The rocket bombs that came down daily on London,
were probably fired by the government of Oceania itself,
‘Just to keep the people scared’.
This was a thought that had literally never occurred to him.⁹

George Orwell, 1984

World in turmoil

September 11, 2001. On the way from the Pyrenees to Belgium. My wife was driving. Lived in the mountains for exactly eleven years. Moved exactly on September 11, 2001. It seemed an inevitable date. Sound of the humming engine, southern warmth, soft classical music. It made one a bit drowsy. After a few hours of driving, I turned on the news. An indeterminate feeling had come over me, was palpable in every cell of my body. It was almost three o’clock. The radio broadcast was interrupted. World news. That was the first time we heard about the attacks.

At 8:45 a.m. local time in New York, 2:45 p.m. in France, a hijacked Boeing 767 (flight number 11!) crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center (WTC 1). A full fifteen minutes later, a Boeing 767 crashed into the south tower of the WTC (2), and forty minutes later, a Boeing 757 impacted the west wing of the Pentagon in Washington DC. Not much later, with apocalyptic rumbling, driving huge clouds of dust, the south tower of the WTC collapsed. The wedge of the Pentagon that was hit also collapsed. A few minutes later, a Boeing 757 crashed into a forest in Somerset County southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, possibly destined to hit a nuclear power plant. Finally, the north tower of the WTC collapsed. Overall, nearly three thousand victims. The tragedy was deeply engraved in the collective consciousness. Radio and television stations talked about it continuously. The world was in turmoil. Statements followed. President George W. Bush announced that this terrorist attack was worse than the one on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

On the way, we watched the footage in a French café. It was repeated continuously. The collapsing WTC towers, panic, clouds of dust - images of hell itself. And of course, footage of the battered Pentagon. Everyone sat stunned in front of the television. Not a word was said. The event was not captured on my retina, but etched into it. In a non-rational way, I realized in a split second the consequences of this catastrophe. Over and over my attention was drawn to the collapsing towers. Something struck me that I could not explain at the time. Later I realized that I thought it was a most peculiar collapse. For a moment it seemed as if something was imploding from within as well. An absurd idea. Surely, I had not seen it clearly.

Fact of the matter was that on September 11, 2001, from 2:45 p.m. onward, a drama unfolded in America, which soon thereafter unfolded before the eyes of the whole world through television.

People started questioning it sometime later. Luckily, I was not the only one. The world’s financial centre was in ruins. Was this an attack on the civilized world? Or was there something more sinister at play? The world reacted in shock. Rarely was 911 (nine eleven!), the number of the emergency services in America, dialed as often as that day.

Both prayer and war

That same evening, President George W. Bush addressed the nation. ‘America and our friends and allies stand together with all who want peace and security in the world, and together we will win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask you to pray for all the grieving, for the children whose world has been shaken, for all those whose understanding of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray that they may be comforted by a power greater than all of us, handed down through the ages in Psalm 23: ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me’.’¹⁰ He concluded his speech with God’s blessing, as in virtually all other speeches related to 9/11: ‘Thank you. Good night, and God bless America.’¹¹

Hardly had the sounds of prayers faded away, when war was declared on international terrorism. ‘A Global War on Terror’. A war according to an entirely new pattern. All over the world. The enemy was identified almost instantly: Osama bin Laden (who had formerly held relations with the CIA), the Taliban from Afghanistan (who allegedly sheltered Osama and his terrorist friends) and finally Saddam Hussein (once supported by the US government). ‘The axis of evil’ included some sixty ‘rogue states’ and from the President’s lips we heard, ‘Those who are not with us are against us.’

Critical authors

After the first emotions had subsided, countries had expressed their solidarity with America, statements were made, a united front was presented against this terrorist attack, ‘appropriate measures’ were taken everywhere, and hardly anyone dared to ask questions that differed from the official narrative, critical authors gradually began to put forward other viewpoints. Those who believed that there might be some conspiracy involved were quickly swept away by the media with the scythe of scorn, ridicule and suspicion. Anyone who wanted to be a good patriot had better not indulge in that sort of thing. However, distinguished American writers also began to interfere (Gore Vidal, Bob Woodward, James Risen), although they did not mention the possibility of a conspiracy.¹²

Meanwhile, the UN was being pressured by America, even manipulated according to some. The drum of war began to sound. Drums of doom spread to future battlefields. Soon a coalition went to war. First in Afghanistan, where thousands of bombs and grenades destroyed the infrastructure of the Taliban-occupied territory in the shortest possible time. Mercilessly, the Taliban were hunted down and killed. Countless numbers were arrested and thrown into prisons without trial. American statements made it clear that this was absolutely not a war against Islam, but only against certain terrorists and extremists, against those who abused Islam. Sometime later, war was declared on Saddam Hussein. In front of the world community, former Secretary of State Colin Powell pulled a vial from the inside pocket of his jacket. A small bottle like that, filled with viruses or chemical poisons, was enough to wipe out an entire country, he said. Rejection everywhere. The British Prime Minister Tony Blair also made a statement to the effect that Iraq could deploy biological and chemical weapons within 45 minutes. Bush and Blair repeatedly informed their nations and the world that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. James Risen, reporter for the New York Times, reports that the CIA ‘sent the U.S.-based sister of an Iraqi scholar to her brother in Iraq to learn from him about the weapons of mass destruction. She came back with the message: Saddam does not have those weapons. The CIA leadership knew that the White House wanted to hear something different and decided to keep the information to themselves. British lawyer and professor Philipp Sands revealed early this month that he had been allowed to read a secret memorandum about a meeting between Bush and British Prime Minister Blair in late January 2003. Bush was questioning the legitimacy of the impending war. He suggested flying an American U2 plane in UN colours over Iraq in the hope that it would be shot down. It would provide the casus belli he was looking for.’¹³ James Risen writes in his book State of War. The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration that the CIA even considered sinking a ferry, resulting in hundreds of deaths, in order to blame it on Saddam Hussein.¹⁴

The fact that these weapons have never been found - and that the entire war is therefore in fact illegal - is now known to everyone, unless they are still stored somewhere in one of Saddam Hussein’s bunkers, which is highly unlikely (in 2006 and in the meantime in 2021 as well). Possibly these will be remnants of what the West supplied to Saddam. Andreas von Bülow (German intelligence expert, former Secretary of Defense in the Helmut Schmidt cabinet and later Federal Minister for Research and Technology) and Noam Chomsky (professor of linguistics and known worldwide as one of America’s leading political commentators) pointed out the extent of the West’s involvement in supplying chemical weapons of mass destruction to Iraq.¹⁵ One of the United Nations weapons inspectors, David Kelly, who visited Iraq on a total of 37 occasions between 1994 and 1997, suddenly died. On Friday, July 18, 2003, he allegedly committed suicide in the woods near Abingdon. His left wrist artery had been cut with a knife causing him to bleed to death, the official statement said. Not everyone was convinced this was the case. As recently as the Tuesday before his death, he had been questioned by a House of Commons inquiry committee on the Iraq affair.¹⁶

