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Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit and the old American military base (Frobisher Bay)

(Precedent story: carrying a .357 Magnum to Iqaluit)

An American Trans Air Lockheed L-1011being refueled in Iqaluit, Canada, in 1989. I had the opportunity to leave the flight service station (the yellow tower) for few minutes to take this picture.
An American Trans Air Lockheed L-1011being refueled in Iqaluit, Canada, in 1989. I had the opportunity to leave the flight service station (the yellow tower) for few minutes to take this picture.

Before retelling some of the events that happened while I was working at the Transport Canada flight service station in Iqaluit, in the Nunavut (1989-1991), it is mandatory to present few important dates that will allow the reader to understand why the airport was initially an American military base.

1938. Hitler’s ambitions are such that Roosevelt deemed necessary to announce the following: “I give you assurance that the people of the United States will not stand idly by if domination of Canadian soil is threatened by any other empire ».

1939. Beginning of discussions between Canada and United States with regards to joint defense of the North American continent.

1940. Great-Britain was at risk of losing the war against a Germany that was progressing rapidly in its conquest of the European soil. When Denmark was defeated in autumn 1940, fear grew that the Germans would progress westward and establish operational military bases on the newly acquired territories.

Greenland belonging to a defeated Denmark, Germans would be using it to get closer to Canada. At the time, Greenland was the sole commercial source of cryolite, an essential component of aluminum used in aircraft production.

There was also a province which was not part of Canada in 1940 and which presented a strategic interest for an enemy in its war against Canada and United States: Newfoundland and Labrador.

In order for the war not to be fought directly on the North American territory, one had to keep the Germans busy in Europe. It therefore meant that Great-Britain must not be defeated.

1941. Ships carrying short range fighting aircrafts from America to Europe were regularly attacked and sunk by U-boats. It was imperative to change the route. Canadians and Americans were looking for the best sites that could accommodate the construction of runways allowing short range military aircrafts to fly up to Prestwick, Scotland.

This new route was called “Crimson Route” and the stopovers were Goose Bay in Labrador, Fort Chimo (Kuujjuaq) in Quebec, Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit), on Baffin Island in the Nunavut as well as three sites in Greenland (Narsarsuaq, Angmagssalik and Sondre Stromfjord (Kangerlussuaq). The Frobisher Bay coded name became “Crystal Two” base.

1941-42. Germans established the first inhabited weather bases on the Greenland coast in order to facilitate U-Boats operations across the North Atlantic. When those sites were discovered, they were destroyed by American commandos.

1942. U-Boats entered the St-Lawrence seaway and sank Canadian ships.

1942. The site initially chosen to establish the Frobisher Bay airport (the Crystal Two base) was Cromwell Island, located 20 miles south-west of today’s actual site for Iqaluit. This was until a new site was discovered (today’s site) that favored the construction of longer runways and allowed the beaching of flatboats loaded with cargo during the summer period.

A McAllister flat-bottomed barge will soon be unloaded in Iqaluit, during low tide.
A McAllister flat-bottomed barge will soon be unloaded in Iqaluit, during low tide.

A ships convoy carrying thousands of tons of cargo planned for the construction of the Frobisher Bay base arrived at destination. This convoy was nonetheless attacked by the U-517 U-Boat and the cargo-ship Chatham, carrying 6000 tons of material destined for Crystal One and Crystal Two bases was sank.

1943. An German automated weather station was built at Martin Bay, in Labrador, to facilitate the U-Boats operations. This weather station is now in permanent exhibition at the war museum in Ottawa. Pictures have been found were we can see smiling but armed German soldiers taking the pose near the automated weather station. Canada accidently learned about the existence of that weather station in 1980.

German automated weather station in exibit at the War Museum in Ottawa
German automated weather station in exibit at the War Museum in Ottawa

Many German officers and soldiers who were captured in Europe were sent abroad while waiting for the end of the war. My grandparents, who owned a farm in St-Ignace, Quebec, became responsible, over time, for one German officer and two soldiers. They had only good comments on the behavior and desire of the prisoners to help on the farm.

1943. Both Frobisher Bay runways were now operational, although without being totally completed. The engineers did not have the knowledge of the Russians when it came to maintaining airport runways in the Arctic. Damages caused by permafrost were significant and the runways necessitated a lot of maintenance. The water present under the runways would sometimes surface suddenly and create five meter deep holes. Those runways needed a constant effort to remain usable.

