Ten years ago, my book Another Nineteen: Investigating Legitimate 9/11 Suspects was published. It was an attempt to begin delivering an alternative explanation of who could have been responsible for the 9/11 crimes, and it was an opportunity to answer hand-waving excuses like “too many people would have had to be in on it.” Providing details about nineteen legitimate suspects — men who had the means, motive, and opportunity to manage the crimes — the book posed a question to those clinging to the false official explanations. Could they consider a conspiracy of nineteen powerful white men or only the same number of young, relatively powerless Arabs?
In the first months of research, I gathered dozens of suspects and put them in a matrix to allow a better assessment of their relationships, personal histories, and ability to affect aspects of the crimes. It became clear that a group of them were closely related, all connected to U.S. intelligence agencies or the Pentagon, and all in positions that allowed them to control parts of what happened that day.
The crimes of 9/11 were a successful attack against many U.S. security systems, from terrorism tracking to hijacking prevention to the U.S. chain of command and the North American air defenses to various investigative processes after the event. Similarly, the demolition of the World Trade Center buildings was a function of access, and access was a function of security. Who knew these systems well and could control them?
In writing the book I wasn’t looking to confirm a preconception about the involvement of a certain religion or foreign country. No doubt much of what followed 9/11 could be described as a war on Muslims, and people often wondered who most hated Muslims or profited from their destruction. Interestingly, after publishing the book I noticed that one-third of my suspects could be called right-wing Roman Catholics, like Frank Carlucci and Richard Armitage (Chapter 3). Did that mean that the Vatican was responsible? How about the Hindus and Coptic Christians who helped create the NIST reports? Such questions, like more common claims about Israel, are diversionary until the basics of what happened and who was involved are established.
Finding the truth about 9/11 requires examining who was in position to affect the crimes — specifically and in detail. It requires a focus on access and covert power, the kind of power that can disrupt and control all the systems mentioned above. This book is my attempt to help find that truth and share it with as many people as possible.
Kevin Ryan, August 2023
