Conspiracy Theories: Difference between revisions

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== Disasters ==

* 9/11 has so many conspiracy theories surrounding it that it has its own entry at the top of this page.

* The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil -- 168 dead -- until 9/11 six years later) has a multitude of conspiracy theories surrounding it, many of which have the "official" perpetrators ([[Right-Wing Militia Fanatic|Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols]]) simply be the "fall guys" for [[False-Flag Operation|the U.S. government]]/Islamic terrorists/[insert favorite conspiracy group here], who instigated the bombing for their own nefarious reasons. Never mind that McVeigh and Nichols were angry at the government for their mishandling of the infamous Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents that had occurred several years previously...

* The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil -- 168 dead -- until 9/11 six years later) has a multitude of conspiracy theories surrounding it, many of which have the "official" perpetrators ([[Right-Wing Militia Fanatic|Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols]]) simply be the "fall guys" for [[False-Flag Operation|the U.S. government]]/Islamic terrorists/[insert favorite conspiracy group here], who instigated the bombing for their own nefarious reasons. Never mind that McVeigh and Nichols were angry at the government for their mishandling of the infamous Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents that had occurred several years previously.

** Some people still think Saddam Hussein masterminded the McVeigh plot.

** One of the more interesting versions of the conspiracy is that al-Qaeda was involved. There was a "John Doe 2" reported at the time of the bombing, who bore no resemblance to known conspirator Terry Nichols, and whom the FBI later claimed had never existed -- even though artist sketches of him had been leaked. John Doe II looked distinctly similar to José Padilla, an American-born al-Qaeda operative who was captured and received a train wreck of a trial and a media circus.

** An arguably more likely conspiracy is that the [[wikipedia:Aryan Republican Army|Aryan Republican Army]], a Jesse James-esque [[Right-Wing Militia Fanatic|white supremacist gang]] working at the time, was involved. McVeigh was a known associate of convicted bank robber and ARA member Michael William Brescia, and the ARA had connections to various far-right Christian groups and neo-Nazi skinheads -- groups which would have spurned the help of al-Qaeda. In addition, ARA member Richard Lee Guthrie, Jr. resembles pictures of "John Doe II".

* Some folks claim that [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] knew about [[World War II|the impending Pearl Harbor attack]] in advance and allowed it to happen, recognizing that a high body count would be needed to shock the American people into joining the fight. [[Fridge Logic|Of course, it's easier to win a fight if a large portion of your Navy isn't underwater.]]

**Roosevelt knew about ''an'' attack within days, because of radio intercepts and in fact the war warning was going about. However the US forces were just a little to slow off the mark as might be expected considering that a mass naval war in the Pacific while a theory for generations was only a theory and everyone not in the know was having a comfortable peacetime. And in any case everyone at high level knew(correctly) that the Japanese had to hit the ~~Phillipines~~ first and no one counted on them hitting the ~~Phillipines~~, The Raj, and Pearl at the same time. Also Pearl was on alert for ''sabotage'' and an open attack was not expected. That meant the army's planes were parked closer together to make it easier to guard but also allowed them to be [[One-Hit Polykill|bombed more economically.]]

**Roosevelt knew about ''an'' attack within days, because of radio intercepts and in fact the war warning was going about. However the US forces were just a little to slow off the mark as might be expected considering that a mass naval war in the Pacific while a theory for generations was only a theory and everyone not in the know was having a comfortable peacetime. And in any case everyone at high level knew(correctly) that the Japanese had to hit the Philippines first and no one counted on them hitting the Philippines, The Raj, and Pearl at the same time. Also Pearl was on alert for ''sabotage'' and an open attack was not expected. That meant the army's planes were parked closer together to make it easier to guard but also allowed them to be [[One-Hit Polykill|bombed more economically.]]

** General Billy Mitchell was court martialed in the 1920s for his unflattering comments about the deplorable state of the military. One of his comments that got him into trouble was the ridiculous claim that the military preparedness was so bad that he fully expected the Empire of Japan to attack Pearl Harbor. His problem was that he was right nearly 20 years too early.

** General Billy Mitchell was court-martialed in the 1920s for his unflattering comments about the deplorable state of the military. One of his comments that got him into trouble was the ridiculous claim that the military preparedness was so bad that he fully expected the Empire of Japan to attack Pearl Harbor. His problem was that he was right nearly 20 years too early.

** An alternative theory, which is even accepted by some supporters of FDR, is that while the attack itself was unexpected, Japan's hostility was not entirely unprovoked. In 1940, the US government prohibited iron and scrap steel exports to Japan, and in 1940 it also restricted oil exports, froze Japan's funds in the US, and initiated the Lend-Lease program in support of the Allies against the Axis powers, all the while demanding Japan's withdrawal from China and Indochina. Some folks argue that this was all designed to put an end to American neutrality without causing a public backlash by [[Xanatos Gambit|getting one of the Axis powers to declare war on the US]]. It hinges on the express aim of the U.S. aim of aiding Britain, which FDR did want to do. War with Japan with that aim is idiotic, and even Hitler knew it. (Also, the object was to provoke Germany to declare war, not Japan.) Of course, these actions were done in part as a response to Japan's monstrous conduct in China, so they were justified in that respect.