The first runway to be built was eventually abandoned due to a wrong evaluation of the prevailing winds and the dangers associated with the surrounding elevated terrain. Today only remains the runway that we know in Iqaluit, although extended to 9000 feet. The year 1943 recorded 323 aircraft arrivals, of which only a small number made the complete trip to Europe.

1944. War took a new turn. The newly developed long range radars, allied to advanced technology in the detection and attack of submarines, radically diminished the U-Boats threat in North Atlantic. The “Crimson Route” airports were suddenly losing their pertinence. The Canadian government, worried about the massive presence of Americans in the Canadian Arctic, bought the airports from the American government.

1950. Canadians officially took control of the Frobisher Bay airport, but authorized an American presence since this airport had a new strategic importance in the cold war that followed Second World War. The weather station and runway maintenance were taken care of by American forces.

1951-53. A radar station was built on a hill northeast of runway 17-35. This station completed what was then known as the Pinetree line. This line was made of several long range surveillance radar stations; it covered all of southern Canada and gradually curved towards the north to end up in Frobisher Bay. All those stations were inhabited and could order interceptions at all times against potential enemy forces, by means of jet aircrafts.

What is left of the old American military base in Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit), Canada. I took the picture in 1989.
What is left of the old American military base in Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit), Canada. I took the picture in 1989.

1955. Americans received the authorization from Canada to build a SAC [Strategic Air Command] military base where numerous KC-97 tankers were stationed in support of B-47 bombers operations carrying nuclear armament. The base was built in 1958 and, until the end of its operations in 1963, parking space was occupied by at least seven KC-97. The SAC base was not needed anymore after the new Boeing B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers were developed.

A French-Canadian military from Quebec at work in Frobisher Bay

Gaston Gagnon during the period where he served as a Canadian military in the communication field, at the Frobisher Bay station of the Pinetree Line in Canada in 1955. He died in 2016.
Gaston Gagnon during the period where he served as a Canadian military in the communication field, at the Frobisher Bay station of the Pinetree Line in Canada in 1955. He died in 2016.

My uncle Gaston Gagnon was part of the French-Canadian military staff who was in service in Frobisher Bay. He volunteered for service during the Second World War (1939-1945).

War medals (volontary service and honorable service during the Second World War (1939-1945) belonging to the French Canadian Gaston Gagnon who died in 2016
War medals (volontary service and honorable service during the Second World War (1939-1945) belonging to the French Canadian Gaston Gagnon who died in 2016
Frobisher Bay, N.W.T., Canada crest
Frobisher Bay, N.W.T., Canada crest

He worked in the communication field during the Cold War and, after he died in 2016, I received some pictures that were taken in 1955 in Frobisher Bay. Those photos also witness of the American presence in Frobisher Bay.

Radar dish at the Frobisher Bay, NWT, Canada Pinetree Line Station in 1955
Radar dish at the Frobisher Bay, NWT, Canada Pinetree Line Station in 1955
American soldier posted at the Frobisher Bay NWT Canada Pinetree Line site in 1955
American soldier posted at the Frobisher Bay NWT Canada Pinetree Line site in 1955
Globe Master C-124 aircraft of the Military Transport Air Service (U.S. Air Force) in Frobisher Bay, NWT, Canada in 1955 serving the Pinetree Line stations during the Cold War.
Globe Master C-124 aircraft of the Military Transport Air Service (U.S. Air Force) in Frobisher Bay, NWT, Canada in 1955 serving the Pinetree Line stations during the Cold War.
C-124 Globemaster. Military Air Transport Service in United States (around 1957)
C-124 Globemaster. Military Air Transport Service in United States (around 1957)
Frobisher Bay, N.W.T., Canada crest
Frobisher Bay, N.W.T., Canada crest

1960. The runway was extended from 6000 to 9000 feet.

1961. The Frobisher Bay radar station, part of the Pinetree line, was closed but the Polevault station remained in activity.

DEW and Pinetree lines over Northern Canada
DEW and Pinetree lines over Northern Canada

1963. Americans left Frobisher Bay and gave control of the Polevault station to the DOT [Department of Transport], an older designation of Transport Canada.

Old American military base in Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit)
Old American military base in Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit)

1964. The radio operator, and later flight service specialist (FSS) Georges McDougall, arrived in Frobisher Bay. All the village inhabitants eventually got to know Georges since he provided air traffic services there for at least thirty-seven years, seven days a week, on shifts work. He progressively became a privileged witness of all the unusual events to happen in the village and at the airport.

