Many believe that the compelling phone calls passengers made to their loved ones that day were, in fact, staged (News One Staff 1). One report states that "a key piece of evidence claimed for this theory is that the mobile phone calls the victims recorded as having made to loved ones from the doomed planes were not possible because of the altitude of the aircraft and therefore faked using voice morphing technology" (McGreal 1). Yet, phone records indicate that many of the passengers made these calls from the satellite phones that are equipped on most airplanes for passengers to use during flight for a nominal fee. As such, it is clear that these passengers did reach out to their family and friends in their last minutes. This whole theory is contradictory to what the federal government is reporting about Flight 93. Federal reports show that the brave passengers of the flight fought back against the hijackers after learning of the plot (U.S. Printing Office 313). They risked their own lives to save the lives of others. To say that their brave efforts were staged is disrespectful to those who died trying to ensure that no more were murdered on that horrific day in 2001. Additionally, there are ridiculous claims that the hijackers survived the crash. Some of the hijackers' passports were found amongst the rubble and ruins of the crashes (News One Staff 1). From this, some theorists believe that many of the hijackers survived the crash. After the crash, the hijackers fled to other countries. Others believe that the hijackers were not on the flight when it crashed, but rather that they had devices that allowed them to fly the plan without them on board (McGreal 1). This is ridiculous, however, given the extreme damage of the buildings and the flights themselves.

Many of these conspiracies are outlandish, and some are even extremely disrespectful to those who lost their lives. Yet, they stay active within the public discourse. In Time Magazine, an article by Lee Grossman explains this concept. According to Grossman, "36% of Americans consider it very likely or somewhat likely that government officials either allowed the attacks to be carried out or carried out the attacks themselves" (Grossman 1). This is a surprisingly number of Americans today who continue to show distrust in their own government regarding the nature of the September 11 attacks and how the government had a hand in it.

There are a number of conspiracy theories which attest to the nature of just how traumatic 9/11 as in this country. Some are relatively convincing, while others are simply ludicrous. In regards to the September 11 conspiracy theories, the same is true with all such thoughts of conspiracy, "the more you think about them, the more they depend on circumstantial evidence, facts, without analysis or documentation, quotes taken out of context, and the scattered testimony of traumatized witnesses" (Grossman 3).

Works Cited Entry: Annotated Bibliography

Grossman, Lee. "Why the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Won't Go Away." Time Magazine. 2006. Web. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1531304,00.html

This source explains why the...

It first reviews the events of that day. Then it moves on to discuss some of the major conspiracy theories that are most popular in the current popular discourse. Grossman then moves to explain why these theories remain so prevalent. He explains why the American people are so distrusting of the whole situation. Also, he shows how some of the inconsistencies would lead to the creation of such conspiracy theories.
Grossman's source is reliable and interesting. Not only does it provide some of the conspiracy theories discussed in the analysis, it also describes why they are so popular. This content will be used to help show why so many still believe in such theories. It will be a good way to conclude the investigation. It takes an honest look at who is creating some of the more outlandish theories. Yet, it also makes us look at ourselves, as the American public. It helps this research answer the question as to why the public is so obsessed with conspiracies regarding the tragic event.

McGreal, Chris. "9/11 Conspiracy Theories Debunked." The Guardian. 2011. Web. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/05/9-11-conspiracy-theories-debunked

Mole, Phil. "9/11 Conspiracy Theories: The 9/11 Truth Movement in Perspective." Skeptic. 2006. Web. http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/06-09-11/

News One Staff. "The 11 Most Compelling 9/11 Conspiracy Theories." Black Conspiracy Theories. 2012. Web. http://newsone.com/742485/the-11-most-compelling-911-conspiracy-theories/

This source is a list of the top 11 conspiracy theories that are popular in the United States. It counts down from the more obscure to the most popular. A number of different theories are presented, from proposing that there were insiders here in the United States that knew and allowed this to happen to that the entire incident was somehow staged. Each of the theories is presented in brief detail, but is accompanied with a more thorough video. These videos help better explain the conspiracy theory. Most of the videos are short in length, but some are longer. Together with the information, the source provides great detail on a number of conspiracy theories.

Although the source presents a wealth of information, it seems to miss on how these theories might connect with one another. Moreover, it does not really explain how these theories are just theories, and not truth. Rather, it presents the information through videos that assume the truth in the conspiracies they discuss. From that point, the information must be taken lightly. Overall, it is a good source of information on a wide number of conspiracies, but lacks a sense of academic analysis that would discredit them. In fact, there is little analysis at all. It is just a presentation of the theories themselves.

U.S. Government Printing Office. The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Report). Featured Commission Publications. 2004. Web. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?granuleId=&packageId=GPO-911REPORT&fromBrowse=true