Conspiracy Theories: Difference between revisions

** 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.

* 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.