"The business of buying weapons that takes place in the Pentagon is a corrupt business — ethically and morally corrupt from top to bottom. The process is dominated by advocacy, with few, if any, checks and balances. Most people in power like this system of doing business and do not want it changed." – Colonel James G. Burton (1993, 232)

In countries such as the United States, whose economies are commonly, though inaccurately, described as "capitalist" or "free-market," war and preparation for war systematically corrupt both parties to the state-private transactions by which the government obtains the bulk of its military goods and services.

On one side, business interests seek to bend the state's decisions in their favor by corrupting official decision-makers with outright and de facto bribes. The former include cash, gifts in kind, loans, entertainment, transportation, lodging, prostitutes' services, inside information about personal investment opportunities, overly generous speaking fees, and promises of future employment or "consulting" patronage for officials or their family members, whereas the latter include campaign contributions (sometimes legal, sometimes illegal), sponsorship of political fund-raising events, and donations to charities or other causes favored by the relevant government officials.

Reports of this sort of corruption appear from time to time in the press under the rubric of "military scandal" (see, for example, Biddle 1985, Wines 1989, Hinds 1992, "National Briefing" 2003, Pasztor and Karp 2004, Colarusso 2004, Calbreath and Kammer 2005, Wood 2005, Babcock 2006, Ross 2006, and "Defense Contractor Guilty in Bribe Case" 2006). On the other, much more important side, the state corrupts business people by effectively turning them into co-conspirators in and beneficiaries of its most fundamental activity — plundering the general public.

Bush is correct that it will work – indeed, the surge is working. We have to be clear about how the plan works. It does not mean that 21,500 more US troops will bring order and stability to Iraq. The surge is working, because it is deflecting attention from the Bush Regime’s real game plan.

The real game plan is to orchestrate a war with Iran and to initiate wider conflict in the Middle East before public and military pressure forces the Bush Regime to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

Two US carrier attack groups have been deployed to the Persian Gulf. US missile systems are being sent to oil producing countries to counter any incoming missiles from Iran should any survive the US attack. Israeli pilots have been training for an attack on Iran. US war doctrine has been changed to permit pre-emptive nuclear attack on non-nuclear countries. US attack aircraft have been deployed at bases in Turkey. A neocon admiral who attends AIPAC events has been made commander in chief of US forces in the Middle East. Obviously, the ground war in Iraq and Afghanistan are not the focus of the Bush Regime’s new military deployments. The Bush Regime is focused on attacking Iran.

9/11 and World Trade Center Issues

911 Mysteries, Part I: Demolitions

This is a public domain streaming version 9/11 Truth documentary produced, directed and narrated by writer Sophia Shafquat and sold as a DVD by Amazon.com and other retailers. It takes no position, choosing instead to present the cold, hard facts, including data, still photographs and video clips and then ask incisive questions for the viewer to think about and answer. (By Sophia Shafquat, 2006.) Film duration is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Link to the streaming video=>

LC Editor’s Comment: A suggestion -- Liberty Calling readers should consider viewing this video before going on to read the technical articles in this section in order to acquire the necessary background. I’d also recommend listening to her radio interview on the “Truth to Power Hour.” (MP3 format)

Why Indeed did the WTC Buildings Completely Collapse

In this paper, I call for a serious investigation of the hypothesis that WTC 7 and the Twin Towers were brought down, not just by impact damage and fires, but through the use of pre-positioned cutter-charges. I consider the official FEMA, NIST, and 9-11 Commission reports that fires plus impact damage alone caused complete collapses of all three buildings. And I present evidence for the controlled-demolition hypothesis, which is suggested by the available data, and can be tested scientifically, and yet has not been analyzed in any of the reports funded by the US government. (Stephen E. Jones, Ph.D., Journal of 9/11 Studies, September 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Consider this article to be a companion piece to Gordon Ross’ article, which is next. When Jones’ results are combined with Ross’s results, we have a viable, simple explanation for the collapsing of the WTC building that fits all of the hard evidence. By contrast, the explanations offered by the White House, NIST, FEMA and those structural engineers and demolition companies that adhere to the notion that the structural damage caused by the impacts of the planes and subsequent fires brought down WTC 1, 2 and 7 fail to explain all of evidence.

How the Towers were Demolished

The demolition of the WTC towers was achieved using a four-phase attack. These attacks weakened the tower structure, initiated the collapse, progressed the collapse, and finally completed the collapse. In this study I intend to show how the collapse of the towers was deliberately caused by the use of explosive and or incendiary devices placed at identified points within the structure. To show a viable explanation for the collapse it is necessary to identify the mechanisms and processes and by reference to the towers' structure and the visual evidence, show the cause and effect of all of the relevant phenomena which was observed. I intend to show cause and effect for the known phenomena and also to identify and show cause for some other, less well known phenomena of the collapse. (By Gordon Ross, August 2006, at http://gordonssite.tripod.com/id2.html). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: Gordon Ross holds degrees in both Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineeering, graduating from Liverpool Joh Moores University, in 1984. Mr. Ross is a regular contributor to The Journal of 9/11 Studies. He can be contacted at gordonjross@yahoo.com. Ross points out in his article that “the key to understanding the collapse of the towers is in their design, most notably how the elements carried the load and interactedwith each other.” He shows that by mounting explosive and cutter charges before 9/11 in such a way as to disconnect the four major structural elements of each tower from each other and firing these charges in a precise sequence separated into four distinct phases, the perpetrators would have been able to collapse each building with relative ease. Ross then shows that the photographic evidence that supports his proposed model.

911: WTC Building Collapse --- Acceleration Study Proves Explosive Demolition

Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.

Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.

Senior House Democrats said yesterday that they will attempt to derail funding for President Bush's proposal to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, setting up what could become the most significant confrontation between the White House and Congress over military policy since the Vietnam War.

Senate Democrats at the same time will seek bipartisan support for a nonbinding resolution opposing the president's plan, possibly as early as next week, in what some party officials see as the first step in a strategy aimed at isolating Bush politically and forcing the beginning of a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from the conflict.