The BBC reported this evening with some gusto that the US Justice Department had released “the first video” of the impact that took place at the Pentagon on the morning of September 11th 2001, thanks to a Freedom of Information request by Judicial Watch. In 2002 stills from another Pentagon security camera claimed to show the same, but were of low quality and failed to really clear up anything. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton was quoted as saying, “finally, we hope that this video will put to rest the conspiracy theories involving American Airlines Flight 77.” Regrettably, it fails to do so.

The still below is taken from the BBC stream of the video - the source camera, like the previously released stills, is of low framerate; this is the only frame containing whatever it was that impacted with the Pentagon.

What annoyed me as much as the treatment of this release as something conclusive was the tone of the article, which reminded me of every official response to critical articles written about the incident. Theories have long circulated about what happened at the Pentagon, and regardless of what the official line is and what is branded as “conspiracy theory” are the facts - that the damage at the Pentagon was not consistent with an impact by a 757, illustrated (among other things) by the complete lack of visible debris. Okay, so perhaps this can be explained away; why then, if this is so, has the US government not released the other video and photographic material recording the incident, namely the private surveillance cameras at the hotel near the Pentagon (confiscated by the FBI after the attack) and at the petrol station across from the Pentagon. National Geographic News reported in December 2001 that “Velasquez [the owner] says the gas station’s security cameras are close enough to the Pentagon to have recorded the moment of impact. “I’ve never seen what the pictures looked like,” he said. “The FBI was here within minutes and took the film.”” The authorities have never released these images which, logic argues, should surely show the true events of that morning.

This is no wonder, however, when blinkered attitudes like those prevalent in the United States still exist. In 2002 French author Theirry Meyssan released two books attempting to give an objective explanation of what he believed were the real events at the Pentagon, namely that what impacted there could not have been a 757 but was instead a smaller plane or missile, or the damage was caused by a truck bomb at the site. Leaping aboard the American institution of anti-French sentiment, Pentagon spokesman Glen Flood described the book as “a slap in the face and real offence to the American people”. To me it seems that this mentality has become the norm when dealing with issues like this - complete rejection of the possible alternative story suggested by the “conspiracy theorists” because the ramifications of it being true are so mind-meltingly huge that civilisation as we know it would implode. The average American, despite being faced with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, simply refuses to even entertain the possibility that what happened could be any different from the official version of events.

The release of this video does not help to shore up the defence of the official story. It should not be treated as such. The other evidence of the events at the Pentagon that is still being suppressed needs to be released. I don’t like the official story; I don’t like the implications if one of the other theories turns out to be true. I don’t claim to know either way, but I and millions of others want to see that other footage.

Yes, what happened at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11th was an atrocity in every way. Yes, the loss of human life was horrific and terrible, and should never be forgotten. But that is not a reason to refuse to question what went on. Those who suggest alternative theories are not trying to insult the dead. They are only trying to find the truth.

US releases 9/11 Pentagon video, BBC News, 16/5/2006
Why Pentagon released 9/11 tape, BBC News, 16/5/2006
The Suppression of Video Footage of the Pentagon Attack, 911research.com
Three Months On, Tension Lingers Near the Pentagon, National Geographic News, 11/12/2001