Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee's Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory

As mentioned in previous reviews, I find Griffin's books dealing with the destruction of the World Trade Center and other events of 9/11 profoundly important and completely convincing. Although I have not read them all, the two that I have reviewed for Amazon, "Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11" (reviewed July 16, 2013) and "9/11 Ten Years Later" (reviewed August 10), share in the general superior quality of Griffin's presentation.There is an inevitable redundancy in Griffin's narratives. As the evidence accumulates that the "official conspiracy theory" produced by the government's "9/11 Commission" is a complete fabrication, and yet the mainline media flagrantly ignore this evidence, Griffin and others in the 9/11 Truth Movement feel compelled to continue to reiterate the obvious in the hope that somehow, somewhere, there will be a breakthrough. I am very familiar with that feeling. Both as a parent and as a teacher, I often found myself trying "just once more" to get a point across by repetition despite the obvious "psychic deafness" of those I was trying to inform and persuade. The only reason I did not award this book five stars is that I believe that redundancy could be a bit "off-putting" to the "already convinced".This book is in fact written as a rebuttal of an essay entitled "Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures" which was published in the Journal of Political Philosophy in July, 2009 by Cass R. Sunstein, co-authored by Adrian Vermuele. As Griffin notes in his introduction, Sunstein has extraordinary credentials, having been the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University, and subsequently named by President Obama as the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.On the surface, or "exoterically" as Griffin explains, Sunstein's essay is totally lacking in either scholarly integrity or legal validity. As other commentators have asserted, it can only serve to throw a terrible pall over this law professor's entire academic credibility. Sunstein's main recommendation, which is what gives rise to the title of Griffin's book, is that the government should attempt "cognitive infiltration" of a group proposing an alternative "conspiracy theory" to the officially accepted story - in this case, of course, the 9/11 Truth Movement. This would, presumably, involve placing federal undercover agents into various branches of the Movement in an attempt to either sway their beliefs or neutralize their efforts by causing dissention and confusion.After a point-by-point analysis of Sunstein's entire essay, in which he suggests the possibility that it is a cleverly-coded statement of the exact opposite of what it purports to be, and is in fact a clandestine attack NOT on the Truth Movement but rather on the "9/11 Commission Conspiracy Theory", however, Griffin admits that this is rather more wishful thinking than reality. In his concluding comment, though, he says:"In view of the falsity of Sunstein's argument and the illegality of his proposals, must defenders of the official 9/11 conspiracy theory not ask themselves: If this is the best plan for dealing with the growing influence of the 9/11 Truth Movement that can be devised by `the pre-eminent legal scholar of our time,' is it not time to throw in the towel?"It has been my profound hope since the election of President Obama that there would indeed by a new, TRULY INDEPENDENT commission appointed to re-open the investigation of the alleged Al Qaeda attacks of 9/11. I read and was convinced by Griffin's masterful "Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11" BEFORE the 2008 election that eliminated the immediate threat of the neocons of the Bush-Cheney administration. I have been profoundly saddened that no such effort appears to have occurred, and indeed, that such things as the Patriot Act and the predations of Homeland Security and the NSA have perhaps even escalated on domestic soil, while the drone program and other abuses have not abated in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Unlike the conspiracy to murder President Kennedy, which only now on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of that event is beginning to receive some major attention, the 9/11 event was not so much an act of private ambition and/or revenge, but truly a SCAD - a state crime against democracy. As such, I believe, it is absolutely essential that the truth be investigated and discussed, if we have any hope whatsoever of salvaging the political soul of the United States of America.

