(Originally published by UK Column on October 10, 2021, featuring guest speakers from the Working Group on Propaganda and The 9/11 Global ‘War on Terror’.)

Overview

The ‘Global War on Terror’ instigated after the events of 9/11 led directly to war in Afghanistan and the manufactured pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. It also set the conditions for conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Yemen, among others. Indeed, the ‘Global War on Terror’ has, in multiple ways, defined the political conditions of Western military action for 21 years now. Millions of lives have been lost as a result of these military campaigns; countless more irreparably damaged on all sides of these conflicts, and the ‘War on Terror’ has both eroded civil rights and deflected attention and resources away from more pressing political issues. As with all military campaigns throughout history, the ‘Global War on Terror’ has been enabled through a massive and concerted propaganda drive. From the initial promotion of al-Qaeda as the sole actor responsible for the events of 9/11, to the demonstrable lies and distortions about the ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ that precipitated the invasion of Iraq, through to misleading “narratives” regarding Libya and Syria, the manipulation of public opinion via techniques of propaganda has been commonplace across Western public spheres.

This Webinar presents a range of analyses developed by researchers who have explored key aspects surrounding the propaganda campaigns that serve to support the ‘Global War on Terror.’ This ranges from controversies over the events of 9/11 itself, through to the wars which followed – including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Implicit to this will be issues surrounding Academia and the study of controversial issues.

Donate to the Working Group on 9/11 and The Global “War of Terror”

Donations to the Working Group on 9/11 and The Global “War on Terror” go towards funding academic pursuits which analyze all evidence germane to questions surrounding 9/11 and the global “War on Terror.” These pursuits include, but are not limited to: PhD dissertations, conferences, and educational outreach of various forms.

Webinar Line-up

(All presentations are linked here in the table of contents and can also be viewed individually in the article below. The full, uncut webinar can be viewed here.)

INTRODUCTION

1-1.08 BST Introduction: With Patrick Henningsen and Dr Piers Robinson

SECTION ONE – 9/11 and PROPAGANDA

1.08-1.15 Matt Campbell: 9/11 Legal action in the UK

1.15-1.40 Dr. David Hughes: Questions Not Asked: 9/11 and the Academy

1.40-2.05 Dr. Richard Ellefritz: State crimes against democracy and conspiracy theories

5 min break

2.10-2.35 Dr. Piers Robinson: Understanding the ‘War on Terror’ as a Propaganda event: the formative years 2001-2003

2.35-3.00 Professor Daniel Broudy: Munitions, Microbes and Messaging in the 9/11 & Covid-19 Terror Wars

5 min break

SECTION TWO – THE 9/11 WARS AND BEYOND

3.05-3.30 Professor Jeremy Keenan: Creating a ‘Second Front’ in the War on Terror, and its consequences for the Sahara-Sahel

3.30-3.55 Dr. Lucy Morgan Edwards: How ‘Women’s Rights’ were instrumentalised to promote the post 9/11 War in Afghanistan

5 min break

4.00-4.25 Professor Oliver Boyd-Barrett: GWOT (Dis)Information War: Iran and Syria

4.25-5.00 Roundtable Discussion/Debate

Introduction: Patrick Henningsen and Dr. Piers Robinson

Opening comments by Patrick Henningsen of UK Column and Dr. Piers Robinson, co-founder of the Organisation for Propaganda Studies and the Working Group on Propaganda and the 9/11 ‘Global War on Terror’.

9/11 Legal Action in the UK, presented by Matt Campbell

Matt Campbell lost his brother Geoff on 9/11. Geoff was one of 67 British victims. Over the years Matt has been campaigning for justice for his brother, putting pressure on the authorities in the US and the UK. In August of 2020 he started a legal challenge with the Attorney General in the UK to reopen his brother’s inquest.

Questions Not Asked: 9/11 and The Academy, presented by Dr. David Hughes

David A. Hughes discusses the problems with broaching 9/11 evidence in the Academy which conflicts with the official government narrative. David received his M.A. from Christ Church, Oxford, his M.St. from Worcester College, Oxford, and holds doctorates in German Studies and International Relations from Duke University and Oxford Brookes University, respectively. Since 2013, he has taught International Relations at the University of East Anglia, Royal Holloway (University of London), Nottingham Trent University, and the University of Lincoln.