‘There is no doubt that the atrocities of September 11 constituted an event of historical importance,’ Noam Chomsky said.¹⁷ But the actual backgrounds, he said, are still hidden from many. According to Chomsky September 11th was gratefully seized by Bush to further expand the already overwhelming military power of the US in the world by means of his ‘war on terror’ (in many ways a duplication of Reagan’s ‘war on terror’ proclaimed twenty years earlier).¹⁸ According to Chomsky, you can’t talk about the terrorism of the weak against the powerful if you don’t also face ‘the unmentionable but much more extreme terrorism of the powerful against the weak.’ If you look at the disregard for international treaties and the suffering inflicted upon civilian populations, he believes ‘there is no fundamental difference between the attacks of Muslim extremists and America’s war policies.’¹⁹

See also under section 9/11 the book by John le Carré ‘A Fragile Truth’, in which Carré, who also wrote the book The Listening Finch (section Africa on Congo), also discusses the David Kelly issue and Iraq.

Doubts about the official 9/11 narrative

Soon the number of websites with other than the usual information about 9/11 proliferated on the internet. Popular youth sites, too. Thousands of emails poured in. CD-ROMs and DVDs came into circulation, with background information, commentaries and images.²⁰ One of the top Dutch sites in this area is that of the Dutch journalist Daan de Wit.²¹ Through a series of articles, lectures and meetings he has been working for some time to bring the truth about 9/11 to light. In the book Die Bildbeweise. 11 September by top manager and physicist Gerhoch Reisegger, numerous photos and images of reconstructions are included, accompanied by questions and comments. Meanwhile, many wondered how it was possible that the Boeing 757 that flew into the Pentagon left a hole much smaller than its 115 feet wingspan.

This is how Flight 77, a Boeing 757, is supposed ssto have slammed into the Pentagon.
Image: Gerhoch Reisegger.

The lines at the tips of the wings indicate where the plane should definitely have hit the building. Magic? A striking coincidence is that sixty years earlier, on September 11, 1941, under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the cornerstone ceremony of the Pentagon under construction took place. October 11, 2001, in his speech at a memorial service at the Department of Defense, Bush pointed out how symbolic the attack on the Pentagon was. He related the speech Roosevelt gave on September 11, 1941 (when work began on the foundations of the Pentagon!) to the speech he himself gave on October 11 in response to September 11, 2001. Roosevelt in his speech held out to the American people the real danger of a military enemy [Japan] at a time when the American people had just become aware of the Nazi terror in Europe. Bush reminded Americans of the danger of international terrorism.²² Roosenvelt was initiated into the 32nd degree of Scottish Freemasonry.²³ That means he knew Albert Pike’s book, Morals and Dogma of the ancient and accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which every 32nd degree initiate has. Pike, himself a 33rd degree initiate in the Scottish rite and Grand Commander of North American Freemasonry from 1859–1869, saw a relationship between the pentagonal shape (pentagon or penta-gram) and the masonic flaming five-pointed star, which was equated with Sirius in Ancient Egypt. Behind the Pentagon rises the ‘Washington Monument,’ a giant obelisk. If you look at the Pentagon from the obelisk, you will see the pentagon upside down. Could this inverted pentagon or five-pointed star, also known as the inverted pentagram, have been the inspiration for the design of the Medal of Honor, the highest American military decoration for military personnel of the army, navy and air force? This award is always presented by the President of America, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces, ‘for conspicuous gallantry and enterprise at the risk of his own life, above and beyond that required by duty, in actual combat against an enemy force.’ The Medal of Honor is worn around the neck so that the inverted pentagram rests exactly on the sternum.²⁴ No doubt it must have escaped the designers of this medal that in black magic the inverted pentagram is a symbol of demonic power and destruction.

That the cameras of the Pentagon, the electronically most heavily guarded building in the world, refused to work at the time of the crash, that a poor film is circulating on which hardly anything can be seen, that no large aircraft debris was found, that all the steel wreckage was immediately shipped to China and Japan, which processed it for the metal industry - the government gave no answer to this. Was the Pentagon perhaps under an unfavourable star sign that day? Did the computers at the headquarters of the Army, Navy and Air Force suddenly fail at the same time? Questions that many have already asked. Ronald D. Ray, former Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Reagan administration, former colonel and distinguished Vietnam veteran, recently raised his grave doubts about the official story of 9/11 in an interview. He questioned how it was possible, with a budget of some $500 billion a year, to not even be able to defend the Pentagon and was aghast that the government was ignoring ‘the conspiracy theory’. Furthermore, in the interview, he gave examples of ‘false-flag operations’ by the US government, in particular an attack committed by Israel on the USS ‘Liberty’ ship - an attack, which President Lyndon B. Johnson allowed in order to blame Egypt and start a war.²⁵

Just as in America, there are increasing numbers of people in the Netherlands who no longer accept the official story of 9/11. The Dutch government, however, turns a blind eye to dossiers that these groups wish to present. That September 11 and the war on terror also have major consequences for the Netherlands was described by Karel van Wolferen and Jan Sampiemon in Een keerpunt in de vaderlandse geschiedenis.²⁶ Blindly following the policy of the U.S. is not without risk. Susan George, author of the bestseller Het Lugano Rapport, expressed it very powerfully in an interview in De Morgen: ‘The United States is doing everything it can to lead the planet to destruction. The big challenge for Europe and the rest of the world is therefore to isolate this US government. Not the American people, but the Bush administration.’ ²⁷

A conspiracy?

Multimillionaire Jimmy Walter, who does not accept the official version of 9/11 and launched a campaign for truth, is offering one million dollars to whoever can prove that the WTC collapsed according to the official explanation of the Bush administration. Substantiated, of course, with scientific evidence.²⁸ Perhaps the fourteen MSc students from Delft University of Technology are going to win the prize promised as part of the Studium Generale. For an expense allowance of € 300 per week, they received an advance on this, which they must repay to the Studium Generale when they win. Last August, they spent a few weeks investigating the collapse of the WTC towers on a purely technical level. Head of Studium Generale and lecturer in Aerospace Engineering, dr. Coen Vermeeren, only wanted to work with students who do not see a conspiracy behind everything. ‘That’s too dangerous and I don’t want that. Sobriety must prevail.’ ²⁹ The results of this investigation were published in September 2006.³⁰ Jan Vambersky, professor in Civil Engineering and geosciences, refused to participate in this project. ‘Not serious at all,’ he judged.³¹ Willem Middelkoop, financial journalist, and freelance reporter and commentator on RTL Z, applauded the initiative. ‘We need this.’ Because conspiracy theories have long since ceased to be found only in the ‘ dark caves of the internet’. ‘It’s not just a few lunatics. It’s millions of people all over the world. Bush will not be able to ignore this.’ Middelkoop does believe that the attacks were carried out by Muslim extremists, but that the U.S. government was aware that the attacks were coming and then planted explosives in the buildings. According to him, this major disaster gave the Bush administration the opportunity to wage long-planned wars. ‘The United States attacked Iraq partly because Saddam Hussein wanted to start trading his oil in euros instead of dollars.’ According to Middelkoop, the world economy is run by a small elite around the US stock exchange, the CIA and the US president. Middelkoop is actively researching the secrets of the financial system.³² In 2017 Middelkoop wrote the book Patronen van Bedrog (Patterns of Deceit) about false flags and the Deep State.³³

