Ruppert Addresses Private, Mostly Muslim Group in New York; Reports Israel Did Not Perpetrate 9-11 Attacks

by Greta Knutzen, FTW Canadian Correspondent

Long Island, N.Y., April 30, 2002 (FTW) -- Michael C. Ruppert, FTW editor and publisher, delivered here on April 27 his 12th lecture titled, "Truth and Lies of 9-11."

During the two-and-a-half-hour lecture held at a Holiday Inn, Ruppert detailed the mounting and irrefutable evidence proving U.S. government foreknowledge of 9-11; the obvious inconsistencies of the official line dictated by the U.S. and dutifully relayed through mainstream media institutions; the evidence suggesting that the "war against terror" is fronting a U.S. imperial agenda aimed at securing the worldÕs oil resources; and the dependence of the global economy and financial markets on drug money. Ruppert presented this evidence to a gathering of 100 professional men and women including doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers and academics. Many were Muslim.

The private lecture was organized and funded by Dr. Faiz Khan and Dr. John Kahoun. Both men specialize in emergency medicine and experienced, first-hand, the destruction that occurred on Sept. 11. Khan explained the decision to invite Ruppert to present a private lecture to their associates and peers was motivated by the belief that "the more people who know [the truth behind] what is going on, the better."

The goal shared by Khan and Kahoun was to present a "highly educational evening that promised to provoke serious re-examination of paradigms used to interpret the current state of affairs," Khan said. He made it clear the decision to host RuppertÕs lecture was not motivated by Islamic, leftist, or progressive impulses. RuppertÕs investigative journalism instinctively resonated with Khan, who first learned about Ruppert through the FTW website. RuppertÕs research and analysis appealed to Khan because, he said, it transcends party-political division, religious preference and racial difference, and simply seeks the truth.

Khan and Kahoun intentionally limited the size of the audience, and intended to use the private event as a litmus test designed to gauge the reaction to RuppertÕs lecture among their friends and peers. Khan and Kahoun hope the interest generated by the event will in turn generate the capital and support necessary to fund a public forum in New York, wherein Ruppert will be invited to deliver his lecture to a much larger audience. Khan stated frankly, "The best way to facilitate the truth is to help provide capital [for a cause you deem worthwhile]. Mike Ruppert has done all the legwork, what he needs is capital. Facilitating a worthwhile enterprise through funding is the easy way to contribute and act."

The Long Island audience responded positively to Ruppert and the evidence he presented -- many wanted to know when and where he would be speaking next. Attorney Raymond D. Kohlman, who presently serves as a legal consultant to the government of Pakistan, witnessed the positive response to the lecture and thought it very likely Ruppert would be returning to New York before long.

In 1999, Kohlman and his law partner, Dr. William Pepper, successfully represented the family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a lawsuit claiming the civil rights leader was the victim of a murder conspiracy involving the U.S. government and not a lone assassin. The many years Kohlman has spent defending controversial clients such as Bill Tyree, has taught him "what the government is capable of." Reacting to RuppertÕs lecture, Kohlman said, "it sits very well," adding the true value lay in the audiencesÕ ability to take the factual information given by Ruppert and "start their own search."

The information and analysis included in RuppertÕs lecture was unfettered by ideological bias and offered a unique and accurate map of how the world works. Ruppert delivered a frank assessment, based on the evidence of the precise nature of Israeli connections to 9-11. Ruppert detailed evidence that supports the conclusion that, while Israeli intelligence sources had learned of impending attacks, they promptly informed the U.S., which did nothing to stop them. Ruppert stressed there is no evidence to suggest Israel perpetrated the 9-11 attacks. Ruppert made it clear he believes Israeli Prime Minister Ariel SharonÕs government may be blackmailing the Bush Administration, because the Israelis have evidence that the Americans had foreknowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks and did nothing to stop them. This blackmail, according to Ruppert, is what has given Sharon the leverage he needs to "act like an 800-pound gorilla in Palestine."

Arshad Majid, a junior partner of a prominent law firm in New York, attended RuppertÕs lecture. In addition, Majid opened a production company this year, Tiger Eye Productions, which produces documentaries and hard news programs. Majid, who was employed for many years as an assistant district attorney and prosecutor for the state of New York, said the various theories circulating within the Muslim community concerning the extent of Israeli involvement in 9-11 run the gamut, including the theory propagated in right-wing and some Middle Eastern circles, claiming 9-11 was the direct result of a Mossad operation.

Majid said Ruppert was the first journalist many had heard who presented evidence that Israeli intelligence had in fact warned the U.S. of pending attacks, and, he said, Ruppert provided information that encouraged people to think for themselves and begin asking the right questions of their government. Kohlman stated many people seek "to blame the Muslim community for the events of Sept. 11, and Ruppert gives [Muslims] information they can use" to defend themselves against the tide of disinformation.

Everyone in the audience stayed for the entire lecture, and most stayed in their seats for an additional hour-and-a-half to listen and participate in the "questions and answers" part of the event. Ruppert said after the lecture he "was pleasantly surprised that the questions indicated a general consensus that the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East was secondary to the broader issues of 9-11."

Khan and KahounÕs written invitation to their guests at RuppertÕs lecture encouraged the attendance of anyone "wishing to live up to the responsibilities of true American citizenship -- echoed in the intents of the founders of this nation, who explicitly and implicitly stated that the citizen should forever remain a watchdog over her/his government."

Within the present socio-political context, debate regarding adequate definitions of the terms "democracy" and "patriotism" is not merely an academic exercise. Since Sept. 11, traditional definitions of patriotism and democracy have been compromised by the sweeping measures curtailing civil liberties enacted by the U.S. government in response to acts of terrorism.

The sentiment implied within the Patriot Act and reiterated in the speeches of President Bush and members of his administration distil the concept of patriotism into stark binary terms defined by the now familiar sound-bite, "you are either with us, or you are with the terrorists." The weight of law behind these words was evidenced by the detention of approximately 1,400 non-U.S. nationals, many from Muslim and Middle Eastern countries, who were detained by the U.S. government without explanation in the months following Sept. 11.

According to some sources, most of them are still incarcerated, seven months after the attacks with no charges having been filed against them. An Amnesty International report released in March stated many of the 300 individuals it had documented as still in custody continue to be deprived of their human rights in violation of international law. The exact number of incarcerated Muslims, held for no other reason than their religion and ethnicity, remains unclear as many thousands are being held in a limbo state over immigration paperwork and can neither be deported, nor released until the Immigration and Naturalization Service addresses their status.