I have finished reading the book purchased here and it belongs in a tight stack of DRG's other books as a heroic, scholarly, well-researched, superbly-argued body of work and a wake-up call for the world's people, media, and the American voter. Todd Fletcher discusses the book et al on KPFA's "Guns and Butter" here: [...] .Footnote #128, page 166, from "Cognitive Infiltration" by David Ray Griffin:"Beyond the problems in Sunstein's alternative account of a crippled epistemology discussed in the text, there is a deeper problem, which lies in the very concept of "crippled epistemologies". Being derived from episteme, which is the Greek word for knowledge, and the suffix "ology", which signifies "the study of" or "doctrine of", epistemology means the doctrine or study of knowledge. As such, it is a branch of philosophy. It is, in particular, one of the two major branches of metaphysics; the other is ontology, the study of being. To engage in epistemology is to ask about the nature of knowledge, the difference between knowledge and (mere) opinion, how knowledge is acquired, and so on. To "have am epistemology" is to have a doctrine or theory about such matters. If philosophers would ever say of someone that he or she had a "crippled epistemology", they would mean that this person, probably another philosopher, had a poor theory of knowledge. They would not, in other words, use this phrase to indicate that someone had inadequate knowledge about the world - that this person was, in short, ignorant.This, however, is how Sunstein uses the term, defining it as having "a sharply limited number of (relevant) informational sources" or "know[ing] very few things", most of which are wrong.The confusion inherent in Sunstein's concept of "crippled epistemologies" was taken over from Russell Hardin's essay, "The Crippled Epistemology of Extremism" (in Political Extremism and Rationality, ed. Albert Breton, Gianluigo Galeotti, Pierre Salmon, and Ronald Wintrobe [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002]. 3-22). While Hardin is an astute thinker in his field, which is political philosophy, he treats the issues involved in epistemology in a careless and confused manner. For one thing, he simply equates "knowledge" and "beliefs", even though beliefs cannot be counted as knowledge unless they are justified - meaning that the person has good reasons for holding them - and also true, meaning that they correspond to reality: Knowledge is justified true belief. Hardin knows that this is the standard view in philosophical epistemology, but he dismisses it, saying that what interests him as a social scientist is "the ways people come to hold their beliefs" (4-5). He is, in other words, not interested in epistemology, which is a normative discipline, dealing with knowledge, but in the sociology of belief formation. This is an important and fascinating subject, but it is not epistemology, so it is unfortunate that Hardin coined the term "crippled epistemology," because he thereby used a normative discipline's name for a sociological description.His blurring of the distinction is illustrated in a passage in which, after pointing out that philosophers might say that "those who assert the truth of some particular view have inadequate grounds for their assertions," Hardin dismisses this concern by saying: "But this is a claim from standard philosophical epistemology. In their own epistemology, [those people] may genuinely suppose that they do have grounds" (10). Of course they may suppose this, but this doesn't mean that they actually have good grounds for their beliefs, and it certainly does not mean that they "have an epistemology".To justify his ignoring of traditional epistemological distinctions and concerns, Hardin says: "Most of us do not have the time or incentive to be deeply committed philosophers or scientists and we need not even suspect that there is anything questionable about our beliefs" (10). That is true. But if one is not interested in epistemology, one should not use the word. If one is interested in the sociology of belief, there is a perfectly good term for this area of interest: "sociology of belief" (often misnamed "sociology of knowledge").In any case, Hardin's ignoring of necessary distinctions led him to speak of "crippled epistemology" when he was simply talking about a crippled (distorted) process of belief-formation, meaning one that is likely to result in ignorance and hence a false-belief system. It would have been better if Hardin and Sunstein, if they wanted to use the term "crippled," had simply spoken of a "crippled process of belief-formation." This would not have been so catchy, but it would have had the virtue of accuracy."Aside from mastering the logical, ethical, evidence-based, propagandist and other aspects of the events and their cover-up(s), Dr. Griffin ought to be respected for his warmth, wit and humanity. He has done the nation a great service. Buy not only this book but all his books on 9/11 and you will have the knowledge to understand the nation's most pressing political and foreign affairs issue of this quarter-century.

Another great book by DavidRay Griffin regarding the 911 inside job and the threat posed by the truth movement. The government are so concerned with this movement exposing them that they must find a way to bring it down.

Soberly and carefully written: well worth reading.