Below is a picture of the old DOT hangar and tower.

People and DOT Canada in Frobisher Bay NWT aviation postcard
People and DOT Canada in Frobisher Bay NWT aviation postcard

1987. Frobisher Bay was renamed Iqaluit.

Two Canadian CF-18s holding short of runway in Iqaluit (1989)
Two Canadian CF-18s holding short of runway in Iqaluit (1989)

1989. Stacey Campbell wrote an article in News North that she titled: “Military Jets Fill the Arctic Skies”. She explained that NORAD (North American Air Defence) regularly held exercises aimed at testing the capacity of Canada’s new radar defense system to detect potential enemies approaching from the north.

The interviewed military officer told Stacey that CF-18 fighter jets, tankers and B-52 bombers, among other types, would be part of the operation. The CF-18’s would temporarily be stationed in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, and Inuvik for the duration of the exercise. Other types of aircrafts were also involved in that annual test, like the F-15, T-33 and possibly the AWAC although the latter did not land in Iqaluit.

American F-15 landing in Iqaluit
American F-15 landing in Iqaluit

The local Transport Canada flight service specialists (FSS) had to deal with the tight operating schedule provided by a military officer as well as integrate the daily arrivals and departures of private and commercial aircrafts.

At the time, the most useful taxiway, one which was located near the end of runway 35, could not be used since the terrain was too soft. All the aircrafts using runway 35 were forced to backtrack that runway before it could be cleared for other incoming or departing aircrafts. The additional time required for that procedure sometimes gave headaches to the military officer sitting by our side.

American F-15 Eagle airborne from Iqaluit
American F-15 Eagle airborne from Iqaluit
Canadian T-33s in Iqaluit (1990)
Canadian T-33s in Iqaluit (1990)
American Starlifter cargo aircraft ready for take-off in Iqaluit (1989)
American Starlifter cargo aircraft ready for take-off in Iqaluit (1989)

I remember that the military officer in charge of the mission told us: “If the jets cannot takeoff within the next minute, the mission will be aborted”. It just happened that during the tight window within which the CF-18’s had to be airborne that day, there were many commercial aircrafts like the Avro 748, Twin Otter, Boeing 727 and 737 and other executive aircrafts operating around Iqaluit. There was always a way to please everybody and the military exercise ended the way it was initially planned.

Two Canadian CF-18s in Iqaluit (1989)
Two Canadian CF-18s in Iqaluit (1989)
Two American F-15 Eagle taxiing for departure in Iqaluit (1990)
Two American F-15 Eagle taxiing for departure in Iqaluit (1990)

This was a period much appreciated by the flight service specialists (FSS) since, for one week during the year, our operations changed radically: we had to respect the imperative needs related to the military exercise as well as continue to provide regular air traffic services.

Six Canadian CF-18s, one Lockheed Electra Ice Patrol aircraft, a Dash-7 and a T-33 in Iqaluit
Six Canadian CF-18s, one Lockheed Electra Ice Patrol aircraft, a Dash-7 and a T-33 in Iqaluit

It was brought to our attention, for having discussed with many pilots involved in the exercise that military forces were kind enough to offer, through our Transport Canada manager, few posters signed by pilots of squadrons involved in the “Amalgam Chief” exercise. Although the manager never deemed necessary to show his staff even one of those posters, I appreciated the gesture from the pilots.

Canadian Armed Forces Boeing B-707 in Iqaluit, in front of the flight service station tower
Canadian Armed Forces Boeing B-707 in Iqaluit, in front of the flight service station tower

1993. In order to replace a DEW line that had become obsolete, Canadians and Americans jointly built a new base that would now be used for logistical support for the new North Warning System.

Two Canadian fighter aircrafts CF-18 leaving the runway in Iqaluit.
Two Canadian fighter aircrafts CF-18 leaving the runway in Iqaluit.

2006. Extreme cold tests were held in Iqaluit by Airbus for the A-380, the biggest passenger aircraft in the world.

Airbus A380-841 in Iqaluit, Canada, during cold weather testing
Airbus A380-841 in Iqaluit, Canada, during cold weather testing

2014. Extreme cold tests were held by Airbus for its new A-350 XWB.

2015. Canada was the host of the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Iqaluit. The Council is composed of the following countries: Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and United States. Joining the meeting were senior representatives of indigenous organisations holding the status of permanent participants.

