So, What Is the Theory These Days?

Yes, yes, I know, they don't have to propose a coherent theory; they are just asking questions. But one of the reasons Loose Change had the success that it did is because they didn't stop there. They came up with an alternative theory of the attacks of 9-11. Yes, it was largely a crackpot theory, as my synopsis of the movie for the purposes of a high school lecture showed:

Loose Change claims or implies that all four planes were diverted to an Air Force base somewhere and the passengers were all loaded onto Flight 93, which was diverted to Cleveland, where the passengers were herded into a NASA building and presumably executed. The World Trade Center Towers were hit by Air Force refueling tankers made to look like passenger planes, the Pentagon was hit by a cruise missile, and the cellphone calls were faked using voice morphing software.

But given what we know now about Dylan's plan for Loose Change the Final Insult, that plot is going to have to undergo some revision. He has announced that the Cleveland Airport Mystery and the voice-morphing software are out the window. In the History Channel special the other week, he actually admitted that the hijackers exist. This makes for a much more complex theory.

Including the hijackers in the plot moves us into semi-LIHOP territory, but I can't imagine Dylan or his fans are going to be satisfied with that. So here's how I see the theory moving forward:

The hijackers existed and had plans to hijack the planes, but when they executed their assault on the cockpit, they were dumbfounded to discover that the jets would not react to their input. The planes were remotely controlled from somewhere (presumably WTC-7), at least in the case of the first two flights. Flight 93 was shot down. And Flight 77... what in the world are they going to do with Flight 77? You know, there's really no good way to work in their cruise missile with the other stuff they want to highlight, like Norm Mineta's testimony. After all, a "stand-down" order only really applies if there was an actual Flight 77 heading towards Washington.

And the other flights are problematic as well. If Flight 11 and Flight 175 hit the twin towers, then why would the government decide not to do the same to the Pentagon with Flight 77? And why shoot down Flight 93 if you're letting the planes get through? And what were the hijackers planning on doing? Were they going to issue the usual list of demands using the passengers and the plane as hostages? Then why go to the trouble of having four of the hijackers learn how to fly?

This is why I've always felt the voice-morphed phone calls (as kooky as they are) cannot be eliminated easily from the conspiracy theories, because if you accept the calls were genuine, you have to accept the hijackers, and then you've got real problems everywhere with your theory.

Update: Commenter double_o points to this thread at the Looser forum where Dylan makes some intelligent points:

There was no stand down order.

Michal, NORAD was not in on it. They are hard-working, decent individuals that did their best to deal with an unprecedented situation.

Have you listened to the tapes? They were fighting phantoms all morning.

So I guess they are not going to push the Mineta testimony, despite their frequent claims that it would be highlighted.