Truth or Absurdity:The Search for Conspiracy and the Western Ideal
by P. B.
A student essay from Dr. Elliot Neaman's History 210 class (historical methods - spring 2004)
© Elliot Neaman / PHDNReproduction interdite par quelque moyen que ce soit / no reproduction allowed
John F. Kasson once wrote that “History never repeats itself, but it is an avid recycler.”[1] Kasson’s way of thinking is not only an inventive way of thinking but it puts a fascinating spin on a commonly held belief. This is the way one must look at historical revisionism and they way historical thought and analysis is looked at many years after. In the recycling process substances, such as aluminum, are broken down into more malleable products which can then be used over again. Usually recycling produces a very re-usable product but sometimes, as will all processes, it produces a product that belongs in the nearest trash can. More or less, this is same process that occurs in the revisionist field. Revisionists take a commonly held historical belief break it down into parts and then re-analyze the appropriate parts. Now most of the time it is productive and leads to more efficient thinking but sometimes it produces a by-product that belongs in the nearest receptacle. In this case the by-product is something that is usually driven by alternative means or agendas, has no factual support, or is just simply made up.
When considering the events of September 11, 2001 and the hundreds of repercussions that followed one must look at the rhetoric that is passing for legitimate media in this country as well as the international community. Conspiracy theorists have concocted many reasons why the United States was attacked; most of them focusing on the Jews, in a feeble attempt to de-stabilize the West and its allies. In understanding the rhetoric that takes place one must understand what the purpose of making such preposterous claims and analyze what other factors might be pushing these organizations, or people to make such claims. I picked several articles written by various people and organizations that came out after 9/11 that show exactly what type of media is being produced and the outlandish claims that are made. Analysis of these documents is integral in understanding the “trash” that revisionism produces and how it crosses the line of legitimate research into something that is utterly farcical. Furthermore, I plan to take the recently released book, Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of its Enemies, and juxtapose the authors’ claims to these documents to determine why they are written and what sorts of underpinnings drive this type of media.
The best way to analyze these documents is to start from the most absurd and move to the most plausible. It only takes one person for a conspiracy theory to breed. The belief among one reader is all that these people are looking for. In searching the internet I stumbled upon several possibilities in winning the award for the most ridiculous and ludicrous article. To my surpise, an article written by an internet-based organization known as the Guardian 911 Review (probably made up) I was completely dumbfounded—not by the claims they made—just the evidence that was used to support their claims. This article can be best described by their second paragraph:
One day the Jews hear the Arabs talking about flying airplanes into the World Trade Center. The first reaction of the Jews was laughter. Could the Arabs possibly be serious about such a wild stunt, they laughed? How could the Arabs possibly pull off something so difficult and bizarre? Surely the Arabs were dreaming.[2]
Interestingly enough the article is appropriately title Duh! The Jews! The article basically goes to the extent of saying that explosives were placed in the World Trade Center by American Jews, with the approval of Larry Silverstein. They claim that the collapse of the two towers was due to the explosives placed there not the eighty-seven ton airplanes that crashed into the tops of the buildings. Unbelievably, on the website, they draft a false conversation that was to occur between Arab and Jewish leaders regarding the plan to place explosives in the towers. Legally I can only assume that this organization avoided any type of legal attention because they don’t claim outright that the Jews were responsible for the WTC collapses, rather they eloquently finish it by saying:
Soon thousands of Jews in America were contacted and told of this stunt. The Jews in America then began pushing the New York government officials into selling the World Trade Center to Larry Silverstein so they would have control over the building. (Silverstein, in case you didn’t guess, is a Jew). You can take it from here right?[3] (Bold in original)
Hilariously enough and ironically (who would have thought) no historical references or any documentation in the article are provided. Any sane historian, if not based on the readings, would render this inaccurate and ridiculous. Some might ask what the relevance of discussing this article might be. Despite the level of absurdity in these claims there is some relevance to reading them. As we will discover later, it can be useful in determining why people make such claims. In this article there are several obvious alternative agendas at work. Unpacking those agendas allows a historian to make proper revisions if need be, and it can be useful in disproving such outlandish theories.
