From the February 2005 Idaho Observer:

Life-long Republican believes only piece of Flight 77 wreckage was planted at Pentagon on 9/11

by Greg Szymanski

Right wing conservatives would probably say "it’ll be a cold day in hell" before one of their own portrayed President Bush as a fascist and a bold-faced liar about the 9/11 attacks and his motives behind the Iraq war.

But that’s just what Jim Hanson of Columbus, Ohio, a longtime Republican and former district campaign manager for Richard Nixon, thinks of our bible-toting, gun slinging President.

To prove his point, the 70-year-old retired attorney recently spent $9,000 to place a ½ page ad in the Columbus Dispatch, denouncing the Bush administration specifically concerning one photo of the Pentagon crash, which he claims will prove government complicity in 9/11.

A registered Republican for more than 50 years, Hanson claims he has no "axe to grind" with the GOP, but after spending three years researching the events surrounding 9/11, he is convinced the government is either complicit in the attacks or had prior knowledge.

"They needed something big, something to instill fear into the American people," said Hanson. "The WTC attacks was their Pearl Harbor and I’m positive it didn’t occur the way the Bush administration claims. I’ve concluded the story lacks credibility and makes little sense.

"After researching 9/11, I finally felt obligated to come forward, especially about a military photo taken of a piece of wreckage off Flight 77. After blowing up the photo and matching rivets to those of the 757 that supposedly crashed into the Pentagon, I found there wasn’t a match. This piece of wreckage was from a different plane.

"If it can be proved that this piece didn’t come from Flight 77, it would open the door, exposing the rest of the government conspiracy."

The key photo of a four-foot section of the plane’s body was snapped by Army Times staff photographer, Mark D. Faram right after the crash. It was then quickly distributed to the media and remains the only piece of wreckage of Flight 77 ever made public.

After thoroughly investigating the matter, Hanson said the plane that hit the Pentagon wasn’t Flight 77, yet the Bush administration has gone to great lengths to keep hidden any trace of Flight 77.

"Not only didn’t the rivets match in the photo I blew up, but also there was a curious piece of wood or what I have determined to be a liana vine, imbedded into the aluminum piece of wreckage," said Hanson, who has gone to great pains to study this aspect of the photo.

"Why would there be vines or branches imbedded into the aluminum when the plane hit a brick wall? Logically, it must the piece must have come from another 757. I then found out that another 757 went down in the South American jungle in 1995, where liana vines (similar to wicker) grow abundantly."

Hanson then called the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and was told the wreckage of the 757 that crashed in the jungle was being held in a military disposal site for investigation. The specific location of the wreckage site, however, was unknown.

"I think the military substituted this piece of wreckage in an attempt to deceive the public, in an attempt to make them believe Flight 77 hit the Pentagon when it didn’t.

"If it can be proven that the piece of wreckage in the photo came from another plane, the only piece of hard evidence that Flight 77 actually hit the Pentagon can be refuted," added Hanson. Why hasn’t the photographer been questioned or why didn’t Farem testify before the 9/11 Commission?"

Attempts for several weeks to reach Farem have been unsuccessful by telephone or email.

Critics from the outset have doubted the government story that Flight 77 actually hit the Pentagon. Independent investigators found the lack of physical evidence, contradictory eyewitness testimony as well as size and point of impact

discrepancies have indicated a smaller type of military plane or missile crashed into the Pentagon, not a 757.

"I think this one mistake regarding the military photo, could bring down the house of cards and expose the entire conspiracy," said Hanson, who said he is continuing his investigation until the truth is discovered. "I am no longer affiliating myself with the Republican Party considering the outrageous acts that have been perpetrated on the American people. This is beyond politics. This is outright fascism."

As other 9/11 conspiracy advocates contend, Hanson also believes the Bush administration used the attacks as a way to frighten and convince Americans that the pre-emptive war in Iraq was justified under the name of terrorism.

"One day the truth will be told and it will show the deception of the Bush administration. The WTC attacks, the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act are all apart of this administration’s scheme to radically change our foreign and domestic policies, which will have grave consequences for years to come.

"I believe we must continue to investigate and demand questions about 9/11 since the Bush White House is built like a house of cards. One day, when the truth be told, it will all come crumbling down."