The WSWS received numerous letters on the editorial statement, “The death of US Senator Paul Wellstone: accident or murder?” posted on October 29, 2002. This commentary raised a series of questions about the details of the plane crash in which Wellstone, his wife, daughter and five others died. It analyzed the political circumstances in which this tragedy took place and stated that any serious investigation into Wellstone’s death should include the possibility that he was targeted for political assassination.
Below we reprint a selection of letters commenting on Wellstone’s death. Additional letters, either attacking the suggestion that Wellstone’s death could have been murder, or raising questions about our political attitude towards the liberal Democratic senator, will be published next week with appropriate replies from the WSWS.
Regarding the above article, this is the first thing I thought of when I heard that Paul Wellstone had died in a plane crash. I believe it was sabotage as was the Mel Carnahan plane crash. This was way too convenient for the repuglicans. I think there are many liberals who feel the same way.
SC
31 October 2002
Dear Editors,
Don’t put it past the fascist SOB residing illegally in the White House to try to kill someone as morally and ethically upstanding as Senator Wellstone was. It is a known fact that White House officials were trying to find a way to get Wellstone “out of the way.” I truly believe Bush ordered Wellstone’s aircraft meddled with to make it crash. The Nazi fascist is totally without scruples, and is dangerously ruthless. Once again, hopefully, this maneuver on his part will backfire. Former Vice President Mondale is even further ahead in the “polls” of who people would vote for now, than even Wellstone was. Only the Republicans are going to use the Supreme Court to consider all absentee votes for Wellstone “void,” even though they would have simply voted for Mondale ...
DW
31 October 2002
I wanted you to know I very much enjoyed your recent article, “The death of US Senator Paul Wellstone: accident or murder?” I firmly believe that Wellstone was, in all likelihood, murdered.
Does the following scenario really seem so far fetched?
Wellstone’s pilot files an FAA flight plan just prior to takeoff (as required for all “IFR” flights), indicating exactly where and when he’ll be flying, and who will be aboard. This gives black op specialists ample time to move a van or truck full of VOR/ILS (VHF Omnidirectional Radio/Instrument Landing Service) jamming equipment into position.
As Wellstone’s plane approaches the airport, the VOR/ILS jamming equipment is activated, and a “decoy” VOR signal is sent to the plane, thus tricking the plane’s instruments (and the pilot) into believing the airport is somewhere several degrees off the true course to the runway. The pilot follows that signal straight into the ground.
The non-descript van, full of covert electronic jamming equipment, casually leaves the area, looking just like any other TV repair truck or moving van. The subsequent NTSB investigation centers on the airplane, the pilot, and the VOR/ILS system at the airport. Everything appears to be in order, and the “accident” is attributed to “pilot error.”
Cynical? Perhaps. But as George Bernard Shaw once observed, “The power of accurate perception is commonly referred to as cynicism by those who have not got it.” I hope I am wrong. I don’t think I am. And with the foxes watching the hen houses as they are, we are left only to speculate.
Sincerely,
SH
30 October 2002
Thanks for this article. I’ve been wondering when somebody was going to catch on that only liberal Democrats get assassinated, die in private plane crashes and receive anthrax mail, and all of the above go “unsolved.” Neo-Nazi is indeed correct about the post-WW2 Republican Party, esp. post-Reagan.
TW
30 October 2002
You should know that Carol Carmody, interim head of NTSB, is CIA. It’s right there in her bio.
BG
30 October 2002
Thank you for providing technical information about the plane in which Paul Wellstone was a passenger at the time of his untimely demise. I would not be at all surprised if his sudden death was a political murder. Killer Bush #2 will brook no opposition to his bellicose agenda.
SM
30 October 2002
Exactly my sentiments. Another excellent article. You are still the best.
MM
29 October 2002
Thanks for the Wellstone article. I am sure you are “reading the minds” of many folks with your questions and analysis. Your insightful reporting into the neo-Nazi influence in, if not control of, the present US government is the best I have read on the left. It is thoughtful, logical, and not unduly speculative. I have circulated your 9/11 related articles to many people and will continue to recommend your site. Keep up the fine work.
BF
Quito, Ecuador
29 October 2002
Interesting article on suspicions surrounding the crash that claimed the life of Senator Wellstone. Here is some other interesting information worth noting:
The Beechcraft King Air that crashed was manufactured by Raytheon. Raytheon just happens to be a major defense contractor and supplier of a multitude of missile systems including the AAMRAM, Patriot and Tomahawk. They are also at the forefront of developing Bush’s Star Wars missile defense “shield” as well as a leading developer of other Homeland Security projects. They have a long and cozy relationship with the Bush cartel. Their name also surfaces prominently in connection to the Florida flight school that trained many of the Sept 11 hijackers, and the flight that spirited many Arabs out of the country during those attacks while all other flights were grounded.
There was no flight recorder aboard the plane. Is this unusual? Seems it might be. I have no idea.
I currently have no opinion of exactly what happened to Wellstone. But these facts are certainly worth investigating.
EM
29 October 2002
The piece on Paul Wellstone articulates what more than a few Americans think. I would be interested to know how many US Congressmen’s accidental deaths were those in the Democratic Party. My hunch is the majority of Congressional representatives whose lives ended abruptly were in fact Democrat. The veiled threat implied in these peculiar happenstance events would indeed tend to influence how one votes in Congress.
ST
29 October 2002
Thanks for the balanced, thoughtful look at the death of Senator Wellstone. Your article is the first I’ve seen that connects the dots. The mainstream press won’t even mention the possibility that Wellstone’s (and Carnahan’s) death might not be an accident. And they certainly don’t mention these plane crashes in the larger context of the anthrax attacks (only Democrats targeted), the stolen election of 2000, and the hysterical eight-year effort to drive Bill Clinton from the White House.
JH
29 October 2002
There was at least one witness, a blond haired man who said he saw a flash of light at the rear of the plane. This was on CNN. Saw him once and that was it. Have you seen this? And it may have gone the way the New Mexican explosives expert went when he retracted what he said about the WTC towers’ collapse—looked like an implosion.
AW
29 October 2002