Moving up the ladder to more legitimate sources many publications have documented the popular underground belief that Washington D.C. and New York were seen as sufficient targets because of the high Jewish populations in both cities. Public Eye magazine published an article written by Esther Kaplan addressing the issue of the Jewish involvement of 9/11. Much of the rhetoric has focused on the fact that four thousand Jews were absent from the World Trade Centers the day of the attacks. That claim has been subsequently disproved. Nonetheless several people have become entrapped in the idea of a Jewish Conspiracy with Israeli cooperation against many of America’s enemies. According to Kaplan this view is not only an international belief but it extends its hands domestically “James ‘Bo’ Grits, a Patriot Movement leader and former Green Beret, suggested that it was the ‘high concentration of influential Jews’ that made New York and Washington D.C, attractive targets, an idea echoed by the likes of Swiss neo-Nazi Ahmed Huber and the Posse Comitatus militia in jubilant references to the attacks on ‘Jew York’.”[4] Hearing this from a Green Beret should be quite startling to all Americans particularly because this person was probably fighting for the right to protect all American Civilians including Jews. Kaplan continues to elaborate recognizing the type of propaganda that has spewed abroad since American intervention into Israel and the demonizing role that Jews are taking at the hands of many Middle Eastern Arab groups. Kaplan claims that typical criticism of the west “has strayed far from criticism of Israel and squarely into the territory of classic European anti-Semitism.”[5] Furthermore, in order to better portray their anti-Semitic views the Arab Radio and Television produced several journalistic specials focusing on “The classic anti-Jewish forgery the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, in time for a 2002 Ramadan Broadcast”. Such Arab leaders have gone as far as saying that the world is coming to an end because these documentaries “Expose all the Protocols of the Elders of Zion that have been implemented to date” claiming that the destabilization of the Middle East as well as other warring nations can be solely attributed the fact that the Jews planned this years ago. Lastly, there are several other indicators that, again because of US involvement in Israel, that the rhetoric is getting more vicious and malicious towards the West and its allies. Kaplan explains, “A January 2002 article in the Egyptian government weekly, Akher Sa’a headlined; ‘The Jews are bloodsuckers and will yet conquer America,’ and included such choice lines as ‘A great danger threatens the United States of America. This great danger is the Jew…why? Because they are vampires, and vampires cannot live on other vampires…’”. This blatant exclamation certainly has blatant and obvious agendas some which most likely deal with the open support of the US for a Zionist state. Egypt in the past has been very critical of that support and it has shown in their local and national media. The distrust in the US as a world power is not only present in Egypt, and nations surrounding the Middle East, but it extends itself to all or most of Eastern Europe.
In a September 2003 issue of Newsweek magazine Stefan Theil documents the growing belief in an American Conspiratorial involvement in 9/11. Although these claims might be masked by anti-Bush sentiment it is worthy of noting the increasing population who are beginning to buy into these claims. Theil makes it clear that “The number of Germans, French and other Europeans who believe in a secret American conspiracy surrounding 9/11 is a minority. But it’s sizable,” claiming that, “one in five Germans says it’s possible that Bush ordered up 9/11 as a pretext for world conquest.”[6] To anyone one in five is not really a population that the public and the government should be concerned with. Practically one in five Americans is somewhat “off their hinges,” and could theoretically buy into something ridiculous it is just a matter of spinning it so it might seem plausible. In the US we are no stranger to sensationalist media which spins news stories so they can attract the viewer and subsequently raise television ratings. There is no reason to believe that Germans believe these conspiracies to be truth and “The fact that Germans who think Bush masterminded 9/11 aren’t demonstrating in front of the American Embassy in Berlin, suggests, for many of them, these plots are kind of political entertainment…the problem begins when the paranoia seeps into public discourse.”[7] Indeed this is what breeds conspiratorial thinking as well as an anti-American/West sentiment. The belief in the plausible is something that can go a long way. Plausibility breeds conviction and without spinning events in a way that allows the rhetoric to seem possible such conspiratorial thinking would never occur.
