>
North Carolina Wesleyan College
Spring 2005
(POL 495) 911 The Road to Tyranny
Professor Jane T. Christensen
Office: HBB Hardee Bldg., Tel. 252-985-5118
Office Hrs.: Monday 10:10-12:00, Tuesday/Thursday 11:10-1:00, and by appointment
Homepage URL: http://faculty.ncwc.edu/Jchristensen/email: jchristensen@ncwc.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The events of September 11, 2001, indisputably changed the course of American politics and history. This course is offered so students may examine various events and policies leading to 911. In particular, this course will focus largely on the specific destruction in lower Manhattan and the Pentagon. We will examine the official story and analyze it critically. We will consider alternative explanations of what occurrred as well. 911 was a catalyst for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the attack on civil liberties in the United States. We will examine each of these with a critical eye. The goal of this course is to arrive at a solid understanding of how 911 has shaped our political future and to promote critical analysis by students of this catastrophic event and its aftermath.
This course is outside the scope of traditional "political science" in many ways. First it is "unscientific" in that it relies much on eyewitness accounts and speculation. Secondly, there is not yet a solid literature on the September 11 "attacks" or on the war on terrorism. This literature is emerging, particularly on the latter. Thirdly, this course will rely somewhat extensively on alternative news media accounts and a variety of films and videos in lieu of literature.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
2 exams 25% each
Paper 25%
Participation 25%
It is expected that students will attend class regularly and on time. An excess of 4 or more absences results in a loss of your participation grade or 25% of your grade. That's two and a half letter grades! No food, drinks, gum or cell phones will be tolerated in class! Exams are identification and essay in format and consist of a midterm and final.
PAPER
The paper for this course will focus on some aspect of 911 or the war on terrorism. It will consist of 10-12 typewritten pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins and with footnotes and bibliography. Specific details will be discussed in class.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Michael Parenti, The Terrorism Trap. San Francisco, City Lights Books, 2002.
George Humphrey, 9/11: The Great Illusion. Austin, Texas, George Humphrey Publications, 2003.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
William Cooper, Behold A Pale Horse, Flagstaff, AZ, Light Technology Publishing, 1991.
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES (These sites should be visited on a daily basis!)
http://rense.com/
http://www.libertythink.com/
http://www.counterpunch.org/
http://www.prisonplanet.com/
http://www.wsws.org/index.shtml
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
http://www.copvcia.com/
REQUIRED READINGS
Infowars 911 archive, Alex Jones. Alex Jones' Infowars.com. Use this site for reference. It's one of the best on the web!
Selections from William Cooper, Behold A Pale Horse, Flagstaff, AZ, Light Technology Publishing, 1991. (Bill Cooper was shot down by Arizona troopers in the doorway of his home, probably for what he revealed in this book.)
Bette Stockbauer, "'Rebuilding America's Defenses' and the Project for a New American Century", Antiwar, June 18, 2003. http://www.antiwar.com/orig/stockbauer1.html
Jason Vest, "The Men from JINSA." The Nation, August 15, 2002. The Nation | Article | The Men From JINSA and CSP | Jason Vest http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020902&s=vest
United Press International. Arnaud de Borchgrave interview with Pakistani General Hameed Gul September 26, 2001. http://www.freemasonrywatch.org/hameedgul.html
Michael Chossudovsky, The Mysterious Breakfast Meeting on Capitol Hill, Globalresearch, August 4, 2003. Mysterious September 11 Breakfast Meeting on Capitol Hill, Michel Chossudovsky http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO308C.html
Michael Collins Piper, "FBI Admits No Evidence Links Hijackers to 911", American Free Press. FBI Admits: No Evidence
BBC News, "Hijack Suspects Alive and Well", Sept. 23, 2001. Hijack 'suspects' alive and well
Rowland Morgan, Global Echo, Dec. 2, 2004, "Barbara Olson's Call From Flight 77 Never Happened." GlobalEcho - Alternative Media
Mark Weber, IHR.org, December 30, 2004, "Iraq--A War for Israel?" Iraq - A War For Israel?
Infowars.com August 1, 2004. "Senator Dayton: NORAD Lied About 911" Transcript of Sen. Dayton's remarks. Senator Dayton: NORAD Lied About 9/11
Rep. Ron Paul, "It Can't Happen Here", Rense.com, Dec. 21,2004. It Can't Happen Here
Elaine Cassell, "They Say They Can Lock You Up for Life Without a Trial", Counterpunch, Jan. 4, 2005. http://www.counterpunch.org/cassel01042005.html
American Patriot Friends Network, "Why? An Extraordinary Series of 911 Questions". Why? - An Extraordinary Series Of 911 Questions
Alex Jones, infowars.com, Nov. 22, 2004. Brief Analysis - Domestic Security Enhancement Act 2003 Also Known As USA Patriot Act II
Wayne Perry, Associated Press, Jan. 1, 2005. Man Charged Under Patriot Act - Feds Admit Not A Terrorist!
