Sept. 11 skeptics to meet in Chandler

Hundreds of people who believe the government has hidden the truth about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks plan to gather in Chandler later this month. “We don’t believe we’ve been told the whole truth about what happened on that dreadful day,” said Pete Creelman, a former city planner turned small-businessman and member of Phoenix-based 911 Truth of Arizona.

The group will host the 9/11 Accountability: Strategies and Solutions Conference Friday through Sunday at the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort in Chandler.

The conference will include keynote speakers, panel discussions, strategy workshops and a documentary film marathon.

There are plenty of differing theories on what happened on Sept. 11. One is that government-planted bombs, not terrorist-hijacked jetliners, brought down the Twin Towers. And another is that an air-to-air missile shot down United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

“As many people as there are in the movement, there are probably that many beliefs,” said California-based filmmaker Penny Little, who will appear as a panelist and whose film, “911: Dust and Deceit at the WTC,” will be featured at the conference. But amid the varied theories float common disbeliefs — mainly that the federal government has withheld information about the attacks. That distrust of the government is often the common thread among groups such as 911 Truth, said David Altheide, a regents professor at Arizona State University’s School of Justice and Social Inquiry.

“First of all, we have a lot of popular culture ... media that are entertainment oriented and they celebrate the mistrust in government,” Altheide said. Creelman and other skeptics say there are too many holes in the 9/11 Commission’s “whitewash job” and plan to talk about strategies for forcing the truth out of the government during their conference. He said he doesn’t have proof of the government’s complicity, however. And if he did: “I’d have to worry about my life, probably,” Creelman said.

The local group is one of many nationwide that have sprouted since the attacks nearly six years ago to question the federal government’s role in the attacks. The group meets twice a month in both Phoenix and Mesa. And these groups end up being a hobby of sorts for their members, Altheide said. “These kinds of communication communities provide one to have membership,” Altheide said. “In this sense, they have much in common with concert-goers. And also, it’s fun. You’re sort of an insider in a special group.”

One popular belief within the movement is that authorities allowed the attacks to occur as part of a larger “false flag operation” aimed at scaring the public into supporting tighter government controls and invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

“It seems to me the fear of terrorism is the new (fear of) communism,” Creelman said.

Nearly 300 people have already purchased tickets to the three-day conference and organizers are hoping to double that with tickets sold at the door. The event will include speakers known nationally within the movement, as well as entertainment.