Anonymous Academic asks us in the letter Keep mind open on Bali bombers to consider the possibility that the US itself orchestrated the Bali attack and demands conclusive evidence otherwise.

Let us go a little further. By his standards, we should also keep an open mind about Sept 11 itself. Wouldn't it be possible for the CIA to have covertly 'helped' al-Queda to carry out the attacks on the World Trade Centre so that the loss of 3,000 Americans and foreigners would enable President George W Bush to go after the Taliban first, then President Saddam Hussein?So the Americans are actually directly behind Sept 11 itself!

Every opinion is valid, yes? And so on, ad absurdum . Methinks a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

About the site that Academic refers to as giving credence to his baffling arguments, the important facts about what purportedly happened are:

  • the US military proposed bizarre plans to destabilise Cuba, but the civilian leaders vetoed them. The civilians who were accountable to the American people were in charge and they properly discharged that trust

  • General Lyman Lemnitzer, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff who made the outlandish suggestions to the-then defence secretary, was told directly by President John F Kennedy that there was virtually no possibility of ever using force to take Cuba. Lemnitzer was, within months, denied another term as JCS chief and transferred elsewhere.

    • After public interest swelled in JFK's assassination, Congress passed a law to increase the public's access to government records

    The above demonstrates the effective working of strong democratic processes. AA's reference to the abcNews.com site doesn't bear up — it does not support his opinions. This reference to supposedly objective third parties is a popular tactic to gather support, which has backfired this time.