WHERE WERE YOU?: Everyone who is old enough has a story about where he or she was on that bright, cloudless Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Me? I was in my car in the Pentagon parking lot when the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York and at my desk in my E-ring office, Rm. 2E772, when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the west side of the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. (Don’t look for that room. It’s not there anymore.)
Everyone has a story. I’ve told mine hundreds of times. Here’s the short version: I didn’t feel the impact of the plane, though others around me said they did. In fact, I didn’t know a plane hit the building until I saw my producer Chris Plante reporting it by phone on CNN. He arrived just as the plane hit.
I rushed to the scene, walking the long way around the building’s perimeter to the crash site, photographed the wreckage, and was arrested, handcuffed, and briefly detained by an overzealous Pentagon police officer, who said I violated a rule banning photography on the Pentagon reservation. And later in the afternoon, I said something in a live report that conspiracy-mongers used for years to sow doubt among credulous American citizens about the truth of what had happened. In true Orwellian fashion, the liars called themselves “9/11 Truthers.”
THE INFORMATION WORLD CHANGED: Sept. 11 was my introduction to the “disinformation age,” now dubbed the “post-truth” era, in which false beliefs have become increasingly impervious to facts and logic, and even really smart people believe dumb things. I wrote my master’s thesis on the persistence of misinformation in the digital age and discussed the phenomenon in an article I wrote for the Washington Examiner magazine last year.
WHY IT MATTERS: In 2006, five years after the attacks that killed close to 3,000 Americans in New York, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania, Popular Mechanics published a book, Debunking 9/11 Myths, to try to put an end to all the foolishness. Sen. John McCain wrote the forward. He put it as well as it can be put.
They ignore the methods of science, the protocols of investigation, the dictates of logic. The conspiracy theorists chase any bit of information, no matter how flimsy, and use it to fit their preordained conclusions. They ascribe to the government, or some secret group, powers wholly out of proportion to what the evidence suggests. And they ignore the facts that are present in plain sight.
We cannot let these tales go unanswered. The 9/11 conspiracy movement exploits the public’s anger and sadness. It shakes Americans’ faith in their government at a time when their faith is already near an all-time low. It traffics in ugly, unfounded accusations of extraordinary evil against fellow Americans.
NO MINDS CHANGED: In the almost two decades I have engaged with otherwise seemingly reasonable people who don’t believe a plane hit the Pentagon on September 11 and think that the official story is a government coverup, I have yet to have anyone say I changed his or her mind, even though I was there and saw the wreckage and there is no other plausible explanation for what happened to American Airlines Flight 77 after it took off from Dulles airport with 64 people on board.
In fact, after Popular Mechanics published its evidence-based book Debunking 9/11 Myths, instead of settling any argument, it was answered a few months later by Debunking 9/11 Debunking, a competing book that continues to promote a false narrative and confuse gullible members of the public. If you search on Amazon for the Popular Mechanics book, you’ll find the other book listed right next to it on the page.
The last poll I saw on the subject showed that millions of Americans, perhaps even a majority, continue to believe 9/11 conspiracy theories. To again quote the late John McCain: “Blaming some conspiracy theory within our government for the horrific attacks of September 11 mars the memories of all those lost that day … those innocent thousands who deserve to be remembered with honor and truth.”
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Kelly Jane Torrance (@kjtorrance). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
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HAPPENING TODAY: As the sun rose over the Pentagon this morning, workers unfurled a large 20-by-38-foot American flag over the side of the building where the plane hit, just as was done at 6:46 a.m. two days after the attacks 18 years ago.
At 8:45 a.m., Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford will host President Trump and the first lady at a remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon 9/11 National Memorial, which honors the 184 people who were killed both on the plane and in the building.
The ceremony is for the Pentagon community and not open to the public, but it will be streamed live at www.defense.gov/Watch/Live-Events.
Later in the day, Esper will host George W. Bush, who was president during the terrorist attacks, for a 1:15 p.m. wreath-laying at the Pentagon Memorial.
ALSO TODAY: I will be giving a lecture to a class of University of Maryland students who are too young to have any firsthand knowledge or memories of the day. I will be sharing my story and discussing the importance of fact-based, knowledge-based reporting and the need for all Americans to develop critical thinking skills at a time when so many people are out to deceive them.
I will be showing a clip from the documentary Behind the Curve, which profiles real people who appear to really believe the Earth is flat. I recommend it not to make fun of the people who fervently believe we round-Earthers are misguided but as a case study of how otherwise intelligent, normal, nice people cannot be dissuaded from holding a demonstrably false belief.
If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t win an argument with facts and reason, this documentary shows how we human beings have an almost infinite capacity for illogical, emotional thought. Faith, even in obvious fiction, trumps reason every time.
ANCIENT HISTORY: I will be talking to college students who were babies or toddlers at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. For them, and for the rest of us whose memories have faded, I’ll be recommending a book just out this week, The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, by Garrett M. Graff.
