The Gleason Report

SPECIAL REPORT

May 2009

The Black Swan of Truth Circles America

Dire Consequences for U.S. Governance

Once he has amassed a large body of evidence and deduced a number of possible explanations, Holmes proceeds to find the one explanation that fits all the facts of the case to produce a solution. As Holmes explains to Watson, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." – A. Conan Doyle on his character, Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes used what we today call the “scientific method”. Since 2004 the Gleason Report has published this monthly financial newsletter discussing financial market timing and geopolitical events that influence financial events.  My approach is similar. I gather facts proven to correlate with early market cycle moves and ignore the short term emotional volatility bounces.

TGR market timing models avoided the 2001-2002 bear market, caught the bull market move in early 2003 and exited the stock market in early 2008 and thus avoided the 50% decline that followed.  The timing models have consistently outperformed buy and hold.  I’ve never been afraid to take unpopular positions.  The truth is not a path for cowards.

TGR understands that political events and stock market events are not disassociated.  My goal is to be ahead of the markets by using logic and mathematical models to predict the market’s direction. 

Many outcomes are predictable if you have enough inputs to form a theory.  That’s because events that can be modeled usually lie within two standard deviations of the average.  This is represented by the famous Bell Curve shown below.  Predictable outcomes reside in the middle.  At the tails of the graph we have the outliers, events that are unpredictable or very hard to place into a model.

bell curve

A Black Swan is a term used to refer to a large-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare event beyond the realm of normal expectations. It refers only to events of large consequence and their dominant role in history.  The occurrence of a rare Black Swan means the seemingly impossible has happened.  Economist John Stuart Mill first used the Black Swan narrative to discuss falsification and that has relevance to what follows in this report.  A black swan was considered impossible since everyone knew they were white.  That is, until black swans were discovered in Australia. 

black swan

TGR believes a Black Swan event could hit the US if two current issues merge in the public consciousness. It could be a great danger to the US leadership.

A significant percentage of the nation’s population believes that the 9/11 attack in New York was suspicious.  New scientific evidence released in April 2009 supports the view that the attacks of 9/11 were an ‘inside job”.  Solid evidence of explosives as the cause for the twin tower  collapse has surfaced.  This will accelerate suspicion of the government and could undermine political confidence in the nation’s leadership structure and lead to a political transformation.

The ongoing financial disasters have caused an enormous loss of middle class wealth.  This undermines financial confidence in America’s capitalist system and, if prolonged, could lead to a changed economic system.

A convergence of financial turmoil and 9/11 revelations could cause a broad breakdown in public trust of government and markets.  The US government could fall or lose the ability to govern.  That’s unthinkable but not impossible.
    
A prolonged economic recession provides a gestation environment for a critical linkage to form. 

The linkage has 3 steps:

  1. Public anger grows towards spending, debt, taxes and a falling standard of living. 
  2. The public learns 9/11 was an inside job.
  3. Linkage: The public believes 9/11 was an inside job and the government is responsible for the related financial problems.

Point #1 is at least 70% accomplished.  Point #2 is above 30%.  A shift is occurring to #3.

 
 

 

A Black Swan is Circling the White House.
Let’s consider, what would it take for a Black Swan event to occur.  The public would need to link the financial failures to a moral crisis resulting in a loss of faith in those who lead this country.  The moral crisis is 9/11.

Scientists state that the collapse of the WTC buildings on September 11, 2001 was not caused by burning fuel from crashing airplanes. Their evidence, if not scientifically refuted, indicates that the collapse was caused by highly advanced explosives.   In particular, it shows that thermite explosives were present.

A scientific paper published on April 5, 2009 in a peer reviewed science journal says that large volumes of nano thermite explosive were in the twin tower debris. 

Here’s the link to the paper published in the Open Chemical Physics Journal in April 2009.  Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe (http://www.bentham-open.org/pages/content.php?TOCPJ/2009/00000002/00000001/7TOCPJ.SGM)

Regular thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder and a metal oxide.  It is man- made and not naturally occurring. It burns very fast and very hot. Thermite is used in welding and fireworks and is used to cut steel.

Nano Thermite (super thermite) means the particles approach atomic in size. It is created by building up from the atomic level. This is a high tech material and described in military circles as the "explosive of the future".   It is illegal to manufacture it or to own it.  It is for military use and has no other application. Al Qaeda doesn’t have it and it wasn’t on the airplanes. It was first documented at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in 1998. It burns 300 times faster than normal thermite and quickly melts steel. It can be sprayed onto surfaces or shaped and when ignited reacts explosively with a tremendous destructive force.