Last August 21, the ‘Terzake Zomer’ program of the Belgian television channel Canvas aired Loose Change 2, one of the most famous films on the internet (five million downloads in 2006). The film revolves around the question: was 9/11 a terrorist attack or a conspiracy? The filmmakers point out a whole series of contradictions and gaps in the official account of 9/11. A day later, Terzake Summer came out with a French report in which several conspiracy theories are examined. The Dutch investigative television program Zembla on September 10 attempted to answer the question whether the many conspiracy theories about 9/11 are based on any sort of truth and whether we will ever be able to find out what the truth is.

They also addressed the question of whether the media can be completely independent. Earlier (June 7, 2006) Peter Giesen wrote under the headline ‘The big lie’ an entire page in the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant about conspiracy theories relating to September 11. ‘Worldwide the trend is growing that attributes the attacks of September 11, 2001 to a conspiracy. Also, in the Netherlands people are coming together who want to tell their own truth about the collapsed WTC-towers. Now we can still say what we think.’

Much of the information in books and on websites overlaps, but new reports with convincing sources are constantly emerging. While magazines such as Nexus and (Dutch magazine) Frontier have long been pioneers in providing ‘alternative’ information,³⁴ a range of authors now believe that 9/11 has all the elements of a conspiracy. Among them, bestselling authors such as David Icke (England), Andreas von Rétyi (Germany), Jimm Marss (America), Robin de Ruiter (Netherlands) and Andreas von Bülow (Germany).³⁵

Tough questions

The above authors are asking critical questions and probing into backgrounds usually avoided by the established media. These ‘conspiracy theorists’ are now being read by an audience of millions. They make new connections, point to the interconnections between politics, business and secret societies and question the supposedly neutral ‘9/11 Commission’.³⁶ Why did the Pentagon’s state-of-the-art security system (cameras, electronic devices, etc.) fail? Why were the automatic flight identification systems disabled? Why wasn’t the military alerted immediately (there was plenty of time!). Why were so many ‘defense exercises’ held in the early morning of 9/11, ‘coincidentally’ to practice the impact of aircrafts into tall buildings? Why was this exercise cancelled almost immediately after the actual impact of the first plane into the north tower of the WTC, when Bush was not even aware of the attacks? Why was nothing reported about this exercise? How could hijackers with barely any decent flight training fly such complex aircrafts? Why are there no video recordings of the hijackers at the airport, while pictures of them emerged immediately after the attacks? Why were the remains of the corpses not traced? Where were the black boxes from the planes that flew into the WTC towers, which were resistant to enormous heat (1500°C)? Why are the contents of the other black boxes not disclosed? How could Mrs. Barbara Olson telephone from Flight 77 (with a borrowed credit card) to her husband, who is attorney general of the Department of Justice, while the plane was flying extremely low and fast. Conversations are practically impossible then. In all the turmoil, how was Todd Beamer of Flight 93 able to make thirteen-minute phone calls from the Boeing 757’s on-board phone?³⁷ How is it possible that the wallet containing, among other things, four credit cards of passenger Waleed Iskander (flight 11) was not burned in the blazing fire? What happened to the testimonies of firefighters and rescue workers who heard explosions outside and inside the buildings?³⁸ Questions and more questions, which the government does not answer. The authors who write about this substantiate their story with numerous sources, otherwise their books and websites had better be ignored if they had not.

Professors on conspiracies and 9/11

Books on conspiracies are not new. The internationally renowned Caroll Quigley, Bill Clinton’s history professor at Georgetown University, wrote about them as early as 1966 and Anthony Sutton, professor of economics, in the 1980s. Professors in our time are also writing on the subject, although not in their capacity as a university professor. We should mention David Ray Griffin, James Fetzer and Steven E. Jones. According to them, too, the official story about the collapse of the WTC towers is flawed. There is much more to the story. From June 2-4 2006, an international conference on the subject was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Chicago.³⁹ At a Los Angeles hotel, June 25 of this year, more than 1,200 people gathered to reject the official account of 9/11. Among them were scientists, journalists, philosophers and experts on terrorism. ‘A more radical movement is accusing the US government of an inside job’.⁴⁰ In addition, articles by ‘Scholars for 9/11 Truth’ appear regularly, in which reputable scientists attempt to refute the official version of 9/11. Michael Meyer, for example, a mechanical engineer, describes how the WTC towers did not collapse in a normal way.⁴¹ Physicists such as David Heller and Steven E. Jones share that view. Other scientists, such as Thomas Eagar and Jan Vambersky, believe that the official reading of the collapse is quite explainable.

Testimonies on 9/11

The American professor emeritus of philosophy of religion, David Ray Griffin, in particular, is making millions think about the terrorist attacks with his shocking publications about 9/11.

The testimonies of a number of firefighters, police officers and Wall Street Journal reporters about the explosions they heard in the WTC towers, which, according to some of them, clearly point to a controlled demolition (controlled collapse, created by explosions) are quite revealing. These witnesses even speak of ‘multiple explosions’ and of ‘sequenced explosions’. Mark Loizeaux, head of Controlled Demolition, Inc. explains: ‘If I were commissioned to bring the towers down, I would put explosives in the foundation so that the weight of the building would cause the structure to yield.’ And: ‘... to bring down a building the way we intend, without damaging another building’, the collapse must be ‘fully planned’. It requires ‘the right explosive and the right scheme for applying the charge’.⁴² The fact that it took so long for these testimonies to become available to us is because the city government, led by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, declined for a long time to make them available.⁴³

Bloomberg, a multimillionaire, is not only mayor of New York but also a media mogul.⁴⁴

Specialists speak out

In his book The 9/11 Commission Report. Omissions and distortions Griffin exposes the lies told in the report of ‘The 9/11 Commission’ as well as the new lies the commission invented to cover up the previous lies. The 9/11 Commission Report, seen by Griffin as one of the most important documents ever published in the U.S., was only released in July 2004 and was quickly presented by the government as the definitive account of the 9/11 events. Griffin shows, however, that not only was the commission not ‘independent’ and ‘impartial,’ but that there was no thorough reporting. Step by step, he walks us through the 9/11 commission’s conclusions and reveals how much is incorrect, omitted or distorted in them. Among other things, Griffin concludes that the Bush administration was at least complicit in allowing the catastrophic attacks on 9/11 to happen.