The book, based on since-declassified documents, is a vivid account of the events of the day, complete with charts and simple drawings that help explain what happened when and how. You can read the first chapter on Amazon.
AFTER BOLTON, WHO’S NEXT?: In his morning tweet yesterday announcing he was parting ways with national security adviser John Bolton, President Trump promised to name a replacement next week. For now, Bolton’s deputy Charles Kupperman will serve in an acting capacity, but he’s not expected to get the job.
On Fox News Channel yesterday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has worked hard to win Trump’s confidence even as they occasionally disagree on policy, says the president has mentioned three names to him: Keith Kellogg, Brian Hook, Rick Waddell.
“Keith Kellogg. He’s a retired general — competent, capable, confident, has the president’s trust. I like him a lot,” Graham told Fox’s Bret Baier. “Brian Hook is a dynamic young man working in the State Department, part of the Iran team in the State Department close to Pompeo.”
Graham said the third candidate, Rick Waddell, who worked for former national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, “knows the ins and outs of the National Security Council and the way it meets.”
“The one thing that I think was a knock on John Bolton is the interagency process kind of died on his watch,” Graham said. “What are we looking for? Somebody that can work with Pompeo, can work with the Department of Defense, that can get the interagency back — stood back up.”
OTHER NAMES MENTIONED: Over at the Center for the National Interest, Harry Kazianis is applauding Bolton’s firing as “overdue” and argues it’s a chance for Trump to pick someone who supports a “more restrained and realist foreign policy.”
“Trump is now free to find a national security adviser who is against wars of regime change, a smaller footprint in the Middle East, some sort of diplomatic track with North Korea and a much bigger focus on the rise of China,” Kazianis says. “Those were all things, in many instances, that Bolton and Trump clashed on.”
Kazianis says North Korea special representative Stephen Biegun could be a strong choice because he “already has decades of government and foreign policy expertise.” He also suggests Douglas Macgregor, “a favorite on Fox News and a retired U.S. Army colonel who is very much in line with Trump’s restrained foreign policy vision.”
THE WAR GOES ON: If there was any doubt that the war against ISIS is not close to being over, you need only watch the video released by Operation Inherent Resolve yesterday.
U.S. F-35s and F-15s dropped about 80,000 pounds of bombs on an Iraqi island in the Tigris River dubbed “ISIS Island” because so many ISIS fighters were believed to have holed up there hiding under thick vegetation.
“We’re denying [ISIS] the ability to hide on Qanus Island,” said Maj. Gen. Eric Hill, Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve commander, in a press release.
Iraqi Special Operations Forces are now conducting “follow-on ground clearance operations” to destroy what is described as “a major transit hub” for ISIS members moving from Syria and the Jazeera desert into Mosul, Makhmour, and the Kirkuk region.
IT’S OFFICIAL: On Monday, the White House sent to Congress the nominations for the two civilian service secretaries who will oversee the Army and the Air Force, just in time for tomorrow’s scheduled Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing.
“@DeptofDefense welcomes the @POTUS’ formal nomination of Barbara Barrett to be Secretary of the @usairforce & Ryan McCarthy to be Secretary of the @USArmy,” tweeted Secretary Esper yesterday. “They are the right people to lead America’s fine Airmen and Soldiers.”
“It is critically important for DOD’s senior leader nominees to be considered for confirmation swiftly so we can continue to implement the National Defense Strategy effectively & efficiently. I thank @SASCMajority & @SASCDems for continuing to work closely with us,” Esper said.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Bolton ouster stuns Congress
Washington Examiner: Ted Cruz: John Bolton ouster may signal ‘deep state forces’ winning fight to salvage Obama Iran deal
AP: Iran urges U.S. to ‘put warmongers aside’ after Bolton firing
Washington Examiner: Trump team says Iran maximum pressure policy won’t change, but some hawks worry
Reuters: U.S. Says Iran’s Failure to Address IAEA Concerns ‘Unacceptable’
Washington Post: Ex-Russian official thought to have spied for the U.S. was hiding in plain sight
Washington Times: CIA fears CNN spy report will endanger future missions
Military Times: Why the U.S. Needs to Improve Intelligence Sharing on Russian Military Activities With NATO Allies
Defense News: Thanks to Border Wall, ‘All-Out Brawl’ Looms Over Pentagon Spending Bill
AP: Philippines: China Wanted to Restrict Foreign Forces at Sea
CNN: U.S. Navy Adds Powerful New Missile in Pacific
Reuters: Canada Again Sails Warship Through Sensitive Taiwan Strait
The Diplomat: Russia’s New Nuclear Torpedo-Carrying Sub to Begin Sea Trials in June 2020
Stars and Stripes: In a First for Beijing in Europe, Serbia to Receive Chinese Armed Drones
Politico: Senator seeks independent probe of military’s use of Trump resort
Washington Examiner: The potential for a ‘miscalculated’ enemy cyberattack keeps me up at night, warns Pentagon cyber chief
Wall Street Journal: In Talks With North Korea, U.S. Faces New Chessboard
Washington Post: ‘Maybe this is how Vietnam vets felt’: Americans who fought in Afghanistan wait to see how their war ends
New York Times: Six Men Tell Their Stories of Sexual Assault in the Military
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 11
8:30 a.m. 2043 Rayburn. The Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discussion on “Light Attack Aviation: A Current Operational Partner Perspective,” with Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla.; Brig. Gen. Ziad Haykal, commander of the Lebanese Air Force; Afghanistan Col. Abdul Hadi Barakzai, military attaché at the embassy of Afghanistan; Phillip “Convoy” Clay, test pilot for the Navy’s Imminent Fury/Combat Dragon technology demonstration; and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem, research director at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org
8:45 a.m. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford host President Trump at a ceremony at the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial to honor the memory of those killed in the 2001 terrorist attack. Live streamed at www.defense.gov.