  1. Dassault completes several cold-soak trials in Iqaluit for its Falcon 6X
  2. Pope Francis visits Iqaluit during his Canadian trip aimed at healing and reconciliation with Indigenous groups and residential school survivors.

2024. An Air France Boeing 797-900 makes an emergency landing in Iqaluit due to a burning smell reported by passengers.

    (Next story: The military exercise “Amalgam Chief”: B-52 bombers in northern Canada)

    For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

Categories
Controversial subjects

The September 11, 2001 attacks

11 Septembre - Les vérités cachées (September 11- The hidden thruth)
11 Septembre – Les vérités cachées (September 11- The hidden thruth)

11— Septembre : les vérités cachées (September 11 – The Hidden Truth)

For those of you who are bilingual, here is an interesting book analyzing the September 2001 events. Two planes went through the Twin Towers. We have seen those images over and over again. A Boeing 757 crashed into the Pentagon. At least, that is what has been reported since 2001. I knew that I would eventually see live footage of the plane hitting the building, and pictures of Boeing 757 parts, like it is always the case with crashes around the world. With tens of cameras surrounding the Pentagon and the nearby buildings, and reporters on site, there were surprisingly neither credible pictures nor videos showing 757 parts. Years went by, and nothing popped up. That raised my curiosity.

I knew that it was in the American government’s interest to show photos or videos of the plane, like it did for the Twin Towers. But with the Pentagon, there was nothing. We could obviously see a small hole in the building, but nothing else. I wanted to learn more about those attacks and, among all the documents and books that I read, there was this book written by Éric Raynaud.

Éric Raynaud is an investigation journalist who has written about important personalities like Ingrid Betancourt, Benazir Bhutto, Pierre Bérégovoy and others. He has worked for twenty years for daily newspapers before becoming an independent journalist. In his book titled “11-Septembre: les vérités cachées”, the author aligns facts, studies and verifiable testimonies that can be confirmed by the reader. He provides, at the bottom of pages, his sources and original references to all the medias. That includes books, interviews, newspaper articles, TV programs, videos and multiple internet sites.

Here are some of the subjects that the reader will find in the book. I can only present them very briefly here:

Pentagon: identification of the parts found on site

The author says that [my translation]:“the Commission of inquiry established that only part of one engine was found, and that it presented, as a proof, a totally inadequate picture”. It was not a part of a 757 engine but something else. A clue is given through a citation from Barbara Honegger (former advisor in political analysis to the United States President, between 1981 and 1983) during an interview [my translation]: “Some parts found in the Pentagon have been identified as compressor pieces that are part of a turbo JT8D engine, used for the A-3 Sky Warrior fighting aircraft […]”.

Pentagon: where is the Boeing 757?

There are many other sources of concern, like the obvious lack of important pieces. Their absence is noted, without any given explanations. Bob Pugh is a reporter with twenty-five years of experience and he is the first reporter to arrive on site, five minutes after the firemen. When he is interviewed by other medias on what he just saw, he declares [my translation]: “I look for significant parts, for the aircraft’s wreck, I do not see anything that I can recognize…I don’t see the tail. I don’t see the wheels. I don’t see the engines. There are no seats…there is no luggage.” The author writes [my translation]: “nothing has been found that would even look a bit like airliner parts”.

Pentagon: no serial numbers, no landing gear, no 757 engines

George Nelson, a Colonel in the US Air Force, has a direct experience as an investigator in aircrafts accidents. He declares that a fire resulting from an airplane crash cannot destroy every significant piece like the landing gear or the engines; neither can it make all the serial numbers disappear. He says [my translation]: “I repeat: this is impossible […]. Any objective and rational investigator would only be able to conclude the following: no Boeing 757 hit the Pentagon, as opposed to the official statement”.

Pentagon: depleted uranium detected on the site where the building was damaged.

Another surprising discovery was made by two scientists, Leuren Moret and Janette Sherman. Leuren Moret spent her career in the nuclear field, working among other places in California in the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory . She says [my translation]: “What happened at the Pentagon appeared highly suspicious to me. That led me to contemplate the use of a missile fueled by depleted uranium, and to make an immediate research with my colleague and great friend, Dr Janette Sherman. Janette went to take radiation measurements using a Geiger counter, a very short time after the crash. From fifteen kilometers, under prevailing winds from the Pentagon, she detected radiations that were eight to ten times higher than normal…” They learned, only four years later, that other experts had also detected similar levels where the Pentagon had been damaged.