State Crimes Against Democracy and Conspiracy Theories, presented by Dr. Richard Ellefritz

Dr. Richard Ellefritz discusses state crimes against democracy as well as the origins and pejorative use of the term ‘Conspiracy Theory’. Dr. Ellefritz is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of the Bahamas. During his doctoral program, he applied his area of concentration in social movements to the 9/11 Truth movement. His ongoing research on movement-countermovement dynamics compares his interviews and ethnographic research with the 9/11 Truth movement to its countermovement antagonists. His area of research specifically focuses on the role of anti-conspiracy discourse in stigmatizing and silencing speech that raises troubling questions about historically significant events.

Understanding the ‘War on Terror’ as a Propaganda Event: The Formative Years 2001-2003, presented by Dr. Piers Robinson

Dr. Piers Robinson discusses how propaganda was used to help launch the ‘War on Terror’ following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Munitions, Microbes and Messaging in the 9/11 & Covid-19 Terror Wars, presented by Dr. Daniel Broudy

Dr. Daniel Broudy discusses the government and media messaging similarities employed during both the “War on Terror” era and the subsequent Covid-19 era. Dr. Broudy works in Japan and writes about intercultural interpretations of texts, symbols, sounds, and images. He integrates his post-graduate studies in psycholinguistics to help students see beyond the façades erected in mainstream media to deceive the public and manipulate emotions to obscure the empirical world.

Creating a ‘Second Front’ in the War on Terror, and its Consequences for the Sahara-Sahel, presented by Professor Jeremy Keenan

Jeremy Keenan is a social anthropologist, who has worked with and ‘on’ the people of the Sahara since the 1960s. He is currently Visiting Professor in the Law School at Queen Mary University London, researching and writing on ‘State Crime’. He has written more on the Sahara than anyone in its history, including some 350 academic books and articles.  Since 2002 (to the present), he was researched in minute detail the GWOT in North Africa and its consequences on the peoples of the region – notably the Sahara and Sahel.

How ‘Women’s Rights’ were Instrumentalised to Promote the Post-9/11 War in Afghanistan, presented by Dr. Lucy Morgan Edwards

Dr Lucy Morgan Edwards worked with women on Community and Public health projects in Kandahar & Herat during the Taliban regime.  Following 9/11 she remained in Afghanistan undertaking a variety of roles including as an election monitor, freelance journalist and Political Advisor to the EU Ambassador and to the EU Chief Election Observer of the 2005 Parliamentary elections.  Her book, ‘The Afghan Solution; the inside story of Abdul Haq, the CIA and how western hubris lost Afghanistan’ was published in 2011.  Her Doctoral thesis research interest was ‘Western support to warlords in Afghanistan from 2001-2014 and its effect on Political Legitimacy’.

GWOT (Dis)Information War: Iran and Syria, presented by Professor Oliver Boyd-Barrett

Oliver Boyd-Barrett is a media sociologist whose studies and publications cover the international news system, educational communications, and the global war on terror. He is professor emeritus of Bowling Green State University, Ohio and of California State University. He continues to teach at CSU Channel Islands.

Roundtable Discussion/Debate

21st Century Wire’s Patrick Henningsen closed the symposium with a final panel discussion with the day’s presenters.

(Featured Image References (in counterclockwise order, starting from top left))
1White House photo by Eric Draper, President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the Oval Office the evening of Sept. 11, 2001, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons QS:P170,Q2073333, Barack Obama addresses people of United States from Afghanistan 2012, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
2Series: Vice Presidential Photographs, 1/20/2001 – 1/20/2009 Collection: Vice Presidential Records of the Photography Office (George W. Bush Administration), 1/20/2001 – 1/20/2009, Vice President Dick Cheney Talks with Senior Staff in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
3U.S. Government copyright, Abu Ghraib 17a, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
4Unknown U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, SaddamStatue, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
5anonymous, USMC-05958, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
6U.S. Government copyright, Abu Ghraib 56, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
7anonymous, USMC-00772, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
8United States Government, Colin Powell anthrax vial. 5 Feb 2003 at the UN, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
9“Iraqi Yazidi refugees in Newroz camp receive help from International Rescue Committee” by DFID – UK Department for International Development is licensed under CC BY 2.0
10“www.Army.mil” by The U.S. Army is licensed under CC BY 2.0
11Image on Contact page: Chester Higgins, Jr. creator QS:P170,Q5093594 (NARA record: 1390431), TWIN TOWERS OF THE WORLD TRADE BUILDINGS DOMINATE THIS VIEW OF THE MANHATTAN SKYLINE – NARA – 548328, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons

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