Conspiracy theory based on what?

More and more people are adopting the belief that somehow the attack on the Trade Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, was the result of a conspiracy by the U.S. government. Now Charlie Sheen is promoting this idea. The people hawking this view sound so imperative about finding "the truth about 9/11."

I don't understand all this angst, but I have a few questions. First of all, did we not all see planes crash into the buildings? To this some reply that a mere jet airliner couldn't possibly cause all that damage. Well, yes it could. But suppose for a moment that charges were set in the building to make the damage greater. First, why bother with the airplane, why not just blow up the building and blame it on someone else? Second, how do you get engineers, technicians, construction workers, etc., to weaken the building and strategically place the charges and the detonators without being seen, without being paid (if they were paid, there would be a paper trail), without talking to anyone about it - even to their wives or closest friends?

The most important question, I think, is this one: OK, so you want us all to believe that our government destroyed these buildings so that we would have an excuse to go to war for oil. Why didn't the government take weapons of mass destruction and plant them in Iraq? Where is the paper trail on the oil that we supposedly stole from Iraq? Where is the oil? There are manifests, invoices, bills of lading - a veritable mountain of paperwork on any large load of any kind of freight. This kind of trail would be impossible to hide.

Furthermore, I have to ask this question: If you proponents of this belief succeed and we all begin believing this story, then what? All will be well with the world? What do you hope to accomplish by convincing the rest of us? If you "demand to know the truth," do you think there is someone who is in on this conspiracy that will all of a sudden confess their involvement in this grand conspiracy?

If all this is true, then it would be so easy for a few reporters to find the massive paper trail and scores of loose lips and unravel this entire mystery. But alas, there is no credible evidence of any of this. Even if you say that the evidence was eliminated, then what? Are you going to emulate a dog chasing its tail for the rest of your life? Do us all a favor and just be quiet until you have some credible evidence of this or any other conspiracy theory. Otherwise, you people are just annoying.

Robert John Roushar Jr.

North Augusta