Ventura: Government withholding real story behind 9-11 attacks
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By MICHAEL MARTINEZ
Cronkite News Service
PHOENIX (Thursday, Sept. 11) _ Jesse Ventura, the former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler, accompanied a state senator to Arizona’s 9/11 Memorial on Thursday to press his claims that the government isn’t telling the truth about the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
“I think it’s growing and growing with the population that more and more of us are questioning what happened that day, and we’re also looking to find out if the truth was withheld from us,” Ventura said. “And the more you study it, the more difficult for me it becomes to believe what my government told me.”
A handful of people were at the memorial as Ventura spoke, some to support him and others simply marking the seventh anniversary of the attacks. Ventura also was in the Valley to give a speech and attend a book-signing event.
State Sen. Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, said she invited Ventura for the seventh anniversary of the attacks after reading his new book, “Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me!”
In the book, Ventura says he doesn’t know exactly what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, but he believes the American people haven’t been told the truth.
Johnson said she shares Ventura’s doubts.
“I knew that he had spoken out in the past on feelings of wanting to get to the bottom of what happened on 9/11, and I’ve been involved in this 9/11 for Truth movement here in the Phoenix area and Arizona for some time now and have some very strong feelings about wanting to get a truly independent investigation going.”
Ventura said he finds it absurd that the United States entered into two wars since 9/11 but has yet to charge Osama bin Laden with the attacks.
“The government’s theory is that 19 Islamic terrorists armed with box cutters defeated our multi-billion dollar air defense system, all while conspiring with a bearded guy in a cave in Afghanistan,” Ventura said. “I find that far-fetched.”
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CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-VENTURA-9-11: Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler and governor of Minnesota, argues with a reporter on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, at Arizona’s memorial to the attacks of 9-11. Ventura, joined by state Sen. Karen Johnson, visited the memorial to press his claim that the government isn’t providing the truth behind the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. The reporter asked Ventura whether professional wrestling is fake. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Michael Martinez)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-VENTURA-9-11: Light shining through Arizona’s memorial to the 9-11 attacks creates messages on the concrete below on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. Former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura visited the memorial to press his claim that the government hasn’t revealed the real reason for the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Michael Martinez)