Secrecy breeds conspiracy theory

One of the themes in John Dean's Worse than Watergate is that when leaders fail to address the concerns of the public, when their actions remain secret and questions remain unanswered, conspiracy theories begin to grow.

Checking WikiNews today I see that a Zogby poll released Monday found

Forty-five percent of American adults surveyed in a Zogby poll think that the September 11, 2001 attacks should be investigated anew. Poll results indicated that 42% believe that there has been a cover up (with 10% unsure) and 45% think "Congress or an International Tribunal should re-investigate the attacks, including whether any US government officials consciously allowed or helped facilitate their success" (with 8% unsure).

WikiNews also notes that a previous Zogby poll found that "nearly half of New Yorkers polled believed certain U.S. officials 'consciously' allowed the attacks to happen."

That the United States government let 9/11 happen is an unsubstantiated and absurd theory, but the Bush administration's lack of enthusiam for an investigation and obstruction of inquiry into the events that led to 9/11 only fuels the fire of wild speculations.