WTC7 (building 7): bombs explode in the lower floors.

Numerous witnesses heard powerful explosions in the basements of the two towers (WTC1 and WTC2) and in the building 7 (WTC7), all while the Twin Towers where still standing.

Barry Jennings, the Assistant Director of the Emergency Services Department of New York was trapped in the superior floors of the building 7: he could no longer go down since the lower floors had been blown away. He declares [my translation]: “Once we arrived on the sixth floor, the level supporting the stairs we were about to use had disappeared! There was an explosion and the floor disappeared…the whole level had given in. I found myself there, suspended in the air! I had to climb back to go up to the eight floor…the explosion happened just beneath us…and when it exploded, we were projected backward…and the two buildings [the Twin Towers] where still standing…we were trapped there for hours. I was still there when the towers went down”.

This capital witness died two days before he was scheduled to testify. His testimony would have contradicted the main version. The Commission of inquiry, across its six hundred page report, does not mention the WTC7 name.

Twin Towers: bombs explode in the basements.

William Rodriguez, an employee with twenty years of experience, was at the B1 level of the WTC1 tower. He says that there were six basements, called B1 to B6. There was such a powerful explosion between B2 and B3 that they were lifted off the floor. Soon after, they heard another BOUM and it was the plane arriving in the tower. Many other testimonies, also visible on videos, show the employees and firemen reacting in surprise toward the series of explosions that they were able to hear.

How were the Twin Towers built?

Nine months before the attacks, one of the designers of the towers, Franck Martini, explains how the Twin Tower’s construction was thought through. He knew that there had already been a crash against the Empire State Building during the Second World War. A bomber, lost in fog, had hit the building straight on (a building that stayed up). Now knowing that a passenger jet could mistakenly hit the new towers that would be built, he explains [my translation]: “the steel networks structure is built as “mosquito screen”. A plane colliding with the towers would have the same effect as a pen going through a mosquito screen: the hole stays, but the global structure around it does not change. The Twin Towers (WTC1 and WTC2) are conceived to resist the impact of an airliner, even many…

And if the architects had planned the possibility of one or more impacts against their new towers, they also knew that once the crash would occur, the fuel would start burning. There is no surprise here.

The steel’s melting point.

Steel melts at 1538 Celsius degrees. According to Thomas Eagar, teacher of material physics at the renowned MIT, a kerosene fire generates temperatures between 870 and 930 degrees. The author declares [my translation]: “In 2008, an engineer who participated in the FEMA inquiry admitted that even their studies could not demonstrate with absolute certainty that the [Twin Towers] fires had generated temperatures higher than 300 or 400 degrees […]”.

The abnormal falling rate of the buildings

The towers went down at free fall speed. Between 9 and 10 seconds, according to observers; this is totally impossible without the use of accelerators. The most pessimist scenario, applied to the “pancake theory” collapse, requires a minimum of 21 seconds… The author writes [my translation]: “Numerous expert calculations hover around thirty to forty seconds”.

Kevin Ryan, from Underwriter Laboratories, a well-known institution in USA, says this [my translation]: “We tested the floor very well, by means of faithfully reconstituted models, in August 2004”. These tests totally refuted the main theory, the “pancake theory”.[…] Months later, the government published an update on its own conclusions, indicating not only the absence of the floors collapsing but also that examinations of the areas touched by fire proved that the temperatures…were very low”.

We are then back to the unexplained free fall. Or even the multiple unexplained free falls. Such gigantic buildings crashing down 1) totally, without leaving major parts standing 2) in a perfectly vertical way and 3) at free fall speed are sure to attract the attention and comments of experts in controlled demolition. On this subject, there are lots of testimonies.

In 2009, a crucial discovery from Danish scientists radically modified the main version.

2009: Niels Harrit and the nanothermite

In 2009, an internationally renowned scientific researcher, Niels Harrit, writes an article in the Open Chemicals Physics Journal. This magazine’s editorial team is composed of one hundred scientists coming from five continents. The article, which is written in collaboration, is titled: “Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe”. They are nine scientists to announce that they have discovered nanothermite, a new and extremely powerful explosive, in the World Trade Center.