In our own schools conspiratorial thinking as well as anti-West thinking is beginning to creep into the everyday curricula. In a 1994 article in This Magazine David Layton chronicles the events that took place during a Basic English that Professor and Dr. Robert O’Driscoll[8] was teaching. O’ Driscoll was giving a lecture on Russian history specifically the Bolshevik revolution that took place at early in the twentieth century. Layton writes, “Now, as O’Driscoll moved to the subject of Russian History…he was waiting for a response waiting for more applause. ‘Who started it’ I [Layton] asked? And out came the answer, as astonishing as it was predictable. ‘The Jews’ he [O’Driscoll] said[9]”. Reading that one in five Germans believes in an American Conspiracy is somewhat shocking. To read that a well-recognized professor at a Canadian University believes what Adolf Hitler and the German Socialist party believed is quite staggering. The belief that the Jews were responsible for the Russian Revolution was very common during the Third Reich in Germany. It was used as propaganda to definitively argue that the Jews, responsible for the revolution, were thus responsible for the communist influence in all of Europe. Hitler was out for the demise of the Communists and if he could in some way link both Communists and Jews together, especially within a German country that despised Socialists, well it would give him even more justification in pursuing a “Final Solution.” Layton acknowledges that despite the presence of Jewish students in the class it was immaterial “The truth was,” he says, “[O’Driscoll] wasn’t talking about a Jew, or Jews proper, but those mythical Jews, who poisoned well and undermined nations. Their actual physical existence was, in some strange way, unnecessary.”[10] This professor, in Layton’s opinion, had created—like others—a mythical race that he could associate his anger or emotion towards. This was a way for him to disassociate his Jewish students, those familiar to him, and the Jews as a whole that were allegedly responsible for the Communist Revolution in Russia. Frighteningly enough this trend is common amongst many people who share common theories about the West and its influence over smaller nations. Osama Bin Laden was able to do it while he is planning his acts of terrorism. He can disassociate himself from the individual person and focus entirely on the ameba that is that West, in which he materializes his anger against resulting, usually, the death of innocent civilians.
Even though anti-Semitic thought and conversation has entered universities it has also infiltrated entire governments. In an October 17, 2003 a proclamation from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia essentially called for a united front against all the “Jewish Global Domination,” and that “Jews rule the world by proxy.”[11] Prime Minister Mohamad during this occasion was giving a speech as the chairman of the 10th Session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference that was taking place in Malaysia. There are obviously several underpinnings that are involved here mostly to due with the fact that Malaysia, has vehemently disapproved of US intervention in the Middle East, and in addition to Israeli occupation of Palestine. Additionally, and even more worrisome, is the conclusions the council came to claiming, “The globe’s Muslim nations now realize that the ‘War against Islam’ by the United States is actually being orchestrated by the extremely powerful ‘Bush Zionist Cabal’ and USA Jewry.”[12] Mohamad and others have associated Jews and their roles in several US reserve banks as becoming “world dominant” and that it is merely a part of their plan to complete world domination. Interestingly enough, this sounds very familiar, similar to the type of speech that was used in Germany during Hitler’s reign. This type of speech cannot only set a dangerous precedent but it is a microcosm of the type of defamatory speech that is re-occurring throughout the world and the effect that it is having on not only the Jewish international community but leaders of nations, in this case a Muslim nation Malaysia.
By reading these articles one can begin to gauge the amount of anti-West thought and publication is in the mainstream media today. When reading these articles it is very important to realize the motivations behind such rhetoric. In the book, Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies Ian Baruma and Avishai Margalit separated those motivations into several different categories. Baruma and Margalit use the term Occidentalism to refer to the area of belief that has a blatant anti-West bias and in some circumstances uses it to justify their violent and hateful tendencies toward western nations. It is important to note that the West does not solely refer to the United States rather it encompasses the nations of the western world and Western Europe; nations that thrive on capitalism and free-market trade. Japan and China are nations that the authors focus on specifically because they were, and in some respects still are, considered imperial nations. Margalit and Baruma split Occidentalism into three categories: religious, socio-cultural and psychological/mental underpinnings that drive this hate. They analyze each individual topic in terms of how Occidentalists view the West and where the hatred for the West comes from. Margalit and Baruma in this brilliant work break down the arguments and analyze where the disdain comes from and how it manifests itself in much of the rhetoric that is affecting media today. Ironically, it is more eye-opening, especially for an American, the ways in which people can be co-opted into believing some of these claims as truth, which in turn breed conspiracy.
