Community | September 14, 2011 | 50 comments

Ralph Nader: Americans ignore the cause of 9/11

source: http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/ralph-nader-americans-ignore-the-cause-of-911/

KB723
Posted on 09.13.11
By Eric W. Dolan
Categories: Featured, Nation

After attending a 9/11 panel in northwest D.C. on Monday, Ralph Nader told The Nation‘s George Zornick that Americans had mostly ignored the reasons that the terrorist attacks occurred.

“All we want to say is that it was a terrorist attack, it was evil, don’t talk about what caused it,” he said. “What really lead to it was, one, we back dictators over there that repress and kill their own people with American arms. Two, we support the Israeli position against the rights of the Palestinian people to have their own state. And three, we have repeatedly failed — no matter how much money we spend — to defend our own country.”

“The folly of the military-industrial complex is that it not only erodes our economy and destroys a quality standard of living, but it also insures an empire which is insatiable in terms of the contracts that Lockheed Martin and others want to dominate the world,” Nader added. “It’s just the opposite of defense, an empire eventually devours its own people.”

Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) was booed at the CNN/Tea Party Republican debate on Monday night for trying to explain why al Qaeda had attacked the U.S.

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/ralph-nader-americans-ignore-the-cause...

"Nader added. “It’s just the opposite of defense, an empire eventually devours its own people.”
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50 comments // Ralph Nader: Americans ignore the cause of 9/11 // Video

  • warman1138
    • 0
      warman1138  

    • We are not a country anymore, just a corporate war machine looking for an excuse. Keep everyone poor and looking for a job and con their sons and daughters with '' incentives '' to join up, all for the cause. Things have not changed much since Vietnam, have they? No need for the draft since the economy is shot to hell. Run out of enemies, just make up new ones. Where is the news? ABC,CBS,NBC,CNN,FOX, they are all camped out 24/7 covering some celebs dui. War? What war? Everone go back to sleep and dream of the good old days.Iraq, Pakistan, Afgahnistan, ect....we are in a world war and don't even know it.

    • 8 months ago
  • lightningthunderfox
  • nardo1224
    • +2
      nardo1224  

    • Call me cynical, but no matter how much we talk about it, that's all we will do. We failed the test when we allowed George Bush to be installed as President without a massive uproar. The only reason Dick Cheney is able to stick his chest out and admit to torture is because he knows there will be no repercussions from anyone regarding it. With all the criminal acts these last couple of administrations have committed, we should have an entirely new government, yet we still have these same old criminals deciding just who they will allow to run for office and even hold a position. Believe me my fellow Americans, we are not free!

    • 8 months ago
  • noxidereus
    • +2
      noxidereus  

    • It is important to understand the real cause. After 10 years, there is no excuse to continue to accept George W Bush's excuse, "they hate our freedom".

    • 8 months ago
  • squarethecircle
  • percipi224
    • +1
      percipi224  

    • this is priceless. He mentions Empire and the demise thereof....the Empire is the multinational corporate structure, that knows no country, and runs visa vi the IMF and WTO, bilderberg etal, all those conservative think tanks, religious ideology melded with chaos free market economics. As these few kings of the world created a shadow kingdom over the planet, they are going the way of all empires. They will eat their own, turn on eachother, as they bankrupt the U.S. our military will be crushed further, as Nadar said; the jets weren't armed? We don't have a decent standing army, we took the reserves and deployed them, our professional soldiers are going to war 6 tours. I remember two tours in vietnam being considered appalling (not the war itself I know!) I see the rich and powerful empire crumbling soon. We the people are asking the questions we talk among ourselves. We are making our small plans to create a new world from the devastation....this isn't going to be pretty when it comes crumbling down.

    • 8 months ago
  • kvb1
    • +2
      kvb1  

    • 9/11 will become part of American folklore, just like "Remember the Maine", or "Remember the Alamo", or our involvement in the Philippines. The reasons behind these are always forgotten, but they are used as an excuse for American intervention. The Maine incident led to TR and his Rough Ridders, and the eventual annexation of Cuba from Spain, The Same thin happened in the Philippines which led to Mark Twain establishing the Anti-Imperialist League in 1898. The Alamo, and the "Republic of Texas" was just an excuse for the annexation of territory from Mexico, territory that was in American politicians sight since the days of Aaron Burr trying to forge a new country of Franklin west of the Appalachians, in what is now Kentucky.

      We are never taught the back story that led to these things happening, just the "blind siding" that happened and the resultant wars.

