Yet again, life imitates The Onion. An opinion article published by Inspire, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s English-language magazine, accuses Iran of promoting 9/11 Truther theories that the US government, and not al Qaeda, was behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Iranian president has been at the forefront of promoting the Truther conspiracies, most recently at the United Nations. The AQAP article brings to mind The Onion’s classic spoof on an al Qaeda leader refuting a Truther [the video is embedded above].
The Inspire article is reprinted in full, below. It is titled “Iran and the Conspiracy Theories,” and is written by Abu Suhail.
There have been plenty of conspiracy theories surrounding the events of 9/11. These conspiracy theorists believe that the U.S. government manufactured the attacks while others believe that it was the Israeli Mossad who was behind them. They site claims such as the Pentagon was not hit by a plane but by a rocket, and that the World Trade center building number seven was brought down by a controlled demolition. The prescribers to these theories have been some scattered individuals here and there who do not posses the research capabilities and capacities that are only available to governments. However, there has been one exception: the government of Iran.
The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al Qaeda was behind 9/11 but rather, the U.S. government. So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?
Since the start of the Iranian revolution, Iran wanted to project an image of anti-Americanism. This would serve as a rallying call for the millions of Muslims around the world who despise America for its aggression against them. Iran played this card very well and garnered a lot of support among the Muslims as being the country that is willing to stand up to America.
If Iran was genuine in its animosity towards the U.S., it would be pleased to see another entity striking a blow at the Great Satan but that’s not the case. For Iran, anti-Americanism is merely a game of politics. It is anti-America when it suits it and it is a collaborator with the U.S. when it suits it, as we have seen in the shameful assistance Iran gave to the U.S. in its invasion of Afghanistan and in the Shi`a of Iraq, backed by Iran, bringing the American forces into the country and welcoming them with open arms.
Therefore with 9/11, the Iranians saw a great operation that had brought damage to the U.S. like nothing they had ever dreamed of causing during their two decades in power. For them, al Qaeda was a competitor for the hearts and minds of the disenfranchised Muslims around the world. Al Qaeda, an organization under fire, with no state, succeeded in what Iran couldn’t. Therefore it was necessary for the Iranians to discredit 9/11 and what better way to do so? Conspiracy theories.
Iran and the Shi`a in general do not want to give al Qaeda credit for the greatest and biggest operation ever committed against America because this would expose their lip-service jihad against the Great Satan.
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
2 Comments
This is quite entertaining. Its the ‘propaganda war’ equivalent of The Marx Brothers vs The 3 Stooges.
Interesting how they go with the Salafist stance against the Shia, yet AQ core is “working” with Iran. A little disconnect there.