The authors state:
The collapses of the three tallest WTC buildings were remarkable for their completeness, their near free-fall speed [11] their striking radial symmetry [1, 12] and the surprisingly large volume of fine toxic dust [13] that was generated.  In order to better understand these features of the destruction, the authors initiated an examination of this dust.

The Paper Concludes:
Based on these observations, we conclude that the red layer of the red/gray chips we have discovered in the WTC dust is active, unreacted thermitic material, incorporating nanotechnology, and is a highly energetic pyrotechnic or explosive material – Source:  Open Chemical Physics Journal

How much nano thermite was originally present?  According to the scientists, over 10 tons of thermite and possibly much more.

 
 

 

A Reasonable Person Must at Least Consider the Demolition Evidence
The evidence for demolition is there.  This isn’t conspiracy crazy talk – it’s science.  Don't confuse those of us using a scientific approach with fringe types who deny the presence of airliners or who hypothesize about energy weapons. Let’s briefly list the evidence for demolition presented by people who don’t accept the official story and who use the scientific method.  

Consider these points and the then view the videos provided below.

  1. Never before in history has a steel structured building entirely collapsed due to fire anywhere in the world.  Never.  On 9/11 three buildings collapsed. The twin towers collapse hurled debris outwards with explosive force in all directions for hundreds of feet.  A fire may weaken the steel beams as heat moves across a building but it can’t burn hot enough or long enough to melt the steel.  In a fire, a steel building topples by falling to the side where the steel is weakened (annealed).  This would cause a partial and uneven collapse and not a total failure. How could all the concrete and furniture be pulverized to dust?
  2. The official explanation is the building floors pancaked because the insulation was compromised by the airplane fuel.  The insulation wouldn’t all fail at one moment.  The two largest buildings had a rigid central core and an external framework.  The steel wouldn’t all fatigue at the same time.
  3. It is impossible by the laws of physics for a skyscraper to naturally collapse at freefall speed.  Freefall is the speed attained by dropping an object from a height with nothing to impede its descent.  The twin towers and the third building, WTC 7, each collapsed at near freefall speed.  The steel structure below the damaged floors was extremely heavy and rigid and would have deflected the falling upper floors or at least slowed the descent. 
  4. WTC 7 was the third skyscraper – 47 stories high.  It fell at freefall speed and was not hit by an airplane.  It suffered only eight small fires but then suddenly collapsed. Just look at the videos on youtube.com of the collapse. 
  5. Molten metal poured from the twin towers and large volumes of molten steel formed at the base of the collapse.  The steel was molten over a week later despite a lake of water poured on it.  Jet fuel burns at under 600º.  A building fire is at most 1600°.  Steel melts at 2700º.  Thermite burns at 4500º and will burn under water. Molten metal is the signature of thermite.
  6. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) investigated why the towers collapsed.  They said they found no evidence of explosives but later admitted they never examined the dust from the collapsed buildings.  They later admitted that they never looked for any evidence of explosives. It appears they formed a conclusion and then concocted a theory of collapse to support it. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had the the site scrubbed of all debris and had it sent to Asia before any investigation could be performed.
  7. The NTSB has never before failed to find the black boxes from a domestic airliner crash. NTSB told the 9/11 Commission the boxes were never found. That contradicts statements from workers at the site. Nicholas DeMasi and Mike Bellone, among others, witnessed the recovery of the black boxes by FBI agents. The two site recovery workers, one a former NYC firefighter, were told to never mention the finding of the black boxes. They were not called as witnesses by the 9/11 Commission. The pair related their story in the book Behind the Scene: Ground Zero. The black boxes contain cockpit conversations, communications and flight maneuver data.

Here are a few short videos that you can view from within this document that explain things in plain language. Just click on the arrow to start the videos. (Note: You may have a slow time connecting to these videos due to heavy access.)

In this video, architect Richard Gage explains the facts of the WTC destruction (time: 20 minutes - alternate link at  http://www.ae911truth.org/omnitv_interview.htm).

 

A seven minute video by a physicist explains freefall.  He proved that the original government explanation was impossible. NIST eventually admitted the building fell at freefall speed. (time: 7 minutes alternate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz43hcKYBm4&feature=related)

 

 

The science article published in the Open Physics Journal is not a conspiracy theory rant.  It is a scholarly report published by eight scientific experts.  It is peer reviewed.  That means the journal editor selects other experts unknown to the authors to review the science and approve it prior to publication. 