      We are going to remember the 3000+ that died, but we will not remember the failures that led to this remembrance. The intelligence blunders that continually happen because everyone has their own little empire to protect, regardless of how many Presidents tell the intelligence community to share information. We will not be remembering the illegitimate wars we were led into based on hate and revenge, especially Iraq which had nothing to do with this attack. We will not be remembering the fact that these people mostly came from Saudia Arabia, taught under the most extreme of Islams factions, paid for by a son of a Saudi Prince, and a former American allie. We will not be remembering that terrorism is another word for criminal activity, it just sounds better.

      What we will be remembering is that Muslims attached this country. That Islam is not Christianity and that they allow for multiple wives and that they allow underage girls to be married off. We will not remember that the only reason that Mormons took this out of their religion, that they got s message from God, was because they were told they would not be granted statehood in the 1890s. We will only remember the lose and the hatred.

    • 8 months ago
  • NothingIsAbsoluteTruth
    • +1
      NothingIsAbsoluteTruth  

    • I just read a story on Ron Paul saying this and he was bashed but this guy is loved? And people say they are unbaises. Seriously, the hatred we have today for anyone who shows the slightest difference from us are castes out

    • 8 months ago
  • dudefromtherock
    • +4
      dudefromtherock  

    • The majority of Americans are not interested in the truth...give them Monday night football, a extra large pizza, some beers, and some common enemy to hate and they are just fine.

    • 8 months ago
  • kvb1
    • 0
      kvb1  
    • dudefromtherock:

      That is synonymous with American's ability to understand anything. Sports are turned into wars that are won and lost, rather than competitions that one competitor played better and had a better strategy then the other.

      Things just get dumbed down, wave the flag, and hate the other side.

    • 8 months ago
  • percipi224
  • maasanova
    • +3
      maasanova  
    • dudefromtherock:

      Actually the way I see it is that they are more interested in staring into their smartphones sending stupid text messages all day than even football, let alone what is really going on in the world.

      I went to a concert over the weekend and could believe how many people were paying more attention to their phones than the bands themselves.

      If this is our future then we are truly fucked!

    • 8 months ago
  • artemis6
  • JohnA
  • KB723
  • kvb1
    • +3
      kvb1  
    • JohnA:

      Ron Paul is vilified for all the things he says, most of which are crap. He is most vilified for his comments on healthcare, regulations and government. Even a stopped clock will be right twice a day.

    • 8 months ago
  • percipi224
    • -1
      percipi224  
    • JohnA:

      did he realy say the same thing? can I have a link. Because the man has been purported to say one thing and then look at his voting record, his corporate record....its contradictory

    • 8 months ago
  • dugdog47
    • +4
      dugdog47  

    • If you tell the truth in this country, you are ignored, booed. Tell a popular lie however, and you get cheered.

      The poor always get fucked over by the rich. Always have, always will.

    • 8 months ago
  • KB723
    • +1
      KB723  
    • dugdog47:

      Hey dugdog47 Glad to see you again... I was telling a Friend today that we do not Punish people for doing bad things... We Punish people for getting Caught doing bad things...

    • 8 months ago
  • nikonwilly
    • +1
      nikonwilly  

    • I'll take Chomsky's Ideas and ideals over any now in Washington!
      Those that speak the truth have always been criticized by liars and the ignorant.
      It's going to be another, vote for the best of the worst this time around unless Sanders will take up the challenge....

    • 8 months ago
  • KB723
  • DEM46
  • KB723
  • Anonmaly
  • KB723
  • madjik68
    • +2
      madjik68  

    • It makes me wonder where this country would be if Ralph had been elected president. My guess, a lot better off then we are now.

    • 9 months ago
  • KB723
  • DanCastro
    • +6
      DanCastro  

    • What amazing clarity and bravery to speak truth to those who would rather hide behind hate and lies. We are hopefully recognizing that we have allowed our country to be lied to and led into wars which have only served to make the rest of the people of the world wonder at our sanity and especially at our ability to act reasonably and responsibly. If we "get over ourselves" and recognize these truths, we have the opportunity to offer amends and make money doing "the right thing!" Trading and requiring all we work with to deal with people fairly and honestly regardless of how much power they may have will allow US to rejoin and promote a world dedicated to peace for and among all.

    • 9 months ago
  • KB723
  • GRC54
    • +5
      GRC54  
    • DanCastro:

      Very good response. We were all lied to and some of us found the truth. For the rest of the brain washed, brain dead of our country, they will never believe the truth as the lie is bigger than the truth can ever be.

    • 9 months ago
  • DanCastro
    • +2
      DanCastro  
    • GRC54:

      I truly hope you are wrong about so many of our fellow Americans. I'm hopeful that we can begin to use our public discourse to increase our ability to talk/discuss issues in a polite manner the is "hard on the problem, not on the people". And, I have to believe that even if we cannot convince the hard headed, typically older (like me ;-), then we need to reach the youth who still have open minds about what policies will lead to the success of the people of American and the planet.