**Not to mention if the idea was to provoke ''Germany'' into war well America was already doing some pretty brisk [[Take That|nose-tweaking]] of Germany in the Atlantic theater(for pretty good reasons obviously if a little devious) and all that really would be required is a little escalation. Not only is that brinkmanship a part of history it is a part of fairly routine history and recorded by unquestionably patriotic authors without a care. There is no reason to provoke Germany by provoking Japan when you can provoke Germany by provoking Germany.

** Not to mention if the idea was to provoke ''Germany'' into war well America was already doing some pretty brisk [[Take That|nose-tweaking]] of Germany in the Atlantic theater(for pretty good reasons obviously if a little devious) and all that really would be required is a little escalation. Not only is that brinkmanship a part of history it is a part of fairly routine history and recorded by unquestionably patriotic authors without a care. There is no reason to provoke Germany by provoking Japan when you can provoke Germany by provoking Germany.

**And of course the first thing the American public would demand on getting a sucker punch from Japan would of course be what they did demand which was to dump as many resources as possible into the Pacific to get even which meant that much less for Germany(which America disliked but did not have a revenge motive as such against). It was all Roosevelt could do to keep that from happening in any event and he surely would not have risked it on purpose.

** And of course the first thing the American public would demand on getting a sucker punch from Japan would of course be what they did demand which was to dump as many resources as possible into the Pacific to get even which meant that much less for Germany(which America disliked but did not have a revenge motive as such against). It was all Roosevelt could do to keep that from happening in any event and he surely would not have risked it on purpose.

**In any case Roosevelt could not make Hitler declare war on the US. No Conspiracy Theorist has claimed he could do a Vulcan mind-meld from half a world away.

** In any case Roosevelt could not make Hitler declare war on the US. No Conspiracy Theorist has claimed he could do a Vulcan mind-meld from half a world away.

* Just days after the recent earthquake in Haiti, people were already claiming that the entire thing was actually man-made, using HAARP (see "Atmosphere and Weather" below), underground bombs, or some other type of "earthquake machine." The motive? Some say it's to acquire Haiti's oil, others say that the US planned it in order to acquire a base in the Caribbean to oppose Cuba and Venezuela, and still others say it's to distract from the supposed imposition of martial law in the US.

* Theories abound regarding the crash of TWA Flight 800 - "officially" caused by a fuel vapour explosion in the Boeing 747's CWT (Centre Wing Tank), but the cause of the explosion is undetermined. The most common theory says that it was shot down with a missile, either by a terrorist or by accident as part of a Navy training exercise. This theory is not supported by the NTSB because 98% of the wreckage was recovered, and a large part of the fuselage reconstructed, and not a trace of any missile impact was found. Other theories say that it was the result of a terrorist bomb on board, or electromagnetic interference from a nearby fighter plane. Some claim that the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]] ordered a cover-up so Clinton wouldn't look soft on terrorism during his re-election campaign. The most prominent proponent of the conspiracy line was Pierre Salinger - formerly President Kennedy's press secretary - who didn't have much convincing evidence, but garnered attention because of his [[Appeal to Authority|former job]]. Much of the suspicion around the crash was formed because the FBI aggressively pursued a criminal investigation, much to the chagrin of the NTSB working alongside them, and did discover some explosive residue on the wreckage, but then had to backtrack and admit that it was a miniscule trace that had come from a package used to train drug sniffer dogs. The missile theory was partly started by reports from several witnesses who saw an object climbing into the sky and then heard a loud explosion. Investigators concluded that they had seen the nose-less wreck of the 747 climbing and stalling in the sky and, because light travels faster than sound, then heard the initial fuel tank explosion.

* The [[wikipedia:Tunguska event|Tunguska event]]. ~~Possibly not a "disaster" since nobody died, but it fits here better than anywhere else. And, hooo~~ boy, are there conspiracy theories about it, suggesting everything from a UFO crash to a rip in space-time to the work of [[Nikola Tesla]]. Indeed, there's [[The Tunguska Event|a whole trope]] based around it.

* The [[wikipedia:Tunguska event|Tunguska event]]. Hooo boy, are there conspiracy theories about it, suggesting everything from a UFO crash to a rip in space-time to the work of [[Nikola Tesla]]. Indeed, there's [[The Tunguska Event|a whole trope]] based around it.

