9/11 and the One-Size-Fits-All Explanation: 'It is the Fault of the Jews' - and the Yankees

As I've written before, blaming events of some conspiracy is quite popular. Tales of conspiracy sound cool, are full of drama and intrigue, provide a single explanation for just about everything, and allow folks to deflect blame on 'Them.

Who 'They' are varies:

• The commies were popular among conspiracy buffs a little over a half-century ago, here in America
  • Remember McCarthyism?
• Foreigners are a perennial favorite around the world
• Yankee imperialism may be dropping in the charts - or not
• And of course there's that old standby, the Jews

In some circles 'everybody knows' that the Jews are behind everything - and are running the Catholic Church. I am not making that up.

There doesn't have to be just one diabolical cabal of conspirators, of course: although I think that it's more aesthetically pleasing when there's a central conspiracy with minions. Iran's president combined two conventional bad guys in a rousing speech this week at the United Nations:

"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hit the replay button once again Thursday, delivering a dubious rewrite of history that led to yet another walkout by the U.S. and its allies at the U.N. General Assembly.

"The U.S. delegation at the U.N. General Assembly walked out on the Iranian president's highly anticipated address Thursday after he unleashed his oft-repeated belief that the U.S. used the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to justify a war on terror that is still being fought.

"He also claimed that most Americans and nations believe that the U.S. government 'orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grip on the Middle East in order to save the Zionist regime.'..."
(FOXNews)

I suppose Ahmadinejad knows his audience, and thinks implied Yankee imperialism and the Jews are a more plausible combination than, say:

• The Illuminati and the Knights Templar
• Freemasons and the Bilderberg Group
• Any of the above and space-alien shape-shifting lizard people

Ahmadeinejad and the Ayatollahs (sounds like a rock group, doesn't it?) aren't the only ones to present conspiracy theories in pairs. Consider:

• Big Oil and the Bush family
• Obama and Islam

To true believers, of course, any of these conspiracy theories aren't theories at all: they're facts, and anybody who doesn't agree is either a dupe or a fellow traveler. Or a member of the conspiracy.

You can't argue with logic like that.

Me? I must be a dupe, a fellow traveler, or a member of Them: I don't take conspiracy theories all that seriously. Except as they affect the actions of policy makers and other leaders. Or, as in the Iranian president's case, are presented by leaders.

I don't think 9/11 was an inside job, that the Jews are running the Catholic Church, or that space aliens are targeting our nuclear bases.

Related posts:

• "Nuclear Weapons, Space Aliens, Conspiracy Theories, and Getting a Grip"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (September 24, 2010)
• "Lebanon, Israel, Pakistan, India, and the Lizard People"
  (January 14, 2009)
• "Georgian Invasion an American Plot: Who Knew?"
  (August 28, 2008)
• "'911 Was an Inside Job! Our Boys Need to Know!'"
  (June 10, 2008)
• "The CIA Created Al Qaeda: Who Knew?"
  (April 2, 2008)
• "9/11: Anarchist Conspiracy!!!!"
  (October 19, 2007)
  • Here's one the conspiracy theorists seem to have missed
• "This Keith Ellison Story Might Take Off"
  (July 27, 2007)
• "Professor Ward Churchill: 9/11 Truthteller, or Nincompoop?"
  (July 25, 2007)

In the news:

• "In full: Obama speaks to BBC Persian"
  BBC US & Canada(September 24, 2010)
• "Obama: Ahmadinejad's speech 'offensive' and 'hateful' "
  CNN (September 24, 2010)
• "Exclusive Interview with Iran's President"
  FOXNews (September 24, 2010)
  • Video
  • Also see:
    • "Obama: Ahmadinejad's Sept. 11 Statements 'Hateful'"
      FOXNews (September 24, 2010)
• "Ahmadinejad Condemns Capitalism, U.S. and Its Allies Walk Out"
  FOXNews (September 23, 2010)