    • 9 months ago
  • Kilnsapper
  • nikonwilly
  • cantucwearebrothers
  • KB723
  • DanCastro
    • +1
      DanCastro  
    • cantucwearebrothers:

      It must be our Puritan ancestors, as we do so often seem to vacillate between congratulating ourselves on being the best (who wants to buy more US debt? ;-) to beating ourselves about the head and shoulders for all the wrong we have done.
      I agree it's fun to draw a little blood after a heavy day of beating yourself up, but then what? Can we the "can do" people learn to "talk to strangers" and maybe find they are more like US than not? Shall we then contemplate all the world's humans as brothers/sisters and our birth place a complete coincidence that had nothing to do with us? Can we see that we could just as easily have been born in a slum of MC or as an "untouchable" in India? What then is the best use of the unknown period of time we have to be a conscious being? Shall we spend it cursing each other for the imagined advantages or disadvantages "they" have caused US? Or, shall we together visit our cousins in the monkey house and see if their behavior differs significantly from what we see on our public stage every day? ;-) Can we do better for ourselves and our planet?
      Peas

    • 8 months ago
  • cantucwearebrothers
    • 0
      cantucwearebrothers  
    • DanCastro:

      Yes, of course we can do better. The real question is...will we? Will we, as a collective group, want to bring about the change needed within ourselves first to facilitate change as a nation? That, I'm afraid, remains for be seen.

    • 8 months ago
  • DanCastro
    • 0
      DanCastro  
    • cantucwearebrothers:

      Agreed and it begins with each of US. I agree with the saying "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance!" There are "ugly" people out there and there are people for whom the verse was written (all of US) "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!" We can do better, but we cannot allow "the perfect" to be the enemy of "the good". We are imperfect and we shall always be, but as you say, we can be better, not "for goodness sake" but for our own sake and for those that follow.

    • 8 months ago
  • Buckeye_Bill
  • KB723
  • noxidereus
    • 0
      noxidereus  
    • Buckeye_Bill:

      Wouldn't that make you ignorant? Just teasing... but your loyalty to the Democratic party is misplaced and is the direct cause of your decision to ignore a man who shouldn't be ignored. Also, I should point out that what Nader is saying in this piece is the truth and so thus by ignoring Nader, you are ignoring the truth.

    • 8 months ago
  • Buckeye_Bill
    • +1
      Buckeye_Bill  
    • noxidereus:

      Well, "You Gotta Serve Somebody"!

      I have been around since the days Ralph came onto the scene with the Ford Pinto. Back then, he was performing a "service" to American consumers! Even though he was handsomely "rewarded" for his "efforts".

      But something happened to him as he morphed into a "political figure". He has caused more disharmony and confusion than anyone I have witnessed down through the decades.

      He was disruptive in so many elections and has been instrumental in sucking so many votes from people who, had they won their election, would have done far more "good" in their way than he did by running against them.

      Al Gore is my PRIME example as to what that man can do to bring harm to this nation.

      Imagine where we might be today if Mr. Gore had become President rather than that Monkey Man, GWB and his "handler", Dick "Shoot You In Your Face/Fuck You" Cheney!

      And since we have crossed "swords" in the recent past in regards who YOU serve in your OWN way, I choose to side with someone who is looking out for my benefit...which happens to be the Democratic Party.

      However, I do not put my "faith" in no man, woman, Political Party, organization or some unseen "Big Guy In The Sky".

      I DO have confidence in my abilities to recognize a friend from a foe.

    • 8 months ago
  • noxidereus
    • +1
      noxidereus  
    • Buckeye_Bill:

      Matured as your current abilities may be, once you recognize that the neither the Democratic party, nor the Republican party is looking out for your benefit your abilities to recognize friend from foe will be that much better.

      Your criticisms of Nader can be traced back to propaganda spewed by the Democratic party to seize our loyalty through fear of voting for anyone else.

      It is not yours, nor mine, nor Ralph Nader's fault that the voting public at large is stupid enough to cast enough votes for Bush to make that election even close. You misplace blame on Nader that belongs to the idiocy of the masses and to the elite/corporate/rich bastards who ensure that the masses remain ignorant.

      That's just how I feel. I do respect your opinion too even though I disagree. Thanks.

    • 8 months ago
  • Buckeye_Bill
    • +1
      Buckeye_Bill  
    • noxidereus:

      How can you sit there, I am assuming you're sitting as you type your reply to my reply to my original comment, and tell me what I have learned through experience and my skills at comprehension, is quite amazing! Tell me, what numbers will be the winner of today's Megabucks Lottery?

      Your opinion of me AND what the Democratic Party is, is just that. OPINION.

      And we ALL have one...some feel compelled to show theirs off more thn others.

