Today’s Winnipeg Free Press carried a letter to the editor from Leslie Hughes, a journalist who was dropped as a Liberal candidate last week over an article she wrote in 2002 about the motivations behind the invasion of Afghanistan and some of the circumstances surrounding the 911 terrorist attacks in the US. This is what she had to say:
Six years ago, I wrote a column which examined evidence that the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan may have been motivated by the drive for oil and drug profits. As background, I reported that the intelligence agencies of Germany, Israel and Russia all warned the CIA that the attacks of Sept. 11 were coming, a fact also reported in the London Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post, and on Fox News. I noted that the U.S. disregarded the warnings, but Israeli businesses took them seriously, and (sensibly) vacated the Twin Towers.
The Canadian Jewish Congress seems to have assumed that I am one of those who subscribe to a bizarre conspiracy theory that the world’s Jews were responsible for 9-11, a ludicrous idea I have never supported. As a result of the Congress’s assumption, I have been slandered as an odious anti-Semite, a claim accepted by the prime minister, by the leader of the opposition, and the nation’s media. I have also been labelled an extremist nutbar who has promoted, rather than investigated, the possibility that 9-11 was an inside job. As a result, the voters of Kildonan-St. Paul have no Liberal candidate, and a narrower debate before electing their MP.
One hopes journalists will be asking two questions: 1) Who benefits from this hysteria? 2) Is it still possible for journalists to do the work of journalism, which is to “challenge the official story” in an atmosphere of fear and ridicule?
LESLEY HUGHES
Winnipeg
Paul S. Graham 
Lesley was hung out to dry by drive-by smearing aka Chernik and company. She wrote a good letter to editor.
Reminds me of the libs making hay of Harper’s speech plagiarism. So much of a big deal that soon it will side swipe Iggy who was pro invasion of Iraq.
And moreover
That Harper copied a speech given by a Australian conservative-minded LIBERAL party leader Howard.
It ties Harper and Iggy together and the conservative and liberal parties in a 1/2 punch.
Be careful what you wish for comes to mind here
As well as
People in glass houses should not throw stones
Jan’s right, Liberal operative Jason Cherniak started this fire by attempting to smear the NDP as anti-Semitic 9/11 truthers leading to a conflagration that only hurt his own party.
Since he’s hitched his star to Dion, his career prospects in the Liberal Party are probably fairly limited now, but hopefully the damage his style of sleazy innuendos ended up causing will be part of the inevitable post mortem Liberals begin on October 15th anyway.
This is absurd and Dion knows it. Hughes has been actively involved with the 9/11 truth movement for 6 years now. This isn’t any new discovery. She has spoken at public panels and authored numerous articles. It’s not like she was trying to hide it!
If Liberals deemed this behavior inappropriate, they shouldn’t have let her join the party, or let her run as an MP. Why wait till now?
It’s clear that Dion is just succumbing to pressure from Conservatives and Jewish Congress. What did this earn him? Are there voters who will sway to the Liberal side now because of his decision? NO!
He lost my vote. I’m forced to vote for NDP. It’s just the least of the 5 evils.
Here is my thought: http://www.blables.com/article/?a=23