Religiously, it would not be considered a news flash to claim that differences exist between Islam and Judaism. In fact among the two groups it is the central reason behind religious fighting worldwide. Establishment of a Jewish state after World War II has always been associated with the West and current US/British involvement in Israel and Iraq have done nothing to decrease those negative attitudes. This is the excuse that Bin Laden used when attacking the US via acts of terrorism, threatening to continue unless US relinquishes its grasp in Middle East politics. In essence it becomes a psychological war in which the destruction of the two towers was symbolically aligned with the destruction of the West and capitalism. Question becomes how are the Jews involved with this and why do they receive such demeaning attention from conspiracy groups? The authors see it as a historical inevitability by explaining, “It [Jewish Conspiracy] is not entirely unexpected. Jews have often been blamed for their own persecution, and anti-Semitism can wrap itself around strange paradoxes. Capitalist conspiracies were associated with the Elders of Zion, but so was communism.”[13] The disdain comes mostly from the idea that the West is godless, absent of any morals or values and that these are “attempts to replace the world of God with the World of Man,” something that obviously cannot be reconciled from a Western capitalistic standpoint. The West, by others, is perceived as a place of idolatrous barbarism. Thus the West, driven by greed and wealth, and the desire to achieve the most of those is what makes the West idolatrous. For some Muslims “Jews are archetypical idolaters. Karl Marx, that bitter grandson of a rabbi once remarked: ‘Money is the jealous god of Israel before whom no other god may exist. Money degrades all the gods of mankind and converts them into commodities.’”[14] The authors indicate that this statement as well as Marx’s other publications probably incited many of the extremist anti-Semitic views that are expressed by Muslims. Ironically, many Muslims probably read Marx’s texts regarding communism before they adopted fundamentalist Islam. The contestation is not between religious doctrines as much as it is a difference of fundamental practice. Idolatry is completely different in the Western Christian-Judeo world in comparison to the Islamic interpretation. In Christian-Judeo religions Idolatry is taking inanimate objects, other humans or other non-heavenly objects and assuming them to be god-like or worshiping them in the sense that they are idols. Islam preaches that idolatry is replacing God (Allah) with another God or worshiping, praying to, or following another God that is not Allah. The differences between the two interpretations are tremendous and must be accounted for in understanding religious tendencies. Does this explain, in full, the contestation between the West and Islamic nations? Obviously not, but the understanding that should be taken from this analysis is that differences in interpretations can easily lead to other misunderstandings elsewhere.
Misinterpretations can extend themselves into the broadest of forms. It is important to distinguish the differences between Islam, as practiced by the majority, and extremist Islam or Wahhabism[15], as defined by the authors. Wahhabism, or a form of extreme fundamentalist Islam, is what draws the most attention from the media, mostly because of their treatment of Women and the way Wahhabi societies are conducted. The best example of this was the Taliban and how law was conducted in Afghanistan. Anything considered impure was completely eradicated from all elements of society. This type of religious practice dates back to the end of the nineteenth centuries in Saudi Arabia and has not had the opportunity to modernize beliefs and the strong creeds that are set down by entire dictatorial governments. “Wahhabism has been exported, not just as a form of puritanical revivalism, but as a virulent Occidentalist creed, which will come back to haunt the rulers of the very holy places whence it sprang.”[16] These forms of extremism have influenced the likes of Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar the extradited leader of the Taliban. How does all this play in with the hatred that is created against the West? The answer is that the seeds of hatred were spread years ago and didn’t just develop out of the blue. Religious differences between Jews, Muslims and Christians have been prevalent for years. In addition, religious extremism is no stranger to the modern world but the problem is when extremist views become exported and take root with people that are willing to believe them. Religion acts as a vehicle for many of the violent conflicts that have encompassed the history books for the past two millennia so it should come as no secret that this form of Islamic extremism is the newest most conspicuous form. Religiously it is important to, instead of instantly demonizing, maybe attempt to understand the root of their anger and attempt to understand why we reflect, as a society, this negative image internationally. Obviously, this does not justify in any way shape or form the actions of 9/11 but in the era of popular historical revisionism looking at it from a different light can’t necessarily be a bad thing.
