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Did Bibi "9/11 is very good" Netanyahu warn his old friend Mitt to stay away from Ground Zero on 9/11? |
Change of Schedule Saved Mitt Romney From Being Near the World Trade Center on 9/11
-Shoestring 9/11 blog
Mitt
Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, was originally going to
be at a public event near the World Trade Center on the morning of
September 11, 2001, but a late change to his plans meant the event was
rescheduled and he was out of harm's way when the 9/11 attacks occurred.
Romney is therefore one of a number of prominent individuals known to
have avoided danger--and possible death--due to a change to, or a
deviation from, their plans for September 11.
Romney was, at that
time, the president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) for the
2002 Winter Olympic Games. He went to Washington, DC, on September 10
to talk to members of Congress about security at the Winter Olympics.
[1] The final $12.7 million of federal money needed to cover security
for the games had mistakenly been omitted from Congress's budget, and
although the Olympics organizers were "confident" the error could be
corrected, Romney went to Washington to make sure the money didn't "slip
away," according to the Deseret News. [2] As well as meeting with
members of Congress on September 10, Romney also met with FBI Director
Robert Mueller that day. [3]
ROMNEY WAS SET TO ATTEND EVENT IN BATTERY PARK
Mitt Romney's original plan for the morning of September 11 was to
attend what Romney called "an elaborate press conference" in Battery
Park, just a few blocks south of the World Trade Center, at which the
names of the torchbearers selected to carry the Olympic flame across the
United States to Salt Lake City would be announced. Those who would
have attended, along with Romney, included other SLOC officials,
representatives of the Olympic torch relay sponsors, and a number of
torchbearers from the New York area. [4] The event was set to take place
at 9:00 a.m., around the time that planes crashed into the Twin Towers.
[5]
The original date for the press conference had been set by
the SLOC's "public relations people," according to Romney. [6] But a
couple of weeks before September 11, the event was rescheduled to take
place on September 12 instead of September 11. [7] The reason for this,
according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, was that "Romney had extended a
series of meetings in Washington with U.S. Congressional leaders." [8]
Cindy Gillespie, the vice president of federal relations for the SLOC,
had arranged a meeting with House and Senate appropriators at 10:00 a.m.
on September 11. Romney has written that on the morning of September
11, therefore, he was with Gillespie in her office in Washington,
helping to put the finishing touches on their presentation. [9]
As
a result of this late change of plans, Mitt Romney was well away from
the WTC at the time of the terrorist attacks there. A spokeswoman later
commented that it was "really a blessing" that the date of the SLOC
press conference was changed. "We were very fortunate," she said. The
Deseret News noted that those set to attend the event in Battery Park
"would have been standing near the base of [the] World Trade Center when
airplanes slammed into it had SLOC president Mitt Romney's schedule not
changed." [10]
BATTERY PARK WAS CAUGHT IN THE DUST CLOUD WHEN THE WTC COLLAPSED
Although it was about half a mile from the World Trade Center, Battery
Park was still a dangerous place to be when the Twin Towers collapsed,
as has been made clear by people who were there at the time. For
example, Lisa Stein, the deputy national editor of U.S. News & World
Report, was just north of the park when the South Tower came down at
9:59 a.m. on September 11. She described what it was like there,
writing: "All hell broke loose. The air filled with thick smoke and ash.
Emergency crews screamed at us to leave. There was a new sense of
danger and panic. People rushed to get to the tip of Manhattan." Stein
continued: "[T]he smoke was moving so fast I could barely breathe or
see. I thought we were going to choke to death. Everyone was drenched in
soot and smoke. People covered their faces with their shirts or
anything they could find to keep from inhaling ash and smoke." [11]
Brian
Gregorek was also in Battery Park when the South Tower came down. When
the "plume of soot and ashes" from the collapse "worked its way toward
Battery Park," he and many others reportedly "huddled on the ground,
pulling their shirts over their faces so they could breathe." Gregorek
has recalled: "When I peeked out, I couldn't see two feet in front of my
face. People were being trampled. I was terrified; all I could think of
was, 'How do I get out of here?'" Gregorek added: "I was praying,
thinking of my family and friends. I didn't really know how much danger I
was in, but I prepared myself for death." [12]
Romney and the
other people set to attend the SLOC press conference avoided this
terrifying scene because their event was moved back a day, to
accommodate Romney's schedule. Furthermore, had the press conference
taken place on September 11, as originally planned, it is possible that
Romney or others at the event would have headed toward the World Trade
Center after the planes hit the Twin Towers, to see what was happening.
Had they done so, they could have been in particular danger when the
towers collapsed.
