The movement to declassify the 28-page finding on foreign
government support of the 9/11 hijackers depends on individual actions
by concerned citizens. While we emphasize calls and letters to Congress and the White House, another powerful tool is a letter to the editor of a newspaper or magazine.
Today’s Austin American Statesman features a letter from 28Pages.org director Brian McGlinchey, writing in his capacity as a constituent of Congressman Lamar Smith:
Release Classified 9/11 Finding
If you were elected to Congress and your peers urged you to read a
classified 28-page finding on foreign government support of the 9/11
hijackers because it was critical to understanding sources of terrorism,
would you do it? Not if you’re Rep. Lamar Smith.
After months of sidestepping my questions posed via letters, emails
and phone calls, the congressman’s staff finally acknowledged that Smith
hasn’t done the homework that peers in both parties have urged him to
do. Bottom line: Lamar Smith—a member of the House Homeland Security
Committee—votes with an incomplete understanding of the terror threat.
After reading this material, Rep. Thomas Massie said: “I had to stop
every two or three pages and rearrange my perception of history.” Every
American should be able to read those 28 pages. Every member of Congress
should support House Resolution 14, which urges our president to
release them.
BRIAN MCGLINCHEY, SAN ANTONIO
Public Political Pressure
Rep. Lamar Smith
This letter spotlights Congressman Smith’s failure to heed the call
of Congressmen Walter Jones, Stephen Lynch and Thomas Massie to read the
28 pages. It makes Smith pay a public price for his inaction,
alerts other legislators to their own potential vulnerability
and enlightens both readers and the newspaper’s staff about the issue.
Your letter doesn’t have to focus on your representative’s failure to
read the 28 pages. Instead, you could simply spotlight their failure to
join the list of cosponsors of
House Resolution 14, which urges the president to declassify the 28
pages and give Americans the information they need and deserve.
If you would like to focus on your legislator’s failure to
read the 28 pages, you don’t have to wait until you finally get the
staff to admit to it. Using our script,
you could simply make one phone call and ask if the legislator has read
the 28 pages or asked permission to do so, requesting a call-back with
your answer.
When that call (almost inevitably) fails to come after, say, three
business days, you’re off to the races. As you share your experience in
your letter, you can say something like “since the staff decided not
to call back, it seems likely that Representative _____ has not read
this important material and is casting life-and-death votes on
incomplete information” and go on from there.
A More General Approach
As an alternative, you can take a broader approach to the issue. Here’s an example of a letter—published in the Northwest Herald in Woodstock, Illinois—that pressures Congress in general and the president specifically:
The day terrorists attacked the Charlie Hebdo office in
France, Congressmen Walter Jones and Stephen Lynch – with former Senate
Intelligence Chairman Bob Graham and Terry Strada, co-chair of the 9/11
Families United for Justice Against Terrorism – held a news conference
to announce the introduction of House Resolution 14, which calls on the
president to declassify 28 pages of the joint congressional inquiry into
9/11.
This news conference is the latest attempt to bring the truth to the public about who is financing terrorism.
Follow the money is a common phrase used when trying to disclose how things happen.
On two occasions, in the presence of 9/11 victims’ families,
President Barack Obama has said he would declassify the 28 pages, but
has so far refused.
There should be massive pressure placed upon the House to
sign the resolution and pressure on the Senate to sponsor a
corresponding resolution. These actions might give Obama a backbone to
do the right thing.
As long as this cover-up continues, all counterterrorism plans are for naught.
NICHOLAS C. KOCKLER, WOODSTOCK
Tips for Your Letter to the Editor
Keep it focused on just this topic
Keep it brief—no more than 150 words
Have a pal proofread it
Check the paper’s guidance for length and how to submit it; most have online forms
Increase your odds of success: Try more than one newspaper or magazine
If your letter is published, share it in a comment on our Facebook page, and spread it around using Facebook, Twitter and other social media
For inspiration on key points to hit, use the letters above and skim through this page and this one