Another renowned investigator into 9/11 is Andreas von Bülow. He not only wrote a revealing book about the workings of secret services,⁴⁵ but also about the CIA and September 11th.⁴⁶ In an interview for GCN Radio Network, conducted by Alex Jones, he expressed his views on September 11 and stated unequivocally that the case was executed from the inside. ⁴⁷ In his book on the CIA and September eleventh, he elaborates on issues that have also been raised by other authors. Extremely detailed, not hesitating to tackle precarious issues. Assuming a possible collaboration between American and Israeli security services, he raises the question of who, if anyone, warned the Israelis working in the WTC. After all, there were only a few Israeli victims. ‘A discussion of these allegations immediately runs the risk of being accused of antisemitism,’ he points out.⁴⁸ The range of inconsistencies surrounding 9/11 argues in favour of asking not only about the backgrounds of the conspiracy theory, but also about those of the secret services. Related to this, he recalls a quote from the former Pentagon department chief in the war on terror: one must always follow the fingers ‘pointing at alleged terrorists back to the hand, the arm, the person extending those fingers and ask if the fight against terrorism is the actual motive of the person pointing the fingers.’⁴⁹ The war on terror enables a whole new geopolitics and important new key positions (military, political, economic). Von Bülow was one of the first to point out that in The New American Century, a project conceived by neoconservatives and led by Bush Senior, the blueprint for what would be implemented after 11 September had already been drawn up. Anyone who reads von Bülow’s book on 9/11 is likely to see the official version of the US government in a completely different perspective. Add to this the fact that Bush senior spoke openly on 11 September 1991 in a speech to the Senate about the New World Order, as advocated by the power elite, and 11 September 2001 becomes almost a symbolic date.⁵⁰

Anyone reading von Bülow’s book on 11 September is likely to see the official version of the US government in a completely different light. Add to this the fact that Bush senior spoke openly on 11 September (!) 1991 in a speech to the Senate about the New World Order, as advocated by the power elite, and 11 September 2001 becomes almost a symbolic date.

‘Dude, Where’s My Country?’

Meanwhile in the US, the call for a new investigation is strong. Many are beginning to protest, ask questions, and criticize official explanations. They are no longer afraid of being called ‘unpatriotic,’ they are crawling out of the shelters of instilled fear, making their voices heard, fed up with the lies. A broad movement is beginning to emerge, including filmmakers, singers, actors, visual artists, authors. One of them is the internationally known filmmaker and author Michael Moore. In particular, his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 made quite a splash with the public. In all his books and films Michael Moore asks tough questions. Not everyone appreciates that. In Dude, Where’s My Country? he ironically asks George W. Bush: ‘What was that expression on your face in that classroom in Florida on the morning of September 11 when your chief of staff said to you, ‘America is under attack’?’⁵¹ Moore examines the president’s schedule on September 10 and 11 and shows that a lot of things don’t add up. Especially not regarding the event at the school he visited. Apparently, no one bothered to inform the president immediately after the horrendous attacks. ‘You arrived at that school after the first plane in New York hit the North Tower. Three months later, at a rally at Orlando City Hall, you told a kid from school, ‘I was standing in the hallway waiting to go into that classroom, and then I saw a plane flying into that tower - the TV was apparently on, and I used to be a pilot myself, and I said, well well, that’s one lousy pilot. I said, that must have been a terrible accident. But I had to go in quickly then, I couldn’t think about it for long.’ You repeated that same story a month later at another one of those town hall meetings in California. The only problem with that story is that you didn’t see at all how that first plane crashed into the tower - no one saw that live on TV, because that footage wasn’t broadcast until the next day. But that doesn’t matter; we were all confused that morning. You went into that classroom around nine o’clock and the second plane hit the south tower at 9:03 am. Just a few minutes later, your chief of staff Andrew Card came in, as you sat in front of that classroom full of children and listened as they read out; he whispered something in your ear. Card was evidently telling you about the second plane and that story that we were ‘attacked’. And at that very moment you began to stare into the distance, not really a blank stare, but more like paralyzed. You showed no emotion at all. And then ... you just kept sitting there. You sat there for about seven minutes and did nothing. That was, to say the least, strange. Creepy. You just sat there on the little chair, and you listened to the children reading, very peacefully, for five or six minutes. You didn’t look worried, you didn’t say you had to leave, you weren’t hurriedly led away by your Secret Service advisors. George, what were you thinking? WHAT was going on in your head? What did that expression on your face mean? ‘Of all the questions I’ve posed to you, this is the one that puzzles me the most,’⁵² Michael Moore said.

It’s oily business.

Many an oil specialist believes that 9/11 was engineered in part to gain possession of the oil fields. This would allow pipelines to be routed through the region immediately. Karl W.B. Schwarz, director of Patmos Nanotechnologies, LLC and I-Nets Security Systems, reports a number of interesting facts on his website.⁵³ Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan, former Russian states like Georgia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and Iran (which in turn borders Iraq), is an extremely oil and natural gas-rich area. In order to extend pipelines to the West, one must first gain control over these areas. All kinds of interests are at stake here. For instance, in Uzbekistan the companies Enron, Mayer Brown and Rowe & Maw (Washington law firm) shared a joint office. They anticipated large profits through oil and gas. But that required pipelines to export the natural gas. From Rowe & Maw, a certain Richard Ben Veniste is senior partner. But Ben Veniste is also a member of the ‘9/11 Commission’. Enron, a major sponsor of George W. Bush, also in oil, recently went bankrupt due to a variety of scandals. The Taliban and General Rashid Dostum (who controlled Northern Afghanistan) had signed agreements with Argentina’s Bridas Corporation. This was to enable the construction of a crucial pipeline through Afghanistan.

After 9/11, revolutionary developments take place all of a sudden in this entire area. The Turkmenistan government is succeeded by a new one, the president of Georgia suddenly dies at age 41, and the Pakistani government of Bhutto, which had also signed agreements with the Bridas Corporation, toppled. Because the Taliban were allegedly sheltering al- Qaeda, America soon declared war on Afghanistan. Since then, little is heard of the Bridas Corporation. According to Schwarz, these are facts that were never brought forward by the ‘9/11 Commission’. In this government-appointed commission, which is supposed to investigate all matters relating to 9/11, a lot of conflicting interests can be found. And in the background, big companies like Bechtel and Main play an influential role. Just as they did before in Kosovo, these companies hope to be able to win billions for projects in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, of course, there is also the influence of large oil companies in America, such as Rockefeller’s Standard Oil and money lenders such as Rothschild, Schwarz says on his website.