In fact, even though the press conference had
been rescheduled, one of Romney's colleagues, SLOC spokeswoman Caroline
Shaw, was supposed to be in Battery Park at 9:00 a.m. on September 11 to
prepare for the following day's event. But, fortunately, she was in the
lobby of her hotel when the attacks occurred and came to no harm. [13]
OTHER PEOPLE AVOIDED BEING AT THE WTC ON SEPTEMBER 11 DUE TO A CHANGE OF PLANS
Other prominent individuals, besides Mitt Romney, are known to have
avoided the chaos--and the possibility of being killed--when the Twin
Towers were attacked and subsequently collapsed on September 11, because
of changes to, or deviations from, their original plans.
For
example, Jim Pierce, a cousin of then-President George W. Bush, should
have been at a business conference on the 105th floor of the South
Tower. But on September 10, it was decided that the meeting would take
place in a different building, reportedly because the number of people
scheduled to attend it "had outgrown the conference room" in the South
Tower. [14] And Larry Silverstein, the WTC leaseholder, should have been
at work on the 88th floor of the North Tower at the time of the
attacks, but, instead, he was at home. Reportedly, this was because his
wife had insisted that he go to an appointment with his dermatologist
that morning. [15]
Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Britain's
Prince Andrew, should have been on the 101st floor of the North Tower
for a meeting at 8:45 a.m. on September 11--a minute before the plane
hit the tower. However, according to ABC News, she "was running late"
and so she arrived at the door of the tower "seconds after the first
plane hit." Her car then "sped off to safety." [16] And pop star Michael
Jackson was supposed to be at a meeting at the top of one of the WTC
towers that morning, but missed it because, he said, he'd overslept.
[17]
It is plausible that some people changed their plans, or
deviated from their schedule, and thereby avoided being at, or near, the
World Trade Center when the 9/11 attacks occurred simply as a result of
luck. However, investigators should determine whether any of these
cases of apparent good fortune were due to something more sinister.
Could
some people have changed their plans, or made sure they were running
late, because they were advised to do so by individuals who had
foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks and therefore knew it would be
dangerous to be in the vicinity of the WTC on the morning of September
11? If anyone did indeed know in advance what was going to happen, this
would imply that the terrorist attacks could, and should, have been
prevented.
NOTES
1] Mitt
Romney, "Mitt Romney Delivers Remarks to the National Guard Association
Conference." Romney for President, September 11, 2012.
[2] Derek Jensen, "SLOC Aims to Cinch Fed $$$." Deseret News, September 10, 2001.
[3] John Meyer, "SLOC Chief Expects Changes: Security Will be 'Re-evaluated.'" Denver Post, September 12, 2001.
[4] Jo-Ann Barnas, "Olympic Flame Sputters in Wake of Attack." Detroit Free Press, September 11, 2001; Dennis Romboy, "Delay Keeps SLOC From Harm." Deseret News, September 12, 2001; Lisa Riley Roche, "Training of Games Volunteers to Go on as Scheduled." Deseret News, September 13, 2001; Mitt Romney, Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2004, p. 301.
[5] Bob Ford, "Security Needs Intensify for Salt Lake Winter Games." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 16, 2001.
[6] Mitt Romney, Turnaround, p. 301.
[7] Dennis Romboy, "Delay Keeps SLOC From Harm."
[8] Bob Ford, "Security Needs Intensify for Salt Lake Winter Games."
[9] Mitt Romney, Turnaround, pp. 301-302.
[10] Dennis Romboy, "Delay Keeps SLOC From Harm."
[11] Lisa Stein, "On 9/11, a Smoky Sprint to Safety and 'Flesh in the Street.'" U.S. News & World Report, September 14, 2001.
[12] Ted Meixell, "Former Lafayette Football Player Reprioritizes After New York Attack." Allentown Morning Call, September 19, 2001.
[13] Dennis Romboy and Lisa Riley Roche, "SLOC Cancels NY Torch Event." Deseret News, September 11, 2001; Lisa Riley Roche, "Training of Games Volunteers to Go on as Scheduled."
[14] "President's Cousin Escaped Death Thanks to Schedule Change." Ananova, September 18, 2001; Barbara Bush, Reflections: Life After the White House. New York: Scribner, 2003, p. 388.
[15] Tom McGeveran, "Mike Sees City Taking Control at Ground Zero." New York Observer, March 17, 2003; Robert Kolker, "Who Wants to Move to Ground Zero?" New York, May 21, 2005. See also "The
WTC Leaseholder and His Associates That Cheated Death on 9/11: Was it
Coincidence or Did Someone Have Foreknowledge of the Attacks?"
Shoestring 9/11, May 28, 2010.
[16] "Fergie Just Missed WTC Attack." ABC News, September 16, 2001; "Andrew's Fear for Fergie on 9/11." Metro, September 11, 2006.
[17] Jermaine Jackson, You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother's Eyes. New York: Touchstone, 2011, p. 355; "Michael Jackson Saved by 9/11 Lie-in." The Sun, September 16, 2011.
--Labels: 9/11 truth, controlled demolition, false flag, foreknowledge, Larry Silverstein, mitt romney, Netanyahu, World Trade Center