This paper delivers evidence that on 9/11 explosives brought down the buildings.  If true, it raises implications that are horrifying. It forces us to ask:  Why was nano thermite in the WTC buildings and how did it get there?

This video with chemistry professor and nano technology expert Niels Harrit is important. He is one of the report authors and here talks on Danish telvevision. (time: 10 minutes - alternate http://agenda911.dk/article.php?story=nanothermite_tv2news )

 

The thermite in the dust was not from paint primer because it's of a totally different chemical composition. NIST refuses to comment on the report and refuses to look for evidence of addtional conventional explosives which Dr. Harrit says must surely exist. The major news networks have a total information blackout on the nano thermite topic. Instead, we get cable TV documentaries constructed by political hacks that try to discredit the dissenting scientists and the brave law FBI agents, firefighters and intelligence professionals that have stepped forward. Meanwhile, the story spreads on the Internet. It's the government lie that's becoming the conspiracy.

NIST won't deny there is thermite in the dust but says the scientists can't prove it wasn't added to the samples. The scientists say that NIST should test the dust in the government's own possession rather than purposely twist the science into a chain of custody issue. Settle the matter once and for all with science. NIST refuses to test the dust - a simple test they could accomplish in a less than two days. Now, think about it. NIST could discredit the scientists and the 9/11 Truth Movement by proving there is no explosive residue in their own dust. They must have already tested the dust and know what's in it.

Thousands of Americans died on 9/11.  Over one million more died in the Iraq and Afghan oil wars.  Many people will develop illnesses from exposure to asbestos and toxins in the WTC dust. Why? Many believe the Bush/Cheney regime needed a reason to go to war. 9/11 and a gullible public let them do it.   Others point out that Bush was in office only nine months and insiders from the Clinton administration era must have provided the continuity.

 
 

 

Implications if the Report is Correct

  • The report throws into doubt the US government’s official report on 9/11.  It implies that the three buildings destroyed on 9/11 were intentionally demolished with people still inside.  Since the quantity of thermite was huge, it had to be in the buildings and not on the planes.  It must have been strategically placed to cause a controlled demolition. 
  • The thermite had to be planted by someone with the motive to kill, with the means of obtaining nano thermite, and with the opportunity to access the buildings.

Consider the Risks
The US Government has diminished credibility because of the wars and our financial problems.  Let’s look at the implications.

Let’s discuss the financial system. The dollar reserve currency system is under assault. The American public views the banking bailouts as giveaways to the rich and the well connected. The US stock market is selling at a PE of 28 based on reported earnings – a level not seen since the pre-crash year of 1999.  In addition, according to an April report from Credit Suisse, the wealthy and large institutions are buying gold at a rate four times that of 2008.  The main generators of American prosperity are failing.  Unemployment is rising, house prices are falling, stock markets are down over 40% since 2007 and the banks are broke.  Massive government deficit spending will improve economic conditions in the short term but how long will it last and how will our foreign creditors respond?

Let’s discuss the social environment: Fringe groups are expanding in America.  Anger is growing towards immigrants and taxation.  We have Minutemen and Tea Parties. Mistrust in congress is very high and there’s a pervasive animosity towards Wall Street. People are buying lots of guns. Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano issued warnings to state police departments to watch out for potential troublemakers like Iraq veterans, people strongly opposed to illegal immigration, abortion or other single issues, and citizens who quote the constitution or who have Ron Paul bumper stickers. Hey Janet, you’re talking about most of America! 

The Patriot Act and various legislations allow the government to circumvent the constitution and imprison people without trials, label dissenters as terrorists and spy on the public to gather evidence of terrorist activity – whatever than now means.  Regular army units have been assigned to domestic security.  Something is up.  It has become increasingly clear that it’s not terrorists but “we the people” the government fears.

 
 

 

The Soviet Experience
If public confidence in the leadership falters along with more damage to the financial markets, then the US government could experience a crisis and a subsequent diminished ability to govern. It happened once before when a Black Swan landed in the Soviet Union. In that case, severe financial problems merged with the loss of Eastern Bloc nations causing a loss of confidence in the Soviet system.