Obama's 'Information Czar' appointee, a Harvard law professor and a personal friend, Cass Sunstein, is administrator of the White House Office of Information. In 2009 Sunstein published "Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures," in which he suggested propaganda against the people and, eventually, elimination! The article led to an outcry by civil libertarians of all political stripes, who especially singled out for protest Sunstein's call to make talking about conspiracy theories illegal; for covert "cognitive infiltration" by government agents; and even taxing or fining publishers for writing or printing material deemed to be conspiracy theory material! Sunstein says that "9/11 conspiracy theories" are his main focus. Sunstein has called for what is a "Counter Intelligence Program" directed specifically against the 9/11 truth movement! In this excellent book "COGNITIVE INFILTRATION", David Ray Griffin penetrates the obfuscation and phony scholarship employed by Sunstein to create the illusion of a rational critique of the 9/11 truth movement's alternative account of the events of September 11, 2001. Griffin demonstrates that Sunstein is completely unable to refute the major positions of the 9/11 truth movement, and doesn't actually even try to do so. Instead, Sunstein has produced a fake "analysis" as a basis for a call for the government to infiltrate and neutralize the movement through activities which create "cognitive diversity," clearly not the least bit different from the FBI's Cointelpro operations of the 1950's and 1960's. But in so doing Sunstein has provided Griffin the means to demonstrate yet again that defenders of the official account of 9/11 are forced to resort to disinformation, suppression of evidence, lies, illogic, threats and intimidation, always with the same result: failure. The more people study the events of 9/11 the more certain they become that the government and its media outlets are lying. Griffin's COGNITIVE INFILTRATION is a lucid and compelling exposure of the contempt held by the official defenders of the 9/11 myth for dissenters who have seen through their Big Lie. These officials expect that no one will be able to penetrate the murk of Sunstein's latest defense of the pretext for the US wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq, now covertly expanding into many other countries. But with David Ray Griffin's book, everyone who is concerned with bringing their carnage and criminality to a stop, as well as to reverse the rapid erosion of civil liberties in this country, will have no difficulty remaining clear-headed in the face of the "cognitive infiltration" carried out by the holders of high office and their agents. Tod Fletcher is thanked for his help on this matter. David Ray Griffin's works will illuminate things that won't sit well with some people.

Vielleicht ist dieses Buch unter rein schriftstellerischen Gesichtspunkten kein Glanzstück. Dies zu beurteilen, reichen meine Englischkenntnisse nicht aus. Seine Lektüre verlangt einem bisweilen Geduld und Verständnis für scheinbare Längen ab, die man erst dann als notwendige Formulierungen versteht, wenn man sich bewusst macht, dass der Autor ein Geisteswissenschaftler, mithin ein Wissenschaftstheoretiker und ein Logiker ist. Und was bekommt man heraus für die Mühen? Einen Weckruf zurück in die Demokratie, in der jeder frei seine Meinung äussern kann, in der es keine Oberaufsicht im "Ministerium für Wahrheit" über die Denkrichtungen gibt, denen man anhängt. Während aus der islamischen Welt tatsächlich kulturelle Bedrohungen auf "den Westen" zukommen könnten, droht sich zwischen den USA und Europa ein Graben aufzutun, so dass man sich in Europa einen "bedingungslosen" Schulterschluss gut überlegen sollte. In den USA ist die Regierung bereits soweit, dass sie sich allen Ernstes dazu raten lässt, diejenigen Kreise, die Zweifel an den offiziellen Erklärungen zu den Ereignissen des 11. September 2001 hegen, "kognitiv" zu "infiltrieren". Eine Bankrotterklärung der Debattenkultur und gleichzeitig ein Menetekel für das, was da noch kommen könnte, wenn die selbsternannte Führungskaste des Westens weiter durch Enthüllungen in die Enge einer gewissen ethischen Erklärungsnot getrieben wird. Angesichts der vielen bürgerlichen Freiheiten, die in den USA im Zeichen von 9/11 bereits kassiert wurden, ist das Mitziehen mit all den Bushs und Obamas, die den Bürgern Wahrung ihrer Sicherheit versprechen, ein Spiel mit dem Feuer und eigentlich das, wovor uns aus offiziellen Kreisen immer wieder Angst gemacht wird: Eben jene Verliererstrasse, auf der wir nach und nach exakt die Werte aufgeben, von denen wir behaupten, sie hätten uns so gross und erfolgreich gemacht und sie könnten uns nun durch Übelgesinnte streitig gemacht werden. Ein dreifaches Bravo dem Autor für seine analytische Schärfe und seine kerzengerade Haltung! Und seine intellektuelle Tiefgründigkeit, aus deren Fundus er eine Betrachtungsweise generiert, mit dem der "Hassprediger" Cass Sunstein geradezu vorgeführt wird und die dadurch fast kabarettistische Züge trägt, ist sozusagen das Sahnehäubchen obendrauf und belebt die Lektüre auf ihre ganz eigene Art. Lustig wäre das allerdings nur zu nennen, wenn die vielen Toten, die der 11. September gefordert hat, nicht eine so verdammt ernste Angelegenheit wären.

Sobre las técnicas directas e indirectas del sistema político-económico-militar para manejar a su antojo la información a través de los medios de comunicación, tanto oficiales como privados.