      My understanding of who and what Ralph Nader is or isn't was derived by my OWN personal observations through the decades. Obviously, you overlooked the statement I made about that in my prior post.

      You do have your right to call any or all ignorant.

      But, in my estimation, it only highlights yours with regards your formulating thoughts in you mind that I seem not to be able to sway one way or the other.

      May I ask you why are you so adamant with trying to persaude me to see the things you see when I have addressed this and other issued with you is beyond me.

      You have your concepts and I shall adhere to mine.

      Until there is some other subject matter you wish to discuss, I suggest we lay this puppy down for a nap.

      Have a good day, though!

      No ill will from me to you....

    • 8 months ago
  • noxidereus
    • +2
      noxidereus  
    • Buckeye_Bill:

      Yes I am sitting.

      Yes it was my opinion. There is no indication that I wish to share my opinion any more than you wish to share yours.

      I was only joking when I called you ignorant -- it was word-play because you said you *ignore* Nader. Get it? Ignore... Ignorant -- not to be taken seriously. That's why I said I was just teasing.

      I am exactly as successful in swaying your opinion as you are in swaying mine. I am not trying to persuade you of anything. I am merely expressing my opinion, as you pointed out. Other people read our comments too. Sharing our differing opinions is for their benefit as well. I already told you that I'm not trying to change your mind (specifically) so stop accusing me of it. I am raising awareness for all who read these comments.

      "You have your concepts and I shall adhere to mine."

      Agreed.

      "No ill will from me to you"

      I share that sentiment.

      Expect me to offer my opinion in the future as well. I will repeat myself if this subject comes up again. I will continue to defend Nader, so if you continue to misjudge him, expect me to come to his defense again. This is for the benefit of all since this is a public forum, so there is no reason for you to take it personally.

      I see the Democratic party serving the elite just like the Republicans do. I find those who still choose to trust the Democrats as being very misguided to the point of being dangerous. Because of this I will continue to speak out and share my opinion.

      I agree that this discussion has gone as far as it needs to and that it's time to let this puppy nap. I wish you a good day as well.

    • 8 months ago
  • Buckeye_Bill
    • +1
      Buckeye_Bill  
    • noxidereus:

      http://

      Nader is a nadir.

      Why is it that he ONLY comes out to run for the presidency when he can suck votes away from the Democratic contender who would have enough trouble beating the Republican opponent as it was. Why is he not running this year?

      He supports Ron Paul.

      If you know ANYTHING about Ron Paul, you would be privy to his connections with the John Birch Society. So, in consequential order of thought, if you are FOR Nader, you would also be FOR Ron Paul and that would lead one to be FOR the JBS!

      Until a couple years ago, even the MOST Conservative Republicans avoided the JBS like the plague! They are as radical to the Constitution and freedom as Al Qaeda is to Middle Eastern Nations and their loss of freedoms if the Taliban or Al Qaeda were in charge!

      Why is it that very few Republicans get behind Ron Paul, yet he calls himself a Republican? Why is that?

      "Ralph Nader is a five-time candidate for President of the United States, having run as a write-in candidate in the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary, as the Green Party nominee in 1996 and 2000, and as an independent candidate in 2004 and 2008."
      Wikipedia

      Nader has called himself a Democrat, Green Party member AND an Independent! I haven't changed my shoes as often as he has changed his political affliliations! And, like Ron Paul and Republicans, very few Democrats get behind Nader.

      So, the lines are drawn through our society. There are Democrats and Republicans and then there's that fringe element that flitters around changing their Party from first one thing and then to another.

      That's where both Paul and Nader receive their support. I would call them "Floaters". And even though we in America are considered a Two Party Nation, in actuality there is that "third rail" of these Floaters that seem to always attract votes from the Left, thereby undermining the Democratic Party everytime!

      It makes you wonder if they're not paid shills or plants or just plain stooges that muck it up for Democrats every time they run in the Primaries. Then it's time for them to rinse, lather and repeat in the General election.

      Floaters would best serve this Nation if they went after the Republicans rather than Democrats! But THAT ain't gonna happen. Not in my lifetime.

      So you just go ahead and defend the indefensible.

      I don't mind. I don't mind at all!

      As I don't mind telling it like it is, too!

    • 8 months ago
  • noxidereus
  • Buckeye_Bill
    • +2
      Buckeye_Bill  
    • noxidereus:

      There you go, insulting me again!

      LMAO!

      And I have the very same sentiments for yours as well!

      Isn't it something to carry on a debate without the nastiness that permeate these sites?

      }8^)

    • 8 months ago
  • noxidereus
  • KB723
    • +3
      KB723  

    • Ralph Nader: Americans ignore the cause of 9/11

      "Nader added. “It’s just the opposite of defense, an empire eventually devours its own people.”

    • 9 months ago
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