In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev was a new type of leader for Russia and a reformer.  Faced with economic stagnation and corruption, he tried to change the nation’s centralized power structure and planned economy.  He opened channels to the West. The changes he started released the nation’s coiled energy.  The Berlin Wall fell in the late 80’s after Moscow loosened its control over its satellite nations like East Germany and Ukraine.  In 1991 the Soviet government fell.  It surprised the world.  To change the country, its institutions had to first collapse and then rebuild.

Barrack Obama is trying to repair America’s relations with Iran and move the nation away from the Bush-Cheney requirement of a single superpower.  He’s investigating Bush era torture and talking of prosecuting criminal actions of Bush’s subordinates. In effect, we’re seeing a moderation of the prior management model.  This is at odds with the aggressive military-industrial agenda that has characterized American foreign policy. 

There was a reason for the excess and madness of the Bush-Cheney regime.  It was necessary to overpower weak nations possessing oil reserves in the Middle East before they could politically align themselves or link to China. Without cheap oil, America’s growth rate would falter.  Aggression maintained control. 

What will happen if Obama’s financial plan fails or there’s a sudden exposé from insiders about 9/11?  Washington could suffer a catastrophic loss of control.  Could we experience a sudden financial collapse or large scale political dissent? 

Only in the rear view mirror was the festering rot and corruption in Gorbachev’s Russia the obvious cause of its collapse. Is it much different today in America where for twenty five years rampant debt and political malfeasance has permeated our society?  The deceitful wars, the corruption of congress and the sequential financial market collapses are symptoms of serious and perhaps fatal problems. 

The Black Swan is public opinion of 9/11 linking with financial fears and finding someone to blame it on.  If our economy crosses the Swan’s path while in a weakened state,  Obama may be the last elected president of the United States. 

 
 

 

The Political Problem
President Obama is walking an economic tightrope while trying to balance his actions for the greater good.   Hopefully, he understands the fate of Mikail Gorbachov, a man who also inherited a government in deep trouble and sought a better society. 

Obama’s need to reform America may be outrun by economic and social forces.  At some point, the public mood could get ahead of his ability to shape events and he will appear weak and reactive.
 
He could try to refute the accuracy of the thermite scientific paper.  There’s plenty of angry debunkers on the Internet blogs ready to attack anyone who presents unsettling facts.  Trouble is, maybe it’s good science and quite true – then what.  Obama’s policy makers better keep a close watch on public opinion regarding 9/11. 

We can’t dismiss the stories we hear from the 9/11 Truth Movement and sometimes even the press.  For example:

Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio, has told Italy’s oldest and most widely read newspaper that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad, and that this was common knowledge among global intelligence agencies.

Cossiga’s tendency to be outspoken upset the Italian political establishment, and he was forced to resign after revealing the existence of, and his part in setting up, Operation Gladio. This was a rogue intelligence network under NATO auspices that carried out bombings across Europe in the 1960s, 1970s and ’80s. Gladio’s specialty was to carry out what they termed “false flag” operations — terror attacks that were blamed on their domestic and geopolitical opposition.

In March 2001, Gladio agent Vincenzo Vinciguerra stated, in sworn testimony, “You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple: to force … the public to turn to the state to ask for greater security.”

– Source:  http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/9-11_solved118.html

The CIA and Mossad are common targets but this is coming from a former head of state. If president Cossiga is accurate and truthful about foreign governments knowing it was an inside job, then the thermite story might become a real problem.  What if a foreign government officially breaks with Washington on 9/11?  Does Obama push back on the story or get ahead of it?  

If nano-thermite brought down the buildings on 9/11 then delaying justice will only make things worse.  If the US government is innocent then it needs to act quickly to refute the story and offer a plausible and honest explanation.

 
 

 

Consciousness Resistance
Political strategists state that the government must act on a growing issue once 40% of population believes it to be true.  As of late 2007 according to two polls, about 30% of Americans said they didn’t believe the official story on 9/11.  (http://www.slate.com/id/2215703/).  A 2007 Zogby poll had 51% stating that George Bush and Dick Cheney should be investigated for the 9/11 attacks. – (Source: http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20070906103632686 )   

I’ve been tracking the penetration of the thermite story within the US media and abroad since the science paper was published in early April 2009.  It has been very slow moving. There has been no mention of it in the mainstream press (as of 4/30/2009) but it is spreading slowly on alternative news sites and the internet.  The story could take longer to pop than you might think. 