Socially and culturally it is a much different story when considering the sources of anti-West sentiment. Baruma and Margalit focus more on the difference of government and the difference in political practices between the US/Britain and Germany. The chapter in the book is appropriately entitled “Heroes and Merchants” which would indicate already the differences in socio practices. Occidentalists define “Merchants, whether they are petit or bourgeois or busy men of the world, are interested in nothing but the satisfaction of individual desires.”[17] Occidentalists would see merchants as the quintessential element of the capitalistic West. Marx was renowned for attributing merchants with the vile of society and in this socio-cultural sense it is no different. Merchants because of their need for trade and desire for money must extend themselves outside their nations and pursue wealth elsewhere thus they affect many of these Occidentalists. Occidentalism could also be contributed to the hegemonic power that US foreign policy has dictated. This is an element that I believed the two authors missed. Because I am not a scholar my points might have no validity but certainly, culturally speaking, US hegemonic power and influence has not improved the relations between the US and the international community. Baruma and Margalit instead address the issue of nationalism within Occidentalist persons and nations. They use the example of the Japanese Kamikaze pilots who willingly sacrificed their lives in an effort to defeat the western allies. Ironically, most of these pilots were no dissimilar from American soldiers. The only difference being the obvious, the nations they respectively fought for. Nonetheless, “These young men were patriotic, highly idealistic, and often wary of militaristic propaganda. Western capitalism and imperialism were seen as the enemy, to be sure, but their ultimate sacrifice (and Idealism) was often justified and articulated through western ideas.”[18] The Japanese Kamikaze pilots are no different than those suicide pilots that Al-Qaeda sent to their death on 9/11. Furthermore, the institution of propaganda among the militants as well as embedding it into socio-cultural lifestyles of all citizens obviously convinced these pilots that committing the ultimate sacrifice was worth it in the end. Propaganda is yet another underestimated tool that Occidentalists use to export their beliefs as well as well as adding a sense of conviction to those that listen to it.
The last element that Occidentalist tend to focus on in their attack on west in psychological card that is played by many Occidentalist thinkers. Although it might seem intertwined with the religious and socio-cultural elements the Occidentalist attack on the west strives at destroying the conclusions reached by many famous western twentieth century thinkers. The best and most famous, or infamous, depending on one’s viewpoint was Germany’s own Friedrich Nietzsche. “Nietzsche’s ideas on human will had a huge impact on Russian thinkers too. The bourgeois mind of the West is often seen by Occidentalists as the impediment to action, or at least any action that matters.”[19] In this case the bourgeois mind can refer to the way in which the “western machine” works. This essentially means a constant attempt to achieve success through any economic means via both positive and negative routes. Russian thinkers were devout Occidentalists during communist influence because of the natural rubbing of a communist society and a democratic one. Nietzsche had a tremendous impact on the Occidentalist school primarily because of his attacks on the West focusing on the religious, economic, and social practices of western nations. Ivan Kireyevsky, a prominent early nineteenth century Russian thinker equated society to a university. Essentially a university is made up of several different faculties. In society those faculties are made up of different elements of the intellect: emotion, language, memory, perception etc. The West’s university/society is made up entirely of one faculty: reason. Furthermore the West subsequently evolved into rationalists[20] using reason as the only avenue to “figure out the world.” This extends into other areas where “Political rationalism, which pretends that society can be run—and all human problems solved—by a rational blueprint, guided by general and universal principles.”[21] The belief that reason is the only way to look at life is what Occidentalists would term “the arrogant west” which “is guilty of the sin of rationalism, or of being arrogant enough to think that reason is the faculty that enables humans to know everything there is to know.”[22] To attack something usually means that it stands out like a sore thumb and continues to impress itself upon the surrounding community. In this sense the Occidentalists see the West as the sore thumb that overwhelmingly projects its arrogance of “knowing everything” into the vibrant, diverse international community. By appearing this way to the international community the West becomes an easy target especially when the intellectuals are aspiring to achieve success through other economic policies. For Nietzsche, and others—predominantly Russian thinkers—the West was an easy target and an easy way of pointing out the arrogance that existed in the. By attacking the “Mind of the West” they, whether conscious or not, believed it would subdue the evil head of western capitalistic, democratic influence.
