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Scholars for 9/11 Truth is a group of about 200 faculty, students, scholars, and other whack-jobs who question the official scientific account of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The group was founded on 15 December 2005.
The group believes that the investigations by FEMA and NIST regarding the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings are inadequate, and that crucial facts and question pertaining to the attacks have been ignored by senior government officials. These questions include: What caused building #7 to collapse? Where is the science that explains how all three WTC buildings collapsed close to the speed of gravity? Why was the vast majority of the evidence immediately discarded and/or is inaccessible to independent researchers? The group is petitioning congress for access to the remaining evidence in order for scientific research to be carried out to determine whether or not explosives were utilized to bring down the WTC buildings.
According to their website, "The members of S9/11T are encouraged to take an active role by devoting themselves to reporting the results of research on 9/11 to the nation and the world by means of lectures, articles, and other venues.".
Members
Among those included in this society are:
- Robert M. Bowman: Former director of the US Advanced Space Programs Development in the Carter and Ford administrations, former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with 101 combat missions.
- James H. Fetzer: McKnight Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and co-chair of S9/11T.
- David Ray Griffin: Professor of philosophy of religion and theology emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology.
- Steven E. Jones: Professor of physics, Brigham Young University, co-chair of S9/11T, and an editor of its forthcoming publication, Journal for 9/11 Studies.
- Wayne Madsen: investigative journalist, author, and syndicated columnist.
- John McMurtry: FRSC, moral philosopher, ethicist, and author of six books on public policy issues, who works at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
- Morgan Reynolds: A & M Professor of Economics Emeritus, and former Chief Economist for the United States Department of Labor, former Director of the Criminal Justice Center.
- Andreas von Bülow: former state-secretary in the German Defense Ministry, minister for research and technology, and member of Parliament for 25 years.
Notable Former Members
Clemson University doctoral candidate and 9/11 activist Michael Zebuhr is the most notable departure from the membership of Scholars for 9/11 Truth since its formation, having been shot in the head while in the company of his mother and his sister, returning to their car after dining at a restaurant in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 18 March 2006. Monday, his name was removed from the Clemson University class roles, according to his instructor, Clemson Mechanical Engineering Professor Judy Wood, who learned of his death the following Thursday. A car previously identified as leaving the scene was found destroyed by explosion on 4 April 2006. On 6 April 2006, Minneapolis police announced the arrest under charges of one juvenile on suspicion of the shooting, and issued a warrant for the arrest of one other juvenile. Police had previously arrested and later released three other persons, against whom no charges were filed.
Conclusion
Their conclusions are based on the results of their own scientific and political research. They contend that the official version of events on September 11, 2001 is one of the great hoaxes in world history, which has been used to manipulate the American people for political purposes and has led to undermining the Constitution, launching illegal wars, and subjecