The conspiracy kooks are coming out of the woodwork in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. According to information "obtained" by radio show host Hal Turner, divers have uncovered evidence that explosives were used to break the 17th Street Canal levee in New Orleans.
Also, according to an article by kook extraordinaire Ernesto Cienfuegos, this was accomplished by federal agents or military personnel who ended up in a firefight with New Orleans police.
Here's the whole story as I understand it... an Army Corp of Engineers diver inspecting the broken levee saw burn marks on the broken concrete. So, he "secreted" a small chunk of concrete in his diving suit and sent it to a "trusted" explosives expert at a military base in Georgia. This expert reported back that the burned concrete contained residue from "boron-enhanced fluoronitramino explosives as well as PBXN-111 embedded in the debris."
I'm not going to completely discount this rumor. The possibility exists that some nut-job sabotaged the levee. But let's face it... while it's possible, is it likely? How likely is it that a diver working in the murky waters around the levee could have even seen the burn marks? How likely is it that a saboteur could have rigged the explosives after the storm? I'm thinking the difficulties involved here would make it next to impossible.
As of September 12, Hal Turner's website includes a link to an ABC video in which a New Orleans resident claims city authorities blew open the levee. His evidence? He heard a loud "boom" as the levee broke. Of course... all other levee breaks are just whisper-quiet, right? I recall reading an interview with a farmer from the Midwest back during the flood of 1993. He described the sound of the levee (along the MS River) breaking as "...like a bomb going off..."
A leftist website claims that
"Members of the Bush Administration knew full well this catastrophe was coming. Which begs the question: Were the collapse of the 17th Street Canal and the Industrial Canal levees deliberate events? In light of all the evidence that's piling up, the conclusion would have to be 'yes'."
Still others claim that New Orleans city officials ordered the levee's sabotage so they could condemn the property via eminent domain and set up some kind of playground for the rich. Another group seems to believe that Vice President Dick Cheney and/or President Bush are behind it... so that Halliburton can reap billions of dollars in rebuilding contracts.
Yet still another bunch attributes it to racism. They think that either federal or city authorities "did it" because the area hardest hit by the flood is the mostly black and poverty-stricken 9th Ward.
One website I visited claims that a barge found inside the formerly protected area was intentionally placed there by "Bush operatives" to cover the fact that President Bush had the levee sabotaged. They of course denounce any possibility that a barge might have come unmoored during the storm and slammed into the levee, causing both the aforementioned "boom" and the break. After all, who ever heard of a barge actually being in a barge canal? This website also blames President Bush for the September 11th attacks and they blame the elder Bush for the Oklahoma City bombing. Do you see a pattern here?
All of these kooks have two things in common. One is that they despise President Bush. Secondly, they use vague supposition as a foundation for their claims, then bury that supposition under tons of questionable evidence and political rhetoric. If the 17th Street Canal Levee was indeed sabotaged, rumor-mongers like these could easily cause any real investigation to become not only more difficult but mired in political scandal.
What's next?
Will we hear that Halliburton had a submarine in the canal and just torpedoed the levee after the storm?
Or maybe the Japanese were miffed over Bush not signing the Kyoto Accord so they sent Godzilla up the canal?
Perhaps Ted Kennedy was enjoying a bourbon whilst walking along the levee and just fell in? Hm... that would do it.
Or maybe Mohammed Atta drove that mysterious barge through the levee, and then miraculously escaped undetected?
Maybe I did it just so I'd have something to write about?
To be sure, if the levee was sabotaged whoever is responsible should be punished in the most severe manner. But at this point the blame game bears a disturbing resemblance to a game of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey." Or more accurately, "Pin the Tail on the GOP Elephant." There's one other thing these conspiracy nuts have in common: They all want attention. Unfortunately, they usually get it.
SOURCES:
(http://www.halturnershow.com/)
(http://www.aztlan.net/new_orleans_land_grab.htm)
(http://www.iraqwar.mirror-world.ru/article/62600)
Alan Burkhart is a freelance political writer, cross-country trucker, and proud citizen of the reddest of the Red States - Mississippi. You can reach him via e-mail at: alan@alanburkhart.com or by visiting his website: www.alanburkhart.com.