[My translation]: “According to what we choose to do with it, it can be an extremely powerful explosive, or it can melt metal at high speed.” Thermite has been known for a long time, but nanothermite is much more recent. The more the mixture is refined, the more it is powerful [my translation]: “ Activated to melt steel, for example, nanothermite will only take a fraction of a second to pass from the ambient temperature to 2500 degrees…steel, itself, melts at a little above 1500 degrees. I let you conclude…” The author finally understands [my translation] “the pockets of molten metal that were found in the Twin Towers debris and in WTC7, that New-York firemen took two months and a half to definitely neutralize”.

We then learn that nanothermite is [my translation] “made under license, to the exclusive use of the army and under the seal of secret defense”. The author refers to an interview given by Niels Harrit where the scientist says that ten tons of nanothermite are needed to cause the fall of the towers. And how is it possible to bring ten tons of that product in a place with such tight security? He writes that the company in charge of the security had for society director the President Bush’s brother and as general director the President Bush’s cousin.

It is possible to see the interview on You Tube.

Obstructions made against the Congress inquiry

The senator Tom Daschle complained several times, and on many different medias, of obstruction problems he was facing from Dick Cheney and from President Bush, that were asking him no to investigate and even to stop the Congress inquiry.

The money allotted to the new 2004 independent Commission of inquiry.

The author notes that in order to understand everything about the sexual scandal involving Bill Clinton, 100 million dollars were spent. In order to know what happened on September 11 2001, the Commission of inquiry was given 3 million dollars. It is only after multiple complaints that this amount was finally reviewed to 14 million. Three thousand American lost their lives in that tragedy but a battle was necessary to get more than three million dollars…

The facts discarded by the independent Commission of inquiry.

The Commission seems to have found an easy way to deal with the most troubling testimonies: when this happens, instead of writing the details in the report and risk raising even more troubling questions, the subject is simply avoided. There is nothing written. So, in 600 pages, there is no mention of WTC7 whose lower floors were destroyed by explosions even before the planes arrived in the towers.

Nothing can be found about the Minister of Transport Norman Mineta’s testimony as to what he saw and heard with regards to Dick Cheney before the attacks. Mineta was nonetheless a direct witness; he was in the room with Cheney. Éric Raynaud cites what Mineta said and it is obvious that if those words would have found their way in the Commission’s report, this would have created a crisis.

There have been multiple testimonies received by the FBI as to the fact that something smaller than a B757 hit the Pentagon. Nothing can be found on those testimonies in the Commission’s report.

On that subject, you can read a Washington Post article dated from August 2, 2006 and signed by Dan Eggen: “9/11 Panel Suspected Deception by Pentagon Allegations Brought to Inspectors General”. Another book written on the subject in 2009, whose author, John Farmer, is a former General Attorney of the New Jersey State, is available: “The Ground Truth: the story behind America’s Defense on 9/11”. He says [my translation]: “The public has been seriously duped with regards to what happened on the morning of the attacks”.

Cases of insider trading

Numerous cases of insider trading were detected, starting September 6th, which is five days before the attacks. They involved “put option” to sell United Airlines, American Airlines, as well as reinsurance giants like Munich Re and AXA and financial companies that would be impacted within a few days like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, etc. However, enormous amounts of shares were bought on Raytheon, a military armament producer, just before the attacks. There was an inquiry, but no details were released.

The Osama Ben Laden case

The book’s chapter 8 holds surprising details about Osama Ben Laden. This information, that most of us ignored, brings a new light on what is generally known about him. It is said that Ben Laden rapidly denied being involved with the attacks. Normally, an attack is quickly reclaimed with pride by its mastermind. It is not the case here. I remember having seen Ben Laden on the news at the moment where he was saying that he was not behind the 9/11 attacks. Some details are given in the Éric Raynaud’s book as to why Ben Laden was not behind those attacks.

On this subject, the reader might, for example, take note of Bénazir Bhutto’s testimony, the woman coming back to Pakistan with the intention of running her own country once more [my translation]: “Osama Ben Laden has been killed by a former member of the Pakistani secret services, Omar Sheikh”. This link was available on dailymotion.com. The Omar Sheikh name often surfaces when the 9/11 attacks are concerned.

A few weeks after she confessed what she knew about this delicate subject to Al Jazeera in 2007, Bhutto herself was killed. She was not the only one to have publicly spoken on that subject. A former very high ranking CIA manager, David Baer, also confirms to Persian CNN, in 2009, that [my translation]: “ Ben Laden died many years ago, and videos and sound recordings that are episodically broadcasted are obviously false…” (www.persiancnn.com).

