9/11: The Big Lie

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L'Effroyable imposture ^[1] (or "The Horrifying Fraud") is the original French title of a highly controversial best-selling 2002 conspiracy theory book by French journalist and political activist Thierry Meyssan. Its English edition is entitled 9/11: The Big Lie.

The book argues that the the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were "false flag" operations directed by right-wingers in the U.S. government and the military-industrial complex who sought a casus belli for military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. A publishing sensation in France^[2], the book has also received severe criticism over its factuality in both the French and U.S. mainstream news media. The U.S. government has publicly denounced the book and considers it a significant international misinformation threat. The crux of the criticism emphasizes that the book contradicts much eyewitness and forensic evidence and so cannot be accepted as a factual account.

The book sustained a number 1 bestseller position in France for six of seven weeks immediately after its launch, and also broke the French record for first-month book sales that was previously held by Madonna's Sex.^[3] It has since been translated into 28 languages (as of 2006),^[4] attracting substantial international media attention.^[5]

1 Synopsis
2 Criticism
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

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French edition cover - the subtitle reads "No plane crashed into the Pentagon!"

[edit] Criticism

The book was widely and heavily criticized by the French mainstream news media. For instance, the leading left wing newspaper Libération called their book: "The Frightening Confidence Trick ... A tissue of wild and irresponsible allegations, entirely without foundation"; and the leading French weekly news magazine, Le Nouvel Observateur commented that the book's theory "eliminates reality". Both Libération and the French newspaper of record, Le Monde, launched special investigations to disprove Meyssan's theories. At the time, Le Monde also complained that inconsistencies in the public information made available about the terror attacks, as well as the lack of a comprehensive official account, was fueling the popularity of the book.^[6]

A few months after the launch of L'Effroyable imposture, two French journalists, Guillaume Dasquié and Jean Guisnel, published their own book L'Effroyable mensonge ("The Horrifying Lie")^[7], which was a point-by-point rebuttal of Meyssan's book.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense has officially commented that the book's publication was "a slap in the face and real offence to the American people, particularly to the memory of victims of the attacks".^[6] The book is regarded as a significant international misinformation threat to national interests by the U.S. Department of State, which has issued an official rebuttal of its key claims.^[8]