I’ve performed selective tests on well educated people including an engineer and an architect and have found an extreme reluctance to even look at the disconcerting facts. People will get quiet, or angry or they’ll accuse me of spreading conspiracy theories but they won’t look at the science article or read the facts. It’s amazing! 

The American public doesn’t like to hear these sort of things. The typical response is a blank-faced numbness and a desire to dismiss what has been reported. 

The broad population has a stupefying willingness to believe advertisements, politicians, and distorted news delivered by ‘experts’.  Americans are conditioned to take truth by the spoonful; i.e. the sound bite.  For this reason, I can’t predict a timeline for the 9/11 story to gel.  People don’t talk about it and it’s hard to gauge public discontent.  Things could change very quickly under the right circumstances.  I have to believe scientists and intelligent skeptics will find it hard to explain military thermite.

The question many ask is how could the government keep a 9/11 conspiracy secret.  Someone would surely talk or leak a story to the press. Maybe they have talked.  One commentator said, “Until the public is ready, perhaps it’s best to appear skeptical, build sources, cooperate with like-minded reporters and closely watch events.  Wait for the correct social and economic conditions to have a mass media epiphany”.

It’s conceivable that a confluence of economic and political events could cause a financial panic in America if the government appears to be faltering under a foreign crisis or domestic discord.  Insiders could suddenly come forward with revelations and create a crisis. Foreign nations may take advantage of chaos within America. Chaos is possible if public discovery and anger over 9/11 coincides with a vulnerable point in the financial reconstruction.  The unexpected will occur.

 
 

 

Can It Be True?
I’m sure to take some flak for writing about 9/11 and the markets but I can’t ignore the facts and the  implications for investments. 
 
The scientific evidence has shifted the burden of proof onto the government.  I’m still open to an updated official explanation on 9/11 - and waiting.  It’s not crazy to discuss demolition as the cause for the collapse of the three World Trade Center buildings. It correlates with the observed effects.  What’s crazy is ignoring the laws of physics and the direct evidence of explosives.  Rather than react with anger at the bearer of news, readers should look at the facts dispassionately and objectively and educate themselves.  There are several websites with good science.  I’d start with www.ae911truth.org

Few people know that three skyscrapers collapsed on 9/11. I challenge you to explain the 47 story WTC 7 building collapse.  That’s what I tried to do five years ago.  It looked like a controlled demolition to me.  It fell seven hours after the twin towers and at freefall speed.  It was not hit by an airplane. It’s impossible for small fires to cause the instantaneous collapse of a modern building with massive concrete and steel columns.  It’s not possible to wire a building for demolition in a few hours.  That means it was done on a prior day.  Even the government can’t explain it.  You can’t attack the dissenters and omit WTC 7 from the discussion. The evidence is astonishingly obvious.

I suspect America is in the grip of a myth – a powerful social phenomenon.

We’ve become brainwashed by a fairy tale – a desire to believe a story because it makes us feel better.  People who doubt the myth whisper their doubts.  I’m not whispering. Having examined the 9/11 evidence, I say the official story doesn’t add up. 

Most people are conformists and don’t rock the boat.  That’s a great attitude for getting along in the office.  It’s deadly in the investment world. The crowd is always wrong at market turning points.  The crowd is always surprised by events out of the ordinary.  The change factors leading to revolutionary social and economic events leave a trail.  The clues to the new trend are always there when you look backwards. 

9/11 was the event that started America onto the path of war,  reckless deficits, a stock boom, a housing boom and all the subsequent crashes.  The new facts of 9/11 are important because of our precarious financial situation. A wise investor will evaluate the evidence and decide for themselves if there’s a potential for economic and social disruption. 

A faltering economy and falling living standards is a breeding ground for discontent.  If anger is externalized, it could force major social and economic changes.  All it would take is a startling disclosure forging the link of blame in the public’s mind.  If that happens, it could greatly impact your finances.  Barrack Obama is proof we’re at a turning point in American politics and he’s open to revolutionary changes. 

I started this article with a quote from author A. Conan Doyle.  I’ll close with a quote from an early twentieth century American newspaperman.