This book reports that the Dalle Molle Artificial Perceptual Intelligence Swiss Institute studied the messages supposedly recorded and sent to medias by Ben Laden throughout the years. The result [my translation]: “None of the recordings provided by the CIA or Al Jazeera correspond to the real voice of Ben Laden”.

United 93

Few pages are dedicated to the United 93 flight, which in itself was an issue that has given rise to many comments. We read about visual witnesses who see an aircraft explode in flight. The official story is also presented, which says that the aircraft crashed in a field. [My translation]: “The big, the huge problem, is that the rescuers, firemen, witnesses, and even the Shanksville mayor, who arrived quite rapidly on the site, effectively found a crater, but…absolutely empty”.

I’ve been interested in aviation all my life. Wanting to understand as soon as possible what had just happened, I had rapidly watched the live news and videos released by the media. At the time, it was not yet a question of conspiracy. News reports were live and journalists were doing their best to describe the scene. It was quite something to see a nearby farmer, who had rapidly gained access to the site. He was certainly anticipating, like everybody, to find many dead people here and there around the site. But he was talking to the camera and saying that there was nobody. He did not understand how it was possible.

It was also something to hear that reporter, on board a news helicopter, trying to describe what he was…not seeing. The helicopter’s camera was pointing to the site where the crash supposedly happened. All the viewers could see the scene at the same time as the reporter. But there was almost nothing to comment about. We could not see anything that would look like something we are used to see when there is a crash. And God knows we’ve seen a lot throughout the years. The reporter was unsure, he was improvising to kill time.

Conclusion

Through all the quotations and references offered in the book, among which some of David Ray Griffin, the author wants the reader to understand the following facts: in order to maintain its global domination, the United States needed to control the vast oil reserves of Central Asia. In 2001, there was a meeting between American and Taliban representatives. The Americans wanted to build an oil pipeline and needed the consent of the Taliban. This project having been refused by the Taliban, the latter were advised that a war would be started against them in October 2001. But a war lead by USA in a foreign country needed the strong support of the American population. In order to gain that kind of support, many neoconservatives like Zbigniew Brzezinski and Philip Zelikow had underlined, over different decades, that a new “Pearl Harbor” would be necessary.

What I understand of the book is that an attack without a very strong visual impact would not mobilize the American population and ensure that the latter would support a war in a foreign territory. Airplanes crashing in the Twin Towers, but more importantly the towers crumbling down would constitute this new “Pearl Harbor”. The freefalling towers would be played and replayed by all the media, reinforcing the desired impact.

But there had to be a certainty that the towers would both completely come down to reach that visual impact. The majority of viewers would certainly not notice that the buildings were all freefalling.

But there was nonetheless a major obstacle: the towers had been built in such a way that many airliners could hit them without destroying them totally, due to the “moustiquaire” design. Added help was required. And this is why there are so many testimonies, from firemen and workers that were present in the buildings, of multiple explosions in the buildings, down to the basements, and this just before the planes hit the buildings. Nobody expected the 2009 discovery of nanothermite in the Twin Towers ashes made by Niels Harrit and his team of scientists. This nanothermite created molten steel. It transformed steel into a metal softer than butter.

To suggest that Ben Laden was still alive, even though his death had been announced by many political personalities and intelligence sources, led the American public to concentrate their attention on a number one public enemy. There was no more moral dilemma to authorize military attacks in Afghanistan, supposedly to kill the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.  The promised war against the Taliban was now a reality. They did not support an oil pipeline controlled by the Americans and they paid the price for a while.

The reader has to decide what to make of that information. As a controversial subject, I could not find a better one. If you want to look deeper into the subject, there are many books available. Other than Éric Raynaud’s book, published in French, there is no doubt that David Ray Griffin’s analysis and research, initially published in English, might surprise you. The title is: 9/11 Contradictions – An Open Letter to Congress and the Press (ISBN: 978-1-56656-716-9). There are also many documentaries on the subject, among which the well-known video, available on You Tube: 2014 New Loose Change 3rd Edition.

September-11 attacks are the only event in which it is not acceptable to be curious. Here, there is only black and white. You are either on the government side, or you are an advocate of conspiracy theories. Like Bush would put it: “You are either with us, or against us”.

Title: 11 — Septembre : Les vérités cachées
Author : Éric Raynaud
Éditions Alphée /Jean-Paul Bertrand
Copyright 2009
ISBN: 978 2 7538 0481 4
(www.editions-alphee.com)