Kennebunkport Warning: Hoax Shreds 'Credibility' Of Hoaxers -- But Who Are The Hoaxers?

[Controversy swirls. UPDATED TWICE: see below.]

The so-called "Kennebunkport Warning" is apparently a hoax on at least one level.

The Warning emerged from a gathering of anti-war and 9/11-truth activists in Kennebunkport, Maine, last weekend.

On Monday, Reprehensor at 911Blogger posted the text of the Kennebunkport Warning, as follows:

Massive evidence has come to our attention which shows that the backers, controllers, and allies of Vice President Dick Cheney are determined to orchestrate and manufacture a new 9/11 terror incident, and/or a new Gulf of Tonkin war provocation over the coming weeks and months. Such events would be used by the Bush administration as a pretext for launching an aggressive war against Iran, quite possibly with nuclear weapons, and for imposing a regime of martial law here in the United States. We call on the House of Representatives to proceed immediately to the impeachment of Cheney, as an urgent measure for avoiding a wider and more catastrophic war. Once impeachment has begun, it will be easier for loyal and patriotic military officers to refuse illegal orders coming from the Cheney faction. We solemnly warn the people of the world that any terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction taking place inside the United States or elsewhere in the immediate future must be considered the prima facie responsibility of the Cheney faction. We urge responsible political leaders everywhere to begin at once to inoculate the public opinion of their countries against such a threatened false flag terror operation.

(Signed) A Group of US Opposition Political Leaders Gathered in Protest at the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, August 24-25, 2007

Reprehensor lists ten "signatories", as follows:

CYNTHIA MCKINNEY, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN, GEORGIA
CINDY SHEEHAN, CANDIDATE FOR U.S. CONGRESS, CALIFORNIA
ANN WRIGHT, COLONEL US ARMY RESERVE, FORMER US DIPLOMAT
JAMILLA EL-SHAFEI, ORGANIZER OF KENNEBUNKPORT PEACE DEMONSTRATION, KENNEBUNK PEACE DEPARTMENT
DAHLIA WASFI, M.D. WWW.LIBERATETHIS.COM
GEORGE PAZ MARTIN
JOHN KAMINSKI, MAINE LAWYER, IMPEACHMENT ADVOCATE
WEBSTER G. TARPLEY, AUTHOR, 'UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE H.W. BUSH' & '9/11 SYNTHETIC TERROR: MADE IN THE USA'
CRAIG HILL, GREEN PARTY OF VERMONT, CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE
BRUCE MARSHALL, ORGANIZER OF PHILADELPHIA EMERGENCY ANTIWAR CONVENTION, PHILADELPHIA PLATFORM, WWW.ACTINDEPENDENT.ORG, GREEN PARTY OF VERMONT

Four of the so-called "signatories" (Jamilla El-Shafei, Cindy Sheehan, Dahlia Wasfi and Ann Wright) have stated that they did not sign this document.

Each of us were approached during the rally at the Kennebunkport event on August 25, 2007, to sign a statement calling for the immediate impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. Since then, the statement has been altered and posted on the internet, making it appear as if we have evidence that this administration will carry out a "false-flag terror operation."

None of us have such evidence, and therefore, none of us signed a statement stating that we do.

We wish the authors of the document well in continuing much needed investigations of all aspects of 9/11.

Bruce Marshall has released a facsimile of the Kennebunkport Warning, which shows only seven signatures, not ten as originally claimed. In addition to the four who now say they didn't sign it, it also appears to have been signed by John Kaminski, George Paz Martin, and Bruce Marshall. But the signatures of Cynthia McKinney, Craig Hill and Webster Tarpley are missing.

Of the seven signatures shown on the facsimile, the third from the top, that of Ann Wright, appears to be anything but a signature. But don't take my word for it. Click on the image for a larger version and have a look. Does that look like a diplomat's signature to you? Not that this is the last word on the matter.

Arabesque has compiled a roundup of the charges and counter-charges, full of good links, and for which a tip of the frozen cap is definitely in order. I have a few quibbles with his conclusions; for instance he states that Webster Tarpley is lying and I don't see any proof of that. Please click here to read it.

UPDATE: Reprehensor has photos of several different copies of the document, each signed several times. Two of the photos shows the page signed (or not) by Jamilla El-Shafei, Cindy Sheehan, Dahlia Wasfi, Ann Wright, John Kaminski, George Paz Martin, and Bruce Marshall. From these photos, this page does not show any obvious signs of alteration. Not that this is the last word on the matter.

None of the other photos appear to show signatures of Cynthia McKinney, Craig Hill or Webster Tarpley.

Webster Tarpley says he and Bruce Marshall wrote the Warning, so there would have been no immediate need for either of them to sign the document themselves. But this doesn't explain why Cynthia McKinney and Craig Hill are also referred to as "signatories" when there doesn't appear to be any evidence that they signed it.

On Wednesday, Reprehensor wrote:

Note that McKinney's name is on not the document. She was not physically present to sign when the other signees were around. She gave her endorsement to Marshall verbally, according to Marshall.

Technically, if she gave a verbal endorsement, that doesn't make her a signatory, does it? Not that this is the last word on the matter.

I don't know what happened with Craig Hill. But I'll make a few inquiries and see what turns up.

I also don't know what happened with the four who say they didn't sign it, but I can speculate about the possibilities, can't I?

Maybe they read it too quickly, caught the bit about impeaching Cheney, got a rush of euphoria, signed their names, and honestly didn't realize what they'd signed until later. They appear to support the impeachment agenda but may not necessarily support the more speculative assertion that Cheney is getting ready to attack us. Or perhaps they're frightened of being called "conspiracy theorists" if they admit to having signed such a document.

On the other hand, maybe their signatures were lifted from another document and pasted on a copy of the Kennebunkport Warning. Technically, it's not hard to do such a thing, and even though Reprehensor's new photos do not appear to show signs of alteration, surely photos posted on the net are not conclusive.

It seems fairly clear that somebody (or more than one somebody) has made a big mistake here (or done deliberate mischief), but I can't be sure who it is.

Reprehensor has been in touch with Bruce Marshall on this issue and he says:

... every time I have challenged Marshall to produce evidence verifying his version of what happened in Kennebunkport, he has done so.

For those who listened to Tarpley's radio show last night, Marshall produced an eyewitness to the signing of the Kennebunkport Warning to tell what she saw. What she saw was Dahlia Wasfi physically sign the Kennebunkport Warning. The name of the eyewitness is Jeanine Weir of Vermont.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like changing my mind. In a previous version of this post, I was less uncertain.

Whatever happened, and however it happened, it's difficult to imagine it not driving a wedge into the dissident community. But it's even more difficult to imagine a community that needs a wedge less.

Until the next update (if any), I'll leave the last word with Reprehensor, despite the dire implications for the men at the top of my sidebar:

For conversation's sake, let's say that the Founding Fathers of the United States of America blew it. George Washington just couldn't get it together. Didn't quite make the trip across the Delaware on time. Sank halfway, etc., etc.

Please, Reprehensor! Lay it on thin, will you?

Can you imagine Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson getting together and deciding which parts of the Declaration of Independence that they didn't endorse?

UPDATE 2: Laurie Dobson has added a comment to the thread that's going about this subject at Daily Kos, and I quote:

Dear Editor,
I ran Camp Alex (Camp Casey Two) out of my farm during the Aug. 24-26 Peace Rally in K'port, Maine. I can verify the legitimacy of the Kennebunkport Warning. Many of us at the camp signed it--I saw the one with Sheehan and the others while it was in the process of being signed-before, during and after. It was the same as the one we all signed, which is posted on 911blogger.

I had at least 75 campers stay here who would probably be able to attest to their awareness of the document and many would be able to share their evidence, if they chose to get involved, to prove that the document was authentic. Fifty of us heard Bruce speak about it while we were waiting to board the bus to go to the peace rally. We were all, it seemed to me, in general agreement about the dire state of the nation due to the Cheney faction.

We were mostly all together at camp during much of the time when it was being signed at camp and many of us were witnesses to it being signed by others at the rally-- myself included, as I had a stage pass and was there at the stage tent when they were being asked to sign. There are pictures on the web which will verify my presence, talking to Kucinich's staff person, Michael Klein.

Based on emails I have received, it is obvious to me that the big name people are afraid, but I believe that they should not defame those who asked them to sign the petition.

In my view, this accusation of falsified documenting casts a cloud of suspicion over the brave efforts of those signators who are standing by their decision to sign the petition. I stand with those who signed it who are not backing down.

Laurie Dobson

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The discussion continues here.