The first journalist granted access to the 9/11 NORAD tapes -- the recordings of air defense personnel communicating with each other during the events of 9/11--was Michael Bronner, who published a pro-9/11-Commission article in the August, 2006 issue of Vanity Fair. But now, according to Jason Bermas, Loose Change has obtained an even more extensive set of NORAD 9/11 tapes than the one Bronner used!

Bermas broke the news to host Kevin Barrett on 9/11 and Empire Radio Tuesday night on http://wtprn.com. The show, which also featured Rev. Rich Lang, is archived at http://mp3.wtprn.com/Barrett07.html.

According to Bermas, Loose Change has obtained over 100 hours of tapes -- significantly more than the 30 hours that Bronner said he used in writing his article. The tapes obtained by Loose Change consist of 21 audio files of 399 minutes or more per file, allegedly detailing all NORAD communications during 9/11. Bermas said that Loose Change has downloaded the files to another server and will torrent them starting tomorrow--stay tuned to 911blogger and the forum at http://loosechange911.com

The NORAD tapes are one of the most puzzling, controversial, yet crucial areas of 9/11 research. One thing everyone agrees on is that the tapes prove top US military officials have lied about the US air defense response on 9/11. But the question of which of their several incompatible stories are lies, and which if any are true, remains to be fully resolved.

David Griffin's book Debunking 9/11 Debunking opens with a close reading of the NORAD tapes controversy, based on the portions of tape and transcript that were then available through Bronner's article. The upshot: Top US military leaders have told essentially three different stories to excuse the lack of air defense response on 9/11 -- and each one is more unbelievable than the last. But their most recent version, enshrined in the 9/11 Commission Report, is seemingly supported by the snippets of NORAD tape presented in Bronner's article. Griffin points out that this version, despite the apparent support of the tapes, is extremely implausible if not impossible. The best explanation, given all the available evidence, is that some of the NORAD tapes have been forged, doctored, and/or cherry picked in order to create a false story that exonerates the military, while falsely implicating FAA personnel in what would be extreme criminal negligence. The close study of the NORAD tapes, now that over 100 hours are available to researchers, may help clarify the situation.

Bermas said that Loose Change obtained the tapes simply by asking for them repeatedly from NEADS. The tapes are supposedly unclassified, but the Loose Change crew was given the run-around for months before finally being presented with the 21 audio files.

The Loose Change folks will be discussing this exciting breakthrough and more, and premiering Loose Change Final Cut, at the 6th anniversary benefit for the 9/11 first responders in New York: http://wearechange.org I'll be there to give a talk at the 9/11 Truth Ready for Mainstream Weekend: http://ready4mainstream.ny911truth.org/ It will be wonderful to have these two great events just a few blocks from each other. See you there!