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies summit examining violent extremism in the Sahel region in Africa. www.csis.org/events
12 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. The Hudson Institute holds a discussion on “Reinforcing the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Alliance,” with former Taiwanese defense minister Michael Tsai; Mike Kuo, president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs; and Seth Cropsey, director of the Hudson Center for American Seapower. www.hudson.org/events
12 p.m. 1000 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Cato Institute discussion on “The Human Costs of War: Assessing Civilian Casualties since 9/11,” with Daphne Eviatar, director of the Amnesty International USA Security with Human Rights Program; Dan Mahanty, director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict U.S. Program; Emily Manna, policy analyst of Open the Government; and Christopher Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. www.cato.org/events
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 12
8 a.m. 2401 M Street N.W. Defense Writers Group breakfast, with R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu
8:30 a.m. 1777 F Street N.W. Council on Foreign Relations discussion with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on a progressive foreign policy vision and national security interests in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, with Margaret Talev, politics and White House editor at Axios. www.cfr.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen SD-G50. The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a confirmation hearing on the nominations of Ryan McCarthy to be Army secretary and Barbara Barrett to be Air Force secretary. www.armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. 1030 15th Street N.W. Atlantic Council discussion on “Political Crisis in Hong Kong and the Future of ‘One Country, Two Systems,'” with former U.S. consul general to Hong Kong and Macau Kurt Tong, partner at the Asia Group; former assistant treasury secretary for international affairs Clay Lowery, executive vice president of the Institute of International Finance; Richard Bush, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; Sarah Cook, senior research analyst for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House; and Olin Wethington, non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. www.atlanticcouncil.org/events
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Brookings Institution discussion on “The Counter-ISIS Coalition: Diplomacy and Security in Action,” with Brett McGurk, nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Middle East Program; Susan Glasser, staff writer at the New Yorker; and John Allen, president of the Brookings Institution. www.brookings.edu/events
2 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Hudson Institute discussion on “Defending the Baltics: Alternative Approaches,” with Latvian Defense Ministry State Secretary Janis Garisons; Stephen Flanagan, senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation; and Tod Lindberg, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. www.hudson.org
2 p.m. George Washington University holds a Korea Policy Forum with the theme “Next Steps in U.S.-Korea Economic Relations,” with Wendy Cutler, vice president and managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and Yonho Kim, associate director of the GWU Institute for Korean Studies. elliott.gwu.edu
3 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. N.W. Stimson Center discussion on “Lessons from Taiwan: Disinformation, Cybersecurity, and Energy Security.” www.stimson.org/content
3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on “Taiwan Goes to the Polls,” with Nathan Batto, associate research fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Political Science; Susan Lawrence, specialist in Asian affairs at the Congressional Research Service; and Scott Kennedy, senior adviser, China studies chair, and director of the CSIS Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy. www.csis.org/events
4 p.m. 1521 16th St. N.W. Institute of World Politics lecture on “The Fight So Far,” a “strategic review of the U.S. Government’s efforts against terrorism, both past and present,” with retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Nagata, former strategy director at the National Counterterrorism Center. www.iwp.edu/events
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 13
10 a.m. 1030 15th Street N.W. Atlantic Council discussion on “Hizballah and Iran’s Illicit Financial Networks,” with Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea. www.atlanticcouncil.org/events
10 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. N.W United States Institute of Peace discussion on “The Potential U.S.-Taliban Deal: A Step Forward for Peace in Afghanistan?” with Clare Lockhart, director and co-founder of the Institute for State Effectiveness; Barnett Rubin, associate director of the New York University Center for International Cooperation; Michael Semple, visiting professor at Queen’s University Belfast; Scott Worden, director of Afghanistan and Central Asia programs at USIP; and Nancy Lindborg, president of USIP. www.usip.org
MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 16
4:30 pm. 1740 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies hosts a session titled “American Diplomacy in a Disordered World” with former deputy secretary of state Ambassador William J. Burns and Eliot A. Cohen, dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS. www.eventbrite.com
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s good to have an open mind, but if your mind is too open, your brain can fall out.”
Unknown author, commenting on the propensity of humans to hold false beliefs despite clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