"The truth, indeed, is something that mankind, for some mysterious reason, instinctively dislikes. Every man who tries to tell it is unpopular, and even when, by the sheer strength of his case, he prevails, he is put down as a scoundrel." - H.L. Mencken

 
 

 

Other Information:

A Nail in the Coffin: John Farmer, a Dean of Law at Rutgers and the man who wrote the US government's official 9/11 report, now says that report is a lie and a cover-up from start to finish. He does not take the side of Truth Movement. He does state the 9/11 Commission was lied to by all levels of government from the White House to the FBI. The 9/11 Truth "debunkers" now have to contend with the ulimate insider saying you shouldn't believe a word of the report. He even wrote a book on it - The Ground Truth - available at Amazon. It's not a great book but serves to prove beyond any doubt that what you were told is not really what happened.

Top Ten Connections between NIST and nano thermite

Dr. Niels Harrit answers questions on the 911 Thermite paper

The Waning Power of Truth

Wonder why the mainstream news suppresses the true 9/11 story?

Wayne Madsen is a Washington, D.C.-based investigative journalist, author, and syndicated columnist. His articles have appeared in many publications. Madsen was a Senior Fellow of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He was an intelligence officer in the US Navy and a communications security analyst with the National Security Agency (NSA).

Still don't believe the government is hiding anything about 9/11? FBI translator Sibel Edmonds thinks so along with FBI agents. She worked as an FBI translator immediately after 9/11 and her work maps out a corruption scheme involving U.S. government employees, members of Congress and agents of Israel and Turkey. In November 2009 she broke a US government gag order and went public in an interview with American Conservative Magazine. Her statements are verified and stunning. US officials in Congress and the State Department including key neocons sold defense secrets, for personal gain, to foreign governments. The bin Laden family was the key information conduit from 1997 to 2001. NATO airplanes were used to ship drugs to Europe and America.

Read my Special Report: The Coming US Political Collapse

David Steele, a 20 year marine corp veteran and former CIA case officer, says Dick Cheney is directly responsible for 9/11. Other people in the US government had foreknowledge.

 
 

Do you still believe "Truthers" are all conspiracy theorists?

Here is a list of 41 senior U.S. Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Agency Veterans who Challenge the Official Account of 9/11

Below is a list of Military Leaders and officials Who Demand the Truth about 9/11 (This list is only a snippet of the military experts, diplomats and scholars who say the government story on 9/11 is a lie.)

Here's the Full List of Signing Objectors: http://patriotsquestion911.com/media.html

Major General Albert Stubblebine, U.S. Army (ret) – Former Commanding General of U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command

General Wesley Clark, U.S. Army (ret) – Former Commanding General of U.S. European Command, which included all American military activities in the 89 countries and territories of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.  Additionally, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)

Terrell E. Arnold, MA - Former Deputy Director of Counter- Terrorism and Emergency Planning, U.S. State Department

Bogdan Dzakovic – Witness before the 9/11 Commission. 14- year Counter-terrorism expert in the Security Division of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Col. Ronald D. Ray, U.S. Marine Corps (ret) – Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Reagan Administration and a highly decorated Vietnam veteran (two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart). 

Capt. Edgar Mitchell, U.S. Navy (ret), Doctor of Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT – Pilot and Astronaut.  Sixth man to walk on the moon (Apollo 14 mission). 

Lt. Col. Shelton F. Lankford, U.S. Marine Corps (ret) – Retired U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot with over 300 combat missions flown. Decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and 32 awards of the Air Medal.

Major Scott Ritter, U.S. Marine Corps – Former Marine Corps Intelligence Officer and Chief Weapons Inspector for the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq 1991 - 1998.

Coleen Rowley – Former Special Agent and Minneapolis Division Counsel, FBI.  24-year FBI career.  Agent Rowley was selected one of Time Magazine's three 2002 Persons of the Year for revealing FBI headquarters' efforts to "throw up roadblocks and undermine" FBI field investigations of Al Qaeda operatives in the four weeks prior to 9/11.

Robert G. Wright, Jr. – Special Agent, International Terrorism Unit, FBI.  17-year FBI veteran.

Harry Samit – Special Agent, FBI, assigned to the FBI Field Office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Former U.S. Navy pilot and Naval Intelligence Officer. He is most noted for arresting Zacarias Moussaoui on August 16, 2001.

Senator Bob Kerrey – US Senator and Medal of Honor Recipient. Appointed to the 9/11 Commission upon the resignation of Senator Max Cleland in December 2003 and served on the Commission during the final seven months of its 19-month existence. 

 

 

copyright 2009, The Gleason Report (www.gleasonreport.com) This document may be freely distributed if author credit is given and the page source is linked to the TGR site.