* Some have claimed that the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was planned as part of a plot to discredit offshore drilling. Some people are saying that [[Animal Wrongs Group|radical environmentalists]] or the [[Barack Obama|Obama administration]] did it to advance an environmentalist agenda<ref>even though Obama had just approved expansion of offshore drilling before the spill -- something that earned him a lot of criticism afterwards</ref>, while others claim that it was caused by OPEC to keep America dependent on foreign oil. This one is interesting in that some of the proponents are people who don't believe the "Bush was behind 9/11" theories, while some opponents are the ones who still think Bush himself destroyed the levees during Katrina.

** A contributing factor to the rise of the "radical environmentalists did it" conspiracy theory is the fact that some of the more extreme environmentalist groups have committed acts of terrorism and destruction against industries they feel have harmed the environment. These acts have had a tendency to [[Gone Horribly Wrong|unintentionally lead to far more environmental destruction]] [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|than the target ever caused]]. The main reason why this theory lacks credibility is that ''[[Genre Savvy|oil companies are well aware of this]]'' and would be on the lookout for radical environmentalists trying to blow up an oil rig.

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* The sinking of the ''Lusitania'' in 1915 by a German torpedo, an event which contributed to the United States eventually entering [[World War I]], has seen suggestions that the ship, contrary to claims made at the time, was smuggling contraband military weapons and explosives to Britain and thus, Germany argued, was a valid military target. Although the ship was carrying large quantities of small-weapons ammunition, no proof of anything more destructive has yet been discovered.

* Much like with 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, some have suspected the United States of [[False-Flag Operation|deliberately sabotaging or allowing the sabotage of]] the ''[[wikipedia:USS Maine (ACR-1)|USS Maine]]'' to provide an excuse to go to war with Spain and seize Cuba.

* Nearly ''every'' war the United States has ever been involved in (with the notable exception of the Revolutionary, Civil, and Korean flavors) has been accused of being a [[False-Flag Operation]]. These theories go as far back as the Mexican War, where it was claimed that the government ordered the settlers to go to the disputed territory knowing the Mexicans would attack them so the war would look like self-defense. In the case of the [[Vietnam War]], the claim was that the US deliberately engineered the [[wikipedia:Gulf of Tonkin incident|Gulf of Tonkin incident]]. There are even fringe theorists who claim the U.S., not the Germans, [[World War I|sank the Lusitania]].

* Nearly ''every'' war the United States has ever been involved in (with the notable exception of the Revolutionary, Civil, and Korean flavors) has been accused of being a [[False-Flag Operation]]. These theories go as far back as the Mexican War, where it was claimed that the government ordered the settlers to go to the disputed territory knowing the Mexicans would attack them so the war would look like self-defense.{{context|reason=How is this a false-flag operation? The settlers used the US flag of the time.}} In the case of the [[Vietnam War]], the claim was that the US deliberately engineered the [[wikipedia:Gulf of Tonkin incident|Gulf of Tonkin incident]]. There are even fringe theorists who claim the U.S., not the Germans, [[World War I|sank the Lusitania]].

**Ironically false flags tend to be chancy things even when performed by totalitarian governments much less liberal states teeming with predatory reporters looking for an erring politician to eat. Recorded ones performed by Nazi Germany and even then far more intrigue-competent Soviet Union look like they were dreamed up by a mischievous schoolboy.

** Ironically, false flags tend to be chancy things even when performed by totalitarian governments much less liberal states teeming with predatory reporters looking for an erring politician to eat. Recorded ones performed by Nazi Germany and even then far more intrigue-competent Soviet Union look like they were dreamed up by a mischievous schoolboy.

* In the aftermath of the [[wikipedia:Belsan school siege|Belsan school seige]], former FSB agent and defector Alexander Litvinenko claimed it was a false-flag operation by the Russian government, claiming that many of the terrorists were known to Russian authorities and a few were even released from custody shortly before the attack. Others have claimed that the weapons the hostage takers used were planted in the school beforehand. It's worth noting that Alexander became the center of his own conspiracy theory after his mysterious poisoning death involving radioactive polonium-210.

* The crash of [[Poland|Polish]] presidential plane in Smolensk on April 10th, 2010 has spawned many different conspiracy theories, promoted mostly by right-wing kooks. According to them, the plane was taken off course by a spoofed radio beacon signal, shot down by the Russians who used helium ([[Artistic License Chemistry|which is heavier than air]], according to the conspiracy theorists) to generate massive amounts of fog, then proceeded to dispatch [[Anachronism Stew|KGB agents]] to shoot the survivors, all on behalf of [Vladimir Putin]], who controls the current "puppet" prime minister of Poland. Of course this is claimed to be an outrageous conspiracy theory by kooks who claim that the plane that crashed in Smolensk was empty, and the passengers have been kidnapped in Poland and then taken to Russia, where they either remain imprisoned in a Gulag or living in luxury sponsored by the Russian government. And let's not even start about those claiming that a Tu-154, as a modified bomber, [[Did Not Do the Research|would smash through trees unharmed]].