Rep. Ron Paul, Antiwar.com, August 10, 2004. Police State USA.
Michael Meacher, The Guardian, Sept. 6, 2003. This War On Terrorism Is Bogus The 9/11 Attacks Gave The US An Ideal Pretext To Use Force To Secure Its Global Domination
Douglas Valentine, Counterpunch, August 11, 2003. Homeland Security for Whom?
Alex Jones, infowars.com, Feb. 11, 2003. Secret Patriot Act II Destroys Remaining US Liberty Total Police State Takeover.
The Olympian, Dec. 4, 2002. CIA can kill Americans
World Socialist Website, Sept. 28,2004. An open letter to Michael Moore
Interview with Thierry Meyssan, April 8, 2002. Presentation by Thierry Meyssan
LA Citizens Grand Jury, Rense, Nov. 2, 2004. LA Citizens Grand Jury Treasonous Cabal For 911
COURSE OUTLINE
Part I 9/11
Jan. 11-13 Why Study 9/11?
Reading: Parenti, The Terrorism Trap
Jan. 18-20 Who Are the Terrorists?
Film: Alex Jones, Masters of Terror
Reading: (1) Michael Chossudovsky, The Mysterious Breakfast Meeting on Capitol Hill, Globalresearch, August 4, 2003.
Mysterious September 11 Breakfast Meeting on Capitol Hill, Michel Chossudovsky
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO308C.html
(2) United Press International. Arnaud de Borchgrave interview with Pakistani General Hameed Gul September 26, 2001.
http://www.freemasonrywatch.org/hameedgul.html
(3) LA Grand Jury, LA Citizens Grand Jury Treasonous Cabal For 911
Jan. 25-Feb.3 Official Lies and Conspiracy Theories
Reading: FBI Admits: No Evidence
Hijack 'suspects' alive and well
Barbara Olson's Call From Flight 77 Never Happened." GlobalEcho - Alternative Media
Senator Dayton: NORAD Lied
Why? - An Extraordinary Series Of 911 Questions
Feb. 8-10 The Pentagon Optical Illusion
Film: In Plane Sight
Reading: Presentation by Thierry Meyssan
Feb. 15-17 9/11 The Great Illusion
Film: George Humphrey, 9/11 The Great Illusion
Reading: Geo. Humphrey, 9/11 The Great Illusion
Feb. 22-24 9/11 The Road to Tyranny
Film: Alex Jones, 9/11 The Road to Tyranny
Reading: Select articles from Alex's 911 archive
9/11 The Movie
Film: Michael Moore, Farenheit 9/11
Reading: An open letter to Michael Moore
MARCH 1 MIDTERM EXAM
March 3 H.R. 4079 and the Infrastructure of Control
Reading: Ch. 6, William Cooper, Behold A Pale Horse (handout in class)
SPRING BREAK
Part II The "War on Terrorism"
March 15-24 A Strategy for World Domination
Reading: (1) Bette Stockbauer, "'Rebuilding America's Defenses' and the Project for a New American Century", Antiwar, June
18, 2003. http://www.antiwar.com/orig/stockbauer1.html
(2) Jason Vest, "The Men from JINSA." The Nation, August 15, 2002. The Nation | Article | The Men From JINSA and CSP
Jason Vest http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020902&s=vest
(3) Pretext To Use Force To Secure Its Global Domination
March 29-31 The War on Terrorism USA
Reading: (1) Alex Jones, infowars.com, Nov. 22, 2004. Brief Analysis - Domestic Security Enhancement Act 2003 Also
Known As USA Patriot Act II
(2) Alex Jones, infowars.com, Feb. 11, 2003. Secret Patriot Act II Destroys Remaining US Liberty Total Police State
Takeover.
(3) Wayne Perry, Associated Press, Jan. 1, 2005. Man Charged Under Patriot Act - Feds Admit Not A Terrorist!
April 5-7 Police State USA
Reading: (1) Rep. Ron Paul, "It Can't Happen Here", Rense.com, Dec. 21,2004. It Can't Happen Here
(2) Rep. Ron Paul, Antiwar.com, August 10, 2004. Police State USA.
(3) Douglas Valentine, Counterpunch, August 11, 2003. Homeland Security for Whom?
(4) The Olympian, Dec. 4, 2002. CIA can kill Americans
(5) Elaine Cassell, "They Say They Can Lock You Up for Life Without a Trial", Counterpunch, Jan. 4, 2005.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cassel01042005.html
April 12-14 The War on Iraq
Reading: Mark Weber, IHR.org, December 30, 2004, "Iraq--A War for Israel?" Iraq - A War For Israel?
April 19-26 More Police State USA (Where Do We Go From Here?)
More Alex Jones videos
What Have We Learned About 911? What Have We Learned About the War on America?
FINAL EXAM (Please consult exam schedule)
>
