Conspiracy theories have their uses. They explain the otherwise
inexplicable. They confirm beliefs and prejudices, no matter how
screwy. They also allow true believers to feel superior to everyone
else because they think they have inside knowledge. Usually
conspiracy theories are based on a few stray facts that are then
woven together to uphold a grand design, but they may also be based
on nothing more than the desire to believe in a conspiracy.
Consider, for example, the theory that American right-wingers
orchestrated the attacks on Sept. 11. There are no facts at all to
support this, but it is widely believed in France.
According to the New York Times</>, the book
L’Effroyable Imposture, or the “The
Horrifying Fraud,” is now at the top of French best-seller
lists. It says the Pentagon was hit by a guided missile fired on
the orders of U.S. government right-wingers. It also says the same
government right-wingers programmed the two jetliners that flew
into the World Trade Center. Osama bin Laden, the book insists, was
blameless.
Apparently the French press has dismissed the book as fantasy,
but no matter. It has sold more than 200,000 copies, while foreign
publishing rights have been sold in 16 countries. A Spanish edition
is already on sale. Meanwhile the book’s author, one Thierry
Meyssan, whom the Times described as a “former theology
student” who “dabbled in leftist politics,” has also traveled to
Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to argue his case about the
right-wing conspiracy.
But much, and probably most, of the Arab world — it depends on
which poll you read — is convinced that Sept. 11 was a Jewish
conspiracy. You may take it for granted, though, that inventive
minds are now weaving the two conspiracy theories together, and
using the one to uphold the other. Meyssan says, for instance, that
photographs of the Pentagon crash site did not show any jetliner
wreckage; therefore a missile and not a jetliner was responsible
for the disaster. Arab conspiracy theorists can now incorporate
this, while still arguing, of course, that Jews were behind the
attack.
Meanwhile the Times calls Meyssan “an unlikely
purveyor” of screwball theories, but surely that’s not correct.
Meyssan, in fact, is a poster boy for conspiracy theorists. Since
he is a former theology student, we may assume his God has failed.
And as the Times reported, he has dabbled in leftist
politics. And, as the Times also reported, in 1994 he
formed a “political research company.” Among other things, its
website fights homophobia, and campaigns against Jean-Marie Le
Pen’s right-wing National Front.
So think of a disappointed theology student who embraces leftist
politics, and considers himself a political researcher. Already he
is a candidate for the lunatic fringe. Then he concludes, as
Meyssan does in his book, that the right-wingers who organized the
Sept. 11 attacks were planning a coup unless Bush agreed to go to
war to protect their oil interests. Voila! He is no longer
just a candidate for the lunatic fringe; he is a member in good
standing.
But does Meyssan actually believe what he writes, or he does he
just want to serve the left, and doesn’t care how he does it? Or,
as Oliver Stone apparently did when he made JFK, is he
only working out his personal problems?
Most likely, all of the above are more or less true. Meyssan
wants to serve the left, and does not really care how he serves it.
At the same time, he no doubt is also working out some personal
problems. But that does not mean he does not believe what he says.
Meyssan looked at a photograph of the Pentagon crash site, and saw
what he wanted to see. Then everything else probably fell into
place almost immediately. A little imagination, the will to
believe, and yes, it’s screwy, but there you are: 200,000 books and
still counting.