To say that Occidentalism developed as a result of the modern twentieth century is not only incorrect but it is in a sense intellectually dishonest. Occidentalism developed over centuries of intellectual thought, propaganda and western influence that all blended together in a cohesive process that produced Occidentalist thought and action. Despite the long process Occidentalism is undoubtedly more prevalent today that it has ever been especially with the growing presence of anti-Semitic propagandist conspiracy and anti-West movements. Free-flowing amounts of propaganda have flooded media outlets which through biased conclusions have allowed the spread of conspiracy theories. In a sense the same devices that were used in Nazi Germany have, in Kasson’s term, recycled themselves into a new and influential political machine.
Occidentalist rhetoric that manifests itself in many of the aforementioned articles has roots in socio-cultural, religious and psychological aspects of life. Much of the manifested hate, as Baruma and Margalit highlight, originated because of false perceptions and false interpretations. It is important to note that there is no single source that contributes to Occidental thinking, rather it has exponentially accumulated over the last three or four centuries culminating in 9/11. I see 9/11 as a midway point, not necessarily the apex of Occidentalist action. With the continued production of propaganda and racially biased material there is no way of conceiving what types of outcomes will present themselves. Until the West reassesses the way in which their outward appearance is understood and perceived internationally plausible outcomes are not predictable, rather they are reduced to “intelligent guesses” based on possible theories. “We cannot afford to close our societies as a defense against those who have closed theirs. For then we would all become Occidentalists, and there would be nothing left to defend.”[23] Occidentalism has a long history that is worth looking at in order to determine how the West should shape its foreign policy especially towards nations that embrace the Occidentalist ideal so that we too can shape our own Western Ideal.
Notes
[1] John Kasson, Houdini, Tarzan and the Perfect Man: The White Male Body and the Challenge of Modernity (New York: Hill and Wang, 2001), p. 222.
[2] “Duh! The Jews! http://guardian.911review.org/Hufschmid/WhoBlewUpWTC.html (5 May 2004).
[3] “Duh! The Jews!
[4] Esther Kaplan, “Feature: anti-Semitism internationally,” Public Eye 2 (2002), N/A. Par. 1
[5]Kaplan Par. 3
[6] Stefan Theil, “To get a sense of how deep…,” Newsweek International Sept. 22, 2003 (2003) 28-30.
[7] Theil p. 29
[8] O’Driscoll is a tenured professor at the University of Toronto’s St. Michaels’s College and a Famous Yeats Scholar.
[9] David Layton, “Lies my teacher told me: one student’s journey into his professor’s Jewish conspiracy theories,” This Magazine 7 (1994): 11-17.
[10] Layton 13
[11] Unite Against “Jewish World Domination” <http://aztlan.net/mahathir.htm> Par. 1
[12] Unite Par. 4
[13] Baruma and Margalit 18
[14] Baruma Margalit 102
[15] A nickname for the followers of Adb al-Wahhab or those who strictly believe in Monotheism. “The idea was to purify Arabia, as the cradle of Islam, from idolatry, and to create an Islamic state based on the positive law of Islam, as interpreted by the Hanbali school, regarded as the strictest legal school in Islam” (Baruma Margalit 134). Wahhabis tend to be strict on matters of sexual morality and other matters of personal life.
[16] Baruma and Margalit 136
[17] Baruma and Margalit 55
[18] Baruma and MArgalit 61
[19] Baruma and Margalit 92
[20] Rationalism in this sense preaches that reason and only reason can figure out the world (Baruma and Margalit 94).
[21] Baruma and Margalit 94
[22] Baruma and Margalit 94-95
[23] Baruma and Margalit 149
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