The Infinite Expandability of the Conspiracy

When the Loose Change producers are on the road, they get hit with the same questions over and over again; as a result they have become skilled at answering those particular questions.

For example, in Oakland the other day, the first question asked is on the size of the conspiracy:

Q. My question is, and this is what people ask me when I try to talk about it, at least dozens if not hundreds of people had to have been involved in this whole coverup and the investigation today, and why at some point there would be somebody who would come forward over time and tell the truth. And has it happened, is it happening, or do you think it's just a matter of time?

A (Bermas): Well, I think there are a lot of whistle-blowers out there; check out Robert Wright (sp?), Calvin Rowley (sp?) Sybil Edmonds (sp?), all pointing to some sort of coverup. But at the same time, you really wouldn't need that many people. We come at it from the perspective that there's so much compartmentalization in the government and the military that these war games were a great cover for what they did. A lot of the people that actually this probably did it unconsciously, for instance the (workers?) at the FAA, having to work with 20 plus blips interjected on the screen at the same time as the hijackers so it's going to be hard for them to figure out at the same time which ones are real and which ones aren't. That's kind of where I come from.

This of course is intended to address one of the more obvious flaws in the conspiracy theory proposed by Loose Change: that a lot of people could never keep a secret like this under wraps for long.

But do they really believe in a compact group of plotters and coverup artists? No, because the group is infinitely expandable. Benjamin Chertoff writes an article for Popular Mechanics debunking many of the conspiracy theories. So the CT group claims (falsely) that he's a close relative of Michael Chertoff, head of Homeland Security. Of course, what are they really doing? They're adding Benjamin (and presumably Michael) to the coverup team.

Van Romero is a perfect example of this in the movie. At 36:22, Avery notes:

Van Romero. Vice President for Research at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. "My opinion is, based on the videotapes, after the airplanes hit the World Trade Centerthere were some explosive devices inside that caused the towers to collapse. The collapses were too methodical to be a chance result of airplanes colliding with the structures."

Ten days later. "Certainly the fire is what caused the building to fail."

Why would Romero change his mind so suddenly?

The answer, to the conspiracy theorist, is that he was bought off. In other words, that he is now part of the coverup.

Indeed, if you look at the debunkings, there are a heck of a lot of people who also must be involved in the coverup. Regarding the Pentagon crash, Popular Mechanics says:

FACT: Blast expert Allyn E. Kilsheimer was the first structural engineer to arrive at the Pentagon after the crash and helped coordinate the emergency response. "It was absolutely a plane, and I'll tell you why," says Kilsheimer, CEO of KCE Structural Engineers PC, Washington, D.C. "I saw the marks of the plane wing on the face of the building. I picked up parts of the plane with the airline markings on them. I held in my hand the tail section of the plane, and I found the black box." Kilsheimer's eyewitness account is backed up by photos of plane wreckage inside and outside the building. Kilsheimer adds: "I held parts of uniforms from crew members in my hands, including body parts. Okay?"

So now Mr Kilsheimer also "must" be part of the coverup, since we all know from Loose Change that no plane actually hit the Pentagon, and that there was no tail section or black box or uniforms or body parts.

And so the conspiracy is infinitely expandable. Do you believe, as do many 9-11 "Truth" movement members that the 9-11 Commission was a whitewash? Then add the names of all the 9-11 Commission members to the coverup, including Democrats like Richard Ben-Veniste and Jamie Gorelick. NIST report fails to indicate controlled demolition of the WTC towers? Another part of the conspiracy.

So don't believe the Loose Change Losers when they tell you that their theory requires only a few conspirators.