Pentagon lied about having 9/11 surveillance video then refused to release it

By Craig McKee (http://truthandshadows.wordpress.com)

It’s one of the largest and most secure buildings in the world. It is the nerve centre for the U.S. military. It has hundreds of security cameras both inside and outside the building. But apparently you can fly an airliner into the side of it without being caught on tape.

That’s what I call a blind spot. But this is the story we are being asked to swallow about what happened at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. On a day of outrageous fabrications, this is one of the most absurd. What’s even more incredible is that some people – even some 9/11 truthers – accept it. (The plane hit the building, there are no videos, you are getting very sleepy…)

It wasn’t the first lie concerning the Pentagon “impact” and possible video evidence, however. Initially, the Pentagon denied having any video footage of the alleged impact of Flight 77. They would later change their tune and release five frames in 2002 taken from north of the alleged impact site.

The official story of 9/11 actually asks us to swallow a lot of impossible stuff: the collapse of the three towers because of “fire”; the failure of the military to intercept even one allegedly hijacked airliner; the burying of Flight 93 in a field in Pennsylvania; devout Muslims who take drugs and use prostitutes; a failed pilot who turned into Han Solo on the morning in question.

We know that an explosion – or series of explosions – did considerable damage to the newly renovated west side of the Pentagon that morning. And we know that what caused the explosion(s) goes to the heart of whether the supposed terrorist attacks were actually a government black op.

The government, the 9/11 Commission (same thing), and those who accept the official 9/11 story contend that the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the building, killing 64 on board and another 125 in the building. Even some of those who believe 9/11 was an inside job are willing to embrace the “757 impact” theory. Those who dispute it are accused by these truthers of “splintering” the movement.

To believe the government’s account about the Pentagon, we’re supposed to accept that a 757 hit the building but wasn’t clearly caught on video tape doing so. That’s certainly the contention of 9/11 Commission executive director and then Bush administration insider Philip Zelikow who has stated that none of the 85 video tapes in the possession of the FBI show the plane.

So why can’t we see them?

There is also a version from the truthers who are devoting their lives to attacking the research of Citizen Investigation Team (which favours the plane flying over the Pentagon and not into it). They say that we’ll never get the evidence because the public allows the military the right to keep secrets.

In their recent attack on CIT and its north of Citgo flight path contention, researchers David Chandler and Jonathan Cole made this statement:

“The problem with focusing on a protest of the Pentagon cover-up is that the population at large attributes to the military the right to keep secrets. Secrecy in wartime is understandable, if it is in furtherance of military objectives. It is not reasonable that the military should be allowed to extend this privilege to the cover-up of evidence of a monstrous crime, but the fact is, they can get away with it. The population is not willing to second guess military prerogative in matters like this.”

Really? The public won’t second-guess the military? This is a reason to let crucial evidence remain secret?

Here’s some of what we know about the video surveillance evidence:

1.     The FBI has in its possession 85 video tapes from that day – some not belonging to the military – even though no tapes were initially admitted to.

2.     In 2002, five frames of video were released that did nothing to clear up the confusion. The frames showed a blur that appeared too small to be a 757 followed by a large explosion and fireball. The government contended that no other video existed. But that lie didn’t last.

3.     There were Freedom of Information Act requests for the surveillance video but they were denied. First, there were no tapes that corresponded to the requests, then there were but they couldn’t be released because of the legal case against Zaccarias Moussaoui, and finally they were deemed “exempt from disclosure” by the Department of Justice.

4.     In 2006, more video was released from the same angle as the 2002 frames. This did nothing to prove that a 757 had hit the building, instead just adding to the controversy.

Then there’s the issue of the confiscated tapes. Attendant Jose Velasquez from the Citgo gas station across the street from the Pentagon has stated that the FBI arrived within minutes of the Pentagon event and confiscated footage from the station’s surveillance camera. Velasquez was quoted as saying that the footage should have shown the alleged impact. In 2006, footage taken at the station was released showing nothing conclusive.

Other video footage was confiscated from the nearby Sheraton National Hotel, the Doubletree Hotel in Arlington, Va., and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The Doubletree tape was later released. It showed the explosion but no airliner.

And what about the internal cameras from the Pentagon? We never hear about those. We know there was major damage and loss of life in the A wing, two wings deeper into the building than the C ring hole where the plane allegedly stopped. Wouldn’t this footage explain what happened in the A ring? But they don’t release it – or even acknowledge its existence.

And you believers don’t find this suspicious?

The 9/11 Commission could have subpoenaed any or all of the tapes in the government’s possession to clear up the question, but they didn’t. They clearly did not want to show us anything. And they got away with it.

It just strikes me that any reasonable person would agree that all tapes should be released. The idea that no cameras captured any images of the plane is just not credible. And we all have to stop making excuses for those who are continuing to lie to us.

I don’t know what the next move should be, but we have to keep demanding the release of this video until we get it. Without this evidence, I’ll never accept this bogus Flight 77 cover story. And neither should anyone else.