The Freedom Tower: 1776 feet high

A new tower will rise from the ashes of the World Trade Center. It is destined to become the pride of America, a symbol of freedom and determination. A very tall, glassy tower, looking a bit like a launch pad. On top of the tower is an illuminated, spiky pole, which is supposed to resemble the torch of the Statue of Liberty. Of course, heavily secured and equipped with special structures. For Jewish architect (and gifted musician) Daniel Libeskind, who survived the Holocaust, it is his most prestigious of projects.⁵⁴ A new tower will rise from the ashes of the World Trade Center. At 1776 feet (including the pole), it is taller than its predecessor. Lovely figure, by the way: 1776. It commemorates the year of America’s independence. The new tower will no longer contain asbestos, as was the case in the Twin Towers. Rétyi, as well as other authors, points out that just before the attacks, the CIA had been warning of the impending attacks, but these never reached the people who worked in the WTC. It is also rumoured that the WTC, (the construction of which closely involved both David and Nelson Rockefeller) closed a new rental contract for the next 99 years with a new tenant, Larry Silverstein, some six months before the catastrophe. Silverstein planned to remove the dangerous asbestos, previously used in construction. An expensive undertaking. Fortunately, he had each building covered by insurance - over 3 billion per tower - just before the collapses. The insurance companies paid him $4.1 billion after the dust had settled. Silverstein’s initial investment involved not more than 14 million of his own money.⁵⁵

The special number 1776. We will encounter this number several more times in the remainder of this book, including in connection with the founding date of the highly secretive Order of the Illuminati. Various authors are linking this Order to that of Skull and Bones, of which a number of powerful Americans are members, including several members of the Bush family. But first, let’s examine the bigger picture and see what ‘Bush’s secret’ might be. Perhaps then we will better understand the ‘Global War on Terror’. After all, the truth is at stake.

‘…and the truth shall set you free’

Over the CIA’s main entrance in Langley, Virginia, we can read a remarkable proverb: ‘Thou shalt know the truth, and the truth shall set you free’. The proverb is taken from John 8:32.

Von Bülow draws our attention to this and adds his own comment: ‘But the CIA’s motto in itself is deceptive and is inconsistent with its mission and it is too good to ever become the truth. Only the informed citizen can overcome the consequences of colossal disinformation. The true patriots of the USA have a job to do!⁵⁶

Orwell formulated it in 1984 thus: ‘The Ministry of Truth differed strikingly from everything else to be seen. It was a magnificent structure, a pyramid of gleaming white concrete rising in terraces three hundred feet high. From where Winston stood, he could just read how in ornate letters the three slogans of the Party were carved into the white facade:

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.’⁵⁷

1.3Bush’s secret

I recognize that the government does not have the right to propagate a religious belief, or directly fund religious exercises or religious education. That is not a matter for the government. ⁵⁸

George W. Bush to members of a conference held by the White House on projects of organizations relating to communities and faith. Philadelphia, December 12, 2002.

The president of Good and Evil

Australian philosopher Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University, known for his high-profile book Animal Liberation. Between Death and Life, is considered one of the most influential contemporary philosophers in the world. He also wrote a book about George W. Bush, The President of Good and Evil. Singer points out that it has not happened since time immemorial that a president has spoken so often about good and evil. He examined a considerable number of Bush’s moral statements and analysed his thinking. As a prominent moralist, the President of America, who calls himself a Christian, does not act on his moral statements.

‘George W. Bush is a Christian. His heart, he has told us, he has entrusted to Jesus. When war with Iraq was imminent, he read the Bible every day. He also prays daily. He believes in a ‘divine plan that supersedes all human plans.’ He takes his faith into his public life. He thinks a president should testify of ‘the power of faith’.’⁵⁹

The reborn Christian

Who is this president of the United States, who just before the invasion of Iraq asked his father for advice? No, not Bush senior, but his ‘father in heaven’. Many accuse him of numerous contradictory statements; that he often uses lies and that his moral statements do not correspond with his actions. So how is it that this president is still in power? Is he really the most powerful man on earth? Where does his habit come frome, of having numerous speeches delivered by his speechwriters, end with a dry and monotonous, ‘God bless you’ and ‘God bless America’?

Who is this reborn Christian,⁶⁰ who feels a connection to the Christian Coalition, a coalition of mostly right-wing, sometimes ultra-right-wing ‘reborn Christians’? This coalition is committed to a total transformation of society and is against the theory of evolution, abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, cloning, and in favour of the sanctity of marriage and family. Many a member of this coalition envisions ‘the end of times,’ with Bush as the leader of Armageddon, after which theocracy can reign. Who is this reborn Christian, influential oil baron and member of Skull and Bones, who begins every cabinet meeting with a prayer, who asked God to bless General Tommy Franks (who was to attack Iraq) and U.S. troops, who regularly praises his Creator, quoted the prophets from the Bible when the space shuttle Columbia crashed, effortlessly connects sword and Bible, and rules with imperial elegance? Who is this man, who before becoming president was an alcoholic, like his grandfather Prescott and his brother James, and was arrested several times for being drunk and misbehaving? ⁶¹ Who is this man, who after his conversion to a reborn Christian swore never to touch a drop of alcohol again? Who is this man, who at the death of Pope John Paul II, together with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin - former head of the KGB, the Russian Secret Service - stood close to the coffin and praised the deceased prince of the Church as ‘a gift from God’?

Who is this man, who on September 11, 2001, stunned the entire world by his sluggish response, and a few days later emerges as the leader of the free world, declares a global war on terrorism, violates treaties and conventions, turns a blind eye to inhumane prisons, torture, CIA renditions of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and meanwhile tirelessly talks about freedom and democracy, human rights and privacy? Who is this man who acts in such a lethargic way with disasters? Think of the catastrophic tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, which wiped out entire areas of Indonesia and India, and of the monster Hurricane Katrina, which flooded New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Who is this man, who often stays at his ranch in Texas during critical situations? For example, when Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq at the age of 24, went camping in front of Bush’s ranch to explain to him that the majority of Americans are against the war?⁶² Who is this man, who without flinching sends a few hundred thousand soldiers into war to fight terrorism and seems emotionless when fallen soldiers return at night by plane in a body bag? According to experts, he did not properly perform his own military duties (Vietnam) and his military file was allegedly ‘accidentally’ destroyed during an attempt to salvage decaying microfilms.⁶³ Who is this man, who leaves his ranch to prevent, by signing a controversial law, euthanasia from being applied to Terri Schiavo, who had been living a vegetative life for 15 years on a feeding tube, but when he was governor in Texas had 152 executions carried out effortlessly? Who is this man, who hates political reporters, is, by his own admission, ‘disgusted with the Washington establishment,’ while at the same time caving in to it and not allowing his executive power to be eroded?⁶⁴

Spin-doctors, Rasputins and lobbyists

Who is this man, who is pushing for the appointment of Jewish multibillionaire and philanthropist Ronald Arnall from Los Angeles as ambassador to the Netherlands, while Arnall was involved in many mortgage scandals (hastily reaching a settlement with the victims), has interests in oil and gas, insurance, real estate, and as one of Bush’s major sponsors once said, ‘America finally has a leader of great integrity and courage, who will deliver the world from the scourge of terrorism.’⁶⁵ Who is this man, replacing liberal and moderate judges with neoconservatives? Who is this man, who appoints someone like Elliot Abrams as coordinator of the new international democratization program of the United States and not much later uses his influence to appoint the controversial neoconservative politician John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations? Abrams (hawk, was a supporter of Sharon’s politics) is friends with hawks like Perle, Feith and Wolfowitz and served as a divisive figure in the Iran-Contra scandal as recently as the 1980s.⁶⁶ Who is this man, surviving the collapse of energy giant Enron, home to major sponsors of his, and the resignation of his adviser Tom Delay? Delay, a former bug killer, was the influential chairman of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives and a ruthless businessman, who had to resign on charges of illegal party funding. Delay’s fall also got Delay’s friend, Jewish businessman Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist in Washington, in trouble. He was arrested on suspicion of political pay for play. Close associates of Delay were also suspected of corruption.⁶⁷ Who is this man, surrounded by ‘spin doctors’, Rasputins and lobbyists, who seem to have him dancing to their tunes rhythmically?

