On the 5th Anniversary of 9/11, Greens Call for a New Probe of Unanswered Questions

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org

Monday, September 11, 2006

Contacts:

Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org 
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@greens.org 

• On the 5th anniversary of 9/11, Greens call for a new probe of unanswered questions

• Bush's endless 'War on Terror' in response to 9/11 became an excuse for illegal preemptive military invasion, torture, and curtailment of freedoms, say Greens, with many of the worst Bush policies endorsed by both Democrats and Republicans

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party candidates and leaders, on the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, called for a new, independent, and expanded investigation of the attacks and the Bush Administration's response.

"We have a responsibility to everyone affected by 9/11 -- especially those who were injured or who lost family and friends in the attacks and in the subsequent military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq -- to launch an intensive investigation, and to hold Bush officials accountable for numerous deceptions and evasions," said Rachel Treichler, Green candidate for Attorney General of New York State.

Ms. Treichler has pledged to launch a comprehensive investigation, if elected <www.voterachel.org>. Howie Hawkins, New York Green candidate for the U.S. Senate, will run radio ads addressing 9/11; the ads are posted at <www.hawkinsforsenate.org>. 

Greens cited numerous unanswered questions about 9/11 and the administration's reckless exploitation of fears in the wake of 9/11 for its own political and military purposes to support its demand for a new probe.

• Why did the Bush Administration fail to heed numerous explicit warnings of an impending attack, as the 9/11 Commission proved?

• Why did the administration attempt to obstruct the 9/11 Commission, and failing to do so, why did it restrict the Commission's purview?

• Who financed the attacks, and why did the 9/11 Commission decline to investigate  this question?

• Why did the White House so quickly change the focus from al-Qaeda to Iraq, despite the fact that Iraq and Saddam Hussein had no connection to 9/11?

• Why has there been so little discussion of the role of the Project for a New American Century, whose membership included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and other higher ranking members of the Bush Administration and neocon ideologues? The Project anticipated the 9/11 attacks in the late 1990s when it looked forward to a new "Pearl Harbor" that would provide an opportunity for the U.S. to impose "unquestioned U.S. military preeminence" on the Middle East <newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf>.

• Why did the administration, with the cooperation of Christine Todd Whitman's EPA, cover up severe health risks at and near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan?

• Why has the Bush Administration avoided addressing urgent questions raised by 9/11 truth movement, including groups like 911Truth.org? 

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Green Party called for the attacks to be treated as a crime, with the cooperation of other nations sought in the apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators. The Bush Administration instead -- with the acquiescence of both Democrats and Republicans -- called the attacks an act of war and used 9/11 to justify two illegal military invasions, including one launched against a nation (Iraq) that the administration now admits had nothing to do with the attacks, as well as the drastic curtailment of domestic civil liberties under the USA Patriot Act and other measures.

The result has been over a hundred thousand Iraqi civilian dead; over 2,600 dead U.S. service members; widespread destruction caused by U.S. forces and a growing internal civil war in Iraq; the reputation of the U.S. in disgrace after revelations of torture at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and other sites; and compromised U.S. security as a result of anger in the Middle East at the Bush Administration's policies in the region.

"Every week brings more news about the disaster caused by the U.S. 'War on Terror' in the wake of 9/11: mounting atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan; Afghanistan's restoration as the world's top opium supplier; admission by President Bush that extraordinary rendition and secret prisons are White House policy; legislation before Congress to legalize torture," said Howie Hawkins.

MORE INFORMATION

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9/11 Links:
"Greens Cite Reasons for a New, Independent 9/11 Probe" (July 29, 2004) www.gp.org/press/pr_07_29_04b.html  
911Truth.org www.911truth.or
September Eleventh Families For Peaceful Tomorrows www.peacefultomorrows.org
9/11 Citizens Watch www.911citizenswatch.org
9/11 Visibility Project septembereleventh.org
Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Independent Commission 911independentcommission.org