ogress (CAP), have shown, a child born into a poor family, defined as the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, has an one-in-a-hundred chance of making it into the top five percent income level. Poverty is generational and very dependent on race but it's not that different for those who think they'll make it rich through hard work. Children born in the middle quintile, that's to parents whose incomes is between $42,000 and $54,300 also have only a 1.8 percent chanFive years on, I talked to Afshin Rattansi who worked on the Al Jazeera strand that first identified the 9/11 plot. His novel, The Dream of the Decade, deals with the issues of finance, terrorism and the media.

What do you think about the conspiracy theories that linger about 9/11?

"'I don't want to get into the conspiracy theories that maintain that 2,752 people died because of deliberate action by U.S. federal authorities. Those theories, along with scores of websites that catalogue seeming inconsistencies about the attacks, are believed, however, by hundreds of millions of people around the world. That is because the U.S. is so little trusted when it comes to truths in the developed world. Worse is that the perception that the U.S. administration invariably lies to its citizens and the people of the world catalysing hatred for the U.S. and perhaps catalysing far worse attacks in the future."

What was it like to work with people who had met the masterminds of 9/11?

"When I heard that bin Laden's people told my boss at Al Jazeera that it was the rich Saudi who vetoed a strike on U.S. nuclear facilities using passenger planes, I felt a shiver for what may yet happen if U.S. foreign policy continues to inspire those ranged against United States."

And what do you think of the U.S. response to 9/11?

"Obviously, the biggest threat as far as premature death to U.S. citizens is not terrorism. It's poverty. If the Annie E. Casey Foundation is to be believed, 24 million U.S. children are living in households with adults without full-time employment. Massive cuts in welfare by the Clinton administration were compounded by President Bush. You have worsening economic indicators, greater power exerted by private equity firms - Business Week had a great piece about "The Merchants of Red Ink" -

"Tom Herz and the the liberal think tank, Center for American Progress (CAP), have shown, a child born into a poor family, defined as the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, has an one-in-a-hundred chance of making it into the top five percent income level. Poverty is generational and very dependent on race but it's not that different for those who think they'll make it rich through hard work. Children born in the middle quintile, that's to parents whose incomes is between $42,000 and $54,300 also have only a 1.8 percent chanc

bsites that catalogue seeming inconsistencies about the attacks, are believed, however, by hundreds of millions of people around the world. That is because the U.S. is so little trusted when it comes to truths in the developed world. Worse is that the perception that the U.S. administration invariably lies to its citizens and the people of the world catalysing hatred for the U.S. and perhaps catalysing far worse attacks in the future."

What was it like to work with people who had met the masterminds of 9/11?

"When I heard that bin Laden's people told my boss at Al Jazeera that it was the rich Saudi who vetoed a strike on U.S. nuclear facilities using passenger planes, I felt a shiver for what may yet happen if U.S. foreign policy continues to inspire those ranged against United States."

And what do you think of the U.S. response to 9/11?

"Obviously, the biggest threat as far as premature death to U.S. citizens is not terrorism. It's poverty. If the Annie E. Casey Foundation is to be believed, 24 million U.S. children are living in households with adults without full-time employment. Massive cuts in welfare by the Clinton administration were compounded by President Bush. You have worsening economic indicators, greater power exerted by private equity firms - Business Week had a great piece about "The Merchants of Red Ink" -

"Tom Herz and the the liberal think tank, Center for American Progress (CAP), have shown, a child born into a poor family, defined as the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, has an one-in-a-hundred chance of making it into the top five percent income level. Poverty is generational and very dependent on race but it's not that different for those who think they'll make it rich through hard work. Children born in the middle quintile, that's to parents whose incomes is between $42,000 and $54,300 also have only a 1.8 percent chan

ple who had met the masterminds of 9/11?

"When I heard that bin Laden's people told my boss at Al Jazeera that it was the rich Saudi who vetoed a strike on U.S. nuclear facilities using passenger planes, I felt a shiver for what may yet happen if U.S. foreign policy continues to inspire those ranged against United States."

And what do you think of the U.S. response to 9/11?

"Obviously, the biggest threat as far as premature death to U.S. citizens is not terrorism. It's poverty. If the Annie E. Casey Foundation is to be believed, 24 million U.S. children are living in households with adults without full-time employment. Massive cuts in welfare by the Clinton administration were compounded by President Bush. You have worsening economic indicators, greater power exerted by private equity firms - Business Week had a great piece about "The Merchants of Red Ink" -

"Tom Herz and the the liberal think tank, Center for American Progress (CAP), have shown, a child born into a poor family, defined as the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, has an one-in-a-hundred chance of making it into the top five percent income level. Poverty is generational and very dependent on race but it's not that different for those who think they'll make it rich through hard work. Children born in the middle quintile, that's to parents whose incomes is between $42,000 and $54,300 also have only a 1.8 percent chan

orism. It's poverty. If the Annie E. Casey Foundation is to be believed, 24 million U.S. children are living in households with adults without full-time employment. Massive cuts in welfare by the Clinton administration were compounded by President Bush. You have worsening economic indicators, greater power exerted by private equity firms - Business Week had a great piece about "The Merchants of Red Ink" -

"Tom Herz and the the liberal think tank, Center for American Progress (CAP), have shown, a child born into a poor family, defined as the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, has an one-in-a-hundred chance of making it into the top five percent income level. Poverty is generational and very dependent on race but it's not that different for those who think they'll make it rich through hard work. Children born in the middle quintile, that's to parents whose incomes is between $42,000 and $54,300 also have only a 1.8 percent chan

ogress (CAP), have shown, a child born into a poor family, defined as the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, has an one-in-a-hundred chance of making it into the top five percent income level. Poverty is generational and very dependent on race but it's not that different for those who think they'll make it rich through hard work. Children born in the middle quintile, that's to parents whose incomes is between $42,000 and $54,300 also have only a 1.8 percent chance of reaching the top five percent, a likelihood not much higher than in poor families. We know that millions of Americans - men, women and children - are dying because of something far more dangerous than Al Qaeda."

But that is surely a long term goal - to end poverty?

"Given that according to UNICEF, it would only take an estimated $40 billion a year to achieve and maintain universal access to basic education for all people in the world, basic health care for all, reproductive health care for all women, adequate food for all, and clean water and safe sewers, the response to the real killer of most Americas is pretty obvious, not least when you realise that $40 billion is less than 4% of the combined wealth of the 225 richest people in the world."

But combatting terrorism has been the main task that the Bush administration have set themselves. How have they done?

"Hundreds of thousands have died because of U.S. military adventures since 9/11, all sanctioned by democratically accountable U.S. institutions, on the basis of lies.

"Obviously, during the UK investigation into the death of the source used by my programme at the BBC, Dr. David Kelly, it was painfully obvious how the so-called establishment would go to the ends of the earth to believe every statement made by Prime Minister Tony Blair. Given the number of deaths in Iraq, it makes one shudder to realise that populations should not seek information from their elected officials, nor their media. Uranium from Niger, the outing of CIA officials, notes copied from the internet..everything showed the parlous state of modern journalism and how close journalists have got to power. It is left to comedians, now, people like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to tell the truth to power and to people."

But what about the internet?

"It gets harder to find things. But, certainly, United States TV is stree