Full of contradictions?

Who is this man, who has divided the world into the good guys and the bad guys on the basis of the concept of ‘the axis of evil’ (a term used by the former author of Bush speeches, David Frum, who mainly referred to Iraq, Iran and North Korea⁶⁸)? Who is this man, who time and again presents the threat of international terrorism to the entire world and at the same time swiftly enforces all kinds of laws that substantially restrict freedom and privacy and expects Europe to do the same because there are at least eighty thousand potential terrorists in the world? Who is this man, who befriends the multi-billionaire Bill Gates, founder and owner of Microsoft, who is committed to the rapid implementation of smart cards, biometric passports and chips and who controls the market in America and Europe with his mega-corporation? Who is this man, whom Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende and NATO Secretary-General De Hoop Scheffer support so strongly, while so many renowned authors and politicians warn about the dubious aspects of American power policy? Who is this man, who ignores the Geneva Conventions, refuses to endorse the Kyoto Treaty, antagonizes countless intellectuals? Who is this man so full of contradictions?

Influential evangelists, top industrialists and media tycoons

Who is this man, who maintains close contacts with a circle of wealthy and influential television ministers such as the multimillionaire Pat Robertson, who once aspired to become president and has built his Kingdom of God all over the United States and, like writers such as Mark Hitchcock and Tim LaHaye, has already convinced some one hundred million Americans of the End Times in which we live, the imminent Last Judgment, the coming of the Antichrist and the Second Coming of Christ? Who is this man, who, just like his father before him, is friends with the South Korean minister Sun Myung Moon (of the Moon sect), founder of the conservative Washington Times, who supports the Bush family (and Reagan at the time) and invests in South and North Korea?⁶⁹ Who is this man, who maintains good relations with the world’s most famous evangelist Billy Graham, who had a tremendous influence on many presidents? Who, at the same time was their ‘errand boy,’ though and who is a regular pastor at inaugural speeches, is known to many heads of state and kings, knows how to take the thousands of people in stadiums almost to God’s throne by his exhilarating sermons and is completely familiar with all aspects of politics, is seen as God’s own representative of values and norms and is, at the same time, befriended by many top industrialists of sometimes dubious standing? Who maintains excellent relations with multi-billionaires like the Rockefellers and Rothschilds and media tycoons like Rupert Murdoch? ⁷⁰ Billy, already elderly, has since handed over his empire to his son Franklin, who was allowed to lead the service in honour of Bush’s inauguration into the White House in January 2001.

Royal bloodline

Who is this man, who like many U.S. presidents descends from a royal bloodline? David Icke pointed out that of the 43 presidents of the United States, from George Washington to George W. Bush, 34 of them can be genetically traced back to the lineage of Emperor Charlemagne (742-814), leader of the Franks (present-day France) and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. All of these presidents form dynasties, just as much as the royal families of Europe, to which their bloodlines can be traced. For centuries, Europe, and more recently the United States, have been defined by these royal bloodlines, as several researchers have shown. Icke bases his work, among other things, on Burke’s Peerage (a kind of ‘bible’ about the hereditary lines of the blue-blooded nobility), which shows, among other things, bloodlines between American presidents and various royal families. Burke’s book thus puts a damper on the idea that anyone can become president in the United States. Presidential candidates with the most powerful genetic kingdoms appear to win elections time and time again. Is this just because they are of ‘royal’ or ‘noble blood,’ or do the descendants of these ‘hereditary lines’ also have the greatest influence? For example, George W. Bush is related to the British royal family. He is the thirteenth cousin of the Queen Mother, who died in 2002, and is therefore also related to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. Bush’s bloodline goes back to Henry II (1154-1189) of the Plantagenet royal family. Also, Bush is related to Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, and to Charles II of England. Presidential candidate Al Gore was not only a cousin of President Nixon, but also of Bush.⁷¹ Both Gore and Bush are members of Skull&Bones. Anyone who studies royal bloodlines⁷² will come to the disconcerting conclusion that kings, queens and other noblemen are not only related to each other, but have ruled the world for centuries and still exert great influence on modern democracies, even if in some countries it is only a ‘symbolic’ function.

‘European Royals one big family,’ headlined the July 12, 2004, Vlaamse Nieuwsblad. The article shows the family tree of the Royals and a number of royal faces. One big family, going back to a certain Johan Willem Friso Nassau-Dietz, who inherited the title ‘Prince of Orange’ in 1702 from a distant cousin. That most royal families are very wealthy and have been involved in many wars over power, land and serfdom is common knowledge. Less well known is that they are well versed in occultism and often consult esotericists who exert great influence inside and outside the royal family. A few examples. The Russian monk and occultist Rasputin (1863-1916) was an advisor to Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna and had great influence on Russian politics. In sixteenth-century England, the occultist and hermetic philosopher John Dee (professor of Greek and mathematician, sponsored by King Edward VI) was protector and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. He also, along with his companion Edward Kelley, offered his services to the eccentric and occult German Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, who employed the alchemist and occultist Michael Maier as advisor and body physician.⁷³ Queen Juliana had Greet Hofmans as an advisor, who was a friend of the esotericist Johan Willem Kaiser.⁷⁴ The late US President Ronald Reagan would never make any important decision without consulting his ‘court astrologer’ Joan Quigley, who had a great influence on the entire Reagan administration.⁷⁵ In the sixteenth century, the French physician, seer and astrologer Nostradamus gave advice to many princes in Europe and his predictions were diligently read at the French Court by Catherine de Medici and many other noble people.⁷⁶

That not only many American presidents stem from ancient bloodlines, but also various other powerful people in the world, may be less known to many. Many kings and world leaders are not only related, but also members of some occult lodge, order or occult society. Very few historians study this extremely important topic, possibly due to lack of knowledge of esotericism.

So, who is this man ‘of royal blood,’ George W. Bush, who is presenting the world with a big mirror and thereby paradoxically initiating a process of consciousness that will allow us to wake up from our long, long sleep of ignorance? Is he ‘a leader of the old world,’ as Irene van Lippe- Biesterfeld of the Dutch royal family said in the Volkskrant of October 8, 2005? Or is he the leader of a New World Order in the making? To project him outside ourselves is like not daring to look at our own inner wars, our own contradictions. Only those who have the courage to look within themselves first can enter the battlefield of the world unarmed, without associating themselves with it.

Even if one were to defeat a thousand times a thousand men
in a single battle,
he who overcomes only one man, himself,
is the greatest hero.⁷⁷

Dhammapada, verse 103

So, what is Bush’s secret?

Eric Laurent, an investigative journalist with Le Figaro, exposes the entire religious, political and economic webwork behind Bush in Bush’s Secret World. This book has created quite a stir, as has his other book La Guerre des Bush - why the United States invade Iraq. Laurent reveals that Bush is primarily a product of the Bible Belt, that religion is central to his life and that he sees himself as the chosen one. Even before he became president, he once said of Islam, ‘The God of Islam is not the same God as the Christian God. I consider Islam an evil, wicked religion.’ ⁷⁸ Bush not only likes to surround himself with many reverends. He also seeks the advice of hawks like Richard Perle (former top advisor to the Pentagon, good relations with arms industry, nicknamed ‘Prince of Darkness’) and Karl Rove (major shareholder of Boeing who has many activities in the military). But Paul Wolfowitz (former second-incommand of the Pentagon, succeeded James Wolfensohn as president of the World Bank, partner of the Rothschilds and formerly working for the Rockefellers) is also among his advisors. Other advisors who regularly pop up around Bush include John Bolton, Dov Zakheim (Orthodox rabbi, secretary of state for defense, chief financial officer at the Pentagon) and Richard Armitage (secretary of state for foreign affairs, former adviser to Boeing and to arms manufacturer Raytheon, which produces, among other things, Tomahawk cruise missiles and GBU-28 Bunker Busters that have been used in Iraq to penetrate bunkers).

Furthermore, the Bush administration maintains close ties with another giant in the armaments field, Lockheed Martin. The ultraconservative Lynn Cheney, wife of the vice president, was on the board of Lockheed Martin until February 2001. Dick Cheney himself, according to Laurent, perfectly embodies the entanglement between political and militaryindustrial power. Under Bush senior, Dick Cheney was in charge of the Pentagon and then became the top man at oil giant Halliburton. Halliburton not only builds oil pipelines, but also builds military prisons, handles the logistics of U.S. military personnel (including in Afghanistan and Iraq) under the slogan ‘Pride to serve our troops!’ and negotiates with countries described by the Bush administration as ‘terror states’ and with countries that are among the worst dictatorships in the world. Thanks to Cheney, Halliburton came into contact with the top echelons of politics, as far away as the Arab world. When he left the company, he took approximately $45 million in stock options with him. After the bombing of Iraq, Halliburton received most of the contracts in that country. Even though Bush had said that ‘Iraq’s oil belongs to the Iraqi people’, on May 12, 2003 the U.S. military signed a contract with Kellog Brown & Root (KBR), an affiliate of Halliburton, which had maintained close ties with the U.S. military since the Vietnam War. KBR was awarded the license to extract the Iraqi oil in a region of northern Iraq. KBR has built numerous bases and military camps around the world, including the military prison at Guantánamo in Cuba.⁷⁹

The New York Times reported in February 2006 that KBR had received a $385 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security thanks to Bush to build detention centres on U.S. soil, in addition to the hundreds of detention camps already in place.⁸⁰ Laurent writes that KBR is a good sponsor of politicians and political parties and was involved in fraud and malpractice.⁸¹ Cheney and Rumsfeld (Secretary of Defense), he says, are old timers in the business and know all the pitfalls in the Pentagon, White House and Congress.⁸²

Halliburton has been under attack lately for numerous malpractices and falsely charging millions of meals to American soldiers and charging far too high prices for supplied food packages.⁸³

Bush and Jesus

However, Bush finds the greatest inspiration not from the ministers and advisors surrounding him, but from Jesus. That is his secret. Jesus is his favourite philosopher, ‘because he saved my heart’.⁸⁴ In the words of Jesus ‘He who is not with me is against me’ (Matthew 12:30) we recognize the source of inspiration of Bush’s adage: He who is not for us is against us. How, however, we are to reconcile the ‘war on terror’ with the life and teachings of Jesus will escape many who are familiar with another saying of Jesus: ‘If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other also’ (Luke 6:29). The book Bush at War by the internationally renowned investigative journalist Bob Woodward, reporter and editor of The Washington Post for more than thirty years, makes it abundantly clear that Bush never even considered this...

1.4The War on Terror

I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it.
I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle
for freedom and security for the American people
The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain.
Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war,
and we know that God is not neutral between them.
Fellow citizens, we will meet violence with patient justice,
assured of the rightness of our cause and confident of the victories to come.
In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom
and may he watch over the United States of America.⁸⁵

Following the text of President’s Bush’s address to the joint session of Congress and the nation on the 20th of September 2001

For every terrorist you kill
two or three will rise up.
The leaders think only in terms of punishment,
destruction and fear.
America uses fear to destroy fear
and thereby makes people even more fearful.
On the other hand, you have people who abuse faith for their mission.
It is beginning to look like a holy war. Very dangerous.⁸⁶

Thich Nhat Hanh

Military means against terror

On September 18, 2001, George W. Bush signed Joint Senate Resolution 23, the ‘Authorization for the Use of Military Means. This gave him constitutional authority as president to use force against imminent terrorist acts, with the possible use of the military.⁸⁷

According to Noam Chomsky, the military part of the current war on terror is headed by Donald Rumsfeld and it’s diplomacy handled by John Negroponte.⁸⁸ Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, along with Vice President Cheney, a key promoter of the war on terror, maintained numerous relationships with the military-industrial complex and business in general. John Negroponte, former ambassador to the UN and employee at the Vietnam Embassy (1964), friend of Henry Kissinger and ambassador to Honduras under Reagan, charged with suppressing the Sandinista revolution and preparing the war against Nicaragua, currently coordinates all fifteen U.S. spy agencies. As Director of National Intelligence, he rules over two hundred thousand personnel with a budget of forty billion dollars. This position was recommended by ‘The 9/11 Commission’, which concluded, among other things, that there was a lack of communication and coordination within the intelligence agencies.

‘They hate our freedoms’

Since September 11, 2001, not a day goes by that the media does not talk about terror, terrorists or the war on terror. In both words and pictures, we are spoon-fed on a daily basis, reinforcing the perception of an enemy. Why do the people we call terrorists actually hate us? Bush answered that in his speech on September 20 2001, ‘Americans ask: why do they hate us? They hate what we see here in this room - a democratically elected government. Their leaders have appointed themselves. They hate our freedoms - our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and to assemble and to disagree. (...) We know their kind. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the twentieth century. By sacrificing human life in the service of their radical fantasies - by giving up every value except the will to power - they are following the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path to the end: into the nameless grave of discarded lies of history.’⁸⁹

George W. Bush predicted a prolonged war, as did John Bolton, who even spoke of a new kind of world war. In a speech to FBI employees on September 25, 2001, Bush said, ‘Our nation is a nation that doesn’t want revenge, but we do want justice. And I don’t care how long it takes to root out terrorists, we’re going to do it. We will put in the time and effort and resources necessary, not just to find those culprits who did what they did to America on September 11 - it’s a larger campaign against anyone who hates freedom, anyone who can’t stand what America and our allies and friends stand for.’⁹⁰

In many of his speeches following 9/11, Bush puts the civilized world up against the cruel, ruthless, terrifying terrorists, whom he likes to call ‘barbarians’. To fight this war properly, money is needed, a lot of money. In a speech to civilians and military personnel in North Carolina on March 15, 2002, Bush says, ‘I have asked Congress for a one-year increase in defense spending of over forty-eight billion dollars. That is the largest increase for defense in a generation - because we are at war, and Congress must pass this budget.’⁹¹

Operation Enduring Freedom

Operation Infinite Justice was conceived. A number of countries united at America’s request or under emotional pressure to fight against countries suspected of terrorism or harbouring terrorists. Afghanistan and Iraq were at the top of the list. But because of fierce criticism from Islamic groups, that only Allah can provide infinite justice, a new name was chosen for the operation: Enduring Freedom.⁹²

Hardly anyone protested when freedom was soon mocked at home and in numerous other countries that followed America’s example. It is finally dawning on the world opinion that through the actions of a state which itself sows hatred and fear are highly questionable and that the seed of hatred spreads with each and every bombardment and one dead terrorist will create another 10 and that freedom and justice is violated on a big scale.

Other points of view

However, there are other answers to consider as to why terrorists hate ‘us’. This is not a question of pro or con, but an attempt to understand an extremely complicated matter. When Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nath Hanh, who lived through the war in his country, was once asked what he would do if he had a conversation with Osama bin Laden, his answer was that he would first listen carefully to his grievances.

Let’s look at a few viewpoints that attempt to explain why terrorists might hate ‘us’. The American economist David C. Korten, in The Business in Power (a book lauded by The Financial Times and by Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize), points to the disastrous impact of the growing power of the multinationals, which governments have long lost control of. They determine the course of the world economy and maintain the appalling contrast of rich and poor. Corruption, degradation, the widening of antagonisms, the exploitation of other countries and the destruction of the environment are the results of globalization. He is extremely critical of the risky rise in power of American corporations.

The internationally renowned critic of capitalism Jean Ziegler talks about ‘the downsides of predatory capitalism’ in The New Rulers of the World. He vehemently opposes globalization. The word globalization was introduced in the 1960s by media expert Marshall McLuhan and by the American politician and advisor to various presidents, Zbigniew Brzeziński, who maintains good contacts with Israel. In his book, Ziegler makes a passionate plea for justice.⁹³ For him, globalization refers to the predatory nature of the powerful in business and politics. The millions of victims who have fallen and still fall daily because of this system will one day start a revolt, he concludes. The misery of the world stretches to the doorsteps of the White House. By some curious curse, world power fails to conceal the countless casualties it inflicts every day. Like the waves of a raging sea, they beat against the Capitol. But the ayatollahs of the Bretton Woods Institutions ‘are blind as bats, deaf as doornails and unable to smell anything. They don’t even notice the casualties they create every day. Not a single doubt clouds their conscience.’⁹⁴

Joseph Stiglitz, professor and 2001 Nobel laureate in economics, former economic advisor to the U.S. government under President Bill Clinton and former top economist at the World Bank, provides a unique glimpse of the IMF, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the U.S. Treasury Department in his book Perverted Globalization. He shows that behind the so-called globalization hides a power-politics that increases the poverty of countless, is disastrous for the environment and destabilizes the world economy. ‘Globalization, as was hitherto advocated, often seems to replace the old dictatorship of national elites with a new dictatorship of international finance.’ ⁹⁵ Stiglitz makes a plea for ‘globalization with a human heart’.⁹⁶ In Another World Is Possible, leading ‘other-globalists’ (writers, scientists and activists representing sixty organizations in twenty-five countries) give Alternatives to Economic Globalization, as the subtitle reads.⁹⁷

An economic hitman’s story

John Perkins wrote a shocking book in 2004, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.⁹⁸ It became a bestseller worldwide. Perkins knows the world of multinationals inside out: building and construction companies like Main and Bechtel, oil giants like Halliburton and Standard Oil (Rockefeller), and investment companies like the Carlyle Group. He is also well informed about the international financial world (IMF, World Bank and the Rockefellers’ Chase Manhattan Bank). For example, Perkins believes that under the presidency of Robert McNamara, former president of the Ford plant and former secretary of defense under Kennedy, the World Bank was made an instrument of the world empire by trickery and deceit ‘and on a scale hitherto unheard of.’⁹⁹ He sees the Rockefellers as the central power in the world. He mentions that the WTC towers were once nicknamed David and Nelson.¹⁰⁰ Perkins knows better than anyone the intertwining of business, banking and politics.

‘For example, George Schultz served under Nixon as Treasury Secretary and Chairman of the Economic Policy Council, was President of Bechtel, and then became Secretary of State under Reagan. Caspar Weinberger was vice president and head of Bechtel’s legal department and later became Secretary of Defense under Reagan. Richard Helms was director of the CIA during Johnson’s time and became ambassador to Iran under Nixon. Dick Cheney served as Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush, was president of Halliburton and Vice President in the George W. Bush administration. And President George H.W. Bush began as founder of Zapata Petroleum Corp, was U.S. ambassador to the UN under Nixon and Ford, and director of the CIA under Ford.’ ¹⁰¹ Perkins also describes the conflicts of interest between the United States and the Saudi Arabians.¹⁰²

For forty years Perkins worked as an economic hit man (EHM). Among others, for Bechtel. A well-paid job. Task: to extort billions of dollars from poor countries all over the world on behalf of a powerful and wealthy elite, dressed up as a well-educated and highly paid economic ‘pirate’. Countries are advised to take out loans for the development of infrastructure: power plants, highways, ports, airports, industrial parks. The condition here is that their execution is assigned exclusively to American companies. Once these countries are bankrupt and can no longer pay their debts, their natural resources (oil, for example) are confiscated, military bases are seized or they are forced to cast a pro-American vote in the UN.

An EHM thus lends himself to the American empire, which seeks a world empire based on economic power. To this end, people, nature and governments are mercilessly and unscrupulously being sacrificed. This empire, this elite consists of top executives from large corporations, international banks and governments. Perkins calls this elite the corporatocracy. What an EHM fails to accomplish is pursued by the ‘jackals’ of the CIA, and when they fail, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, the military is deployed, Perkins writes; Exposing a world of corruption, intimidation, lies, World Bank and IMF malfeasance, rigged elections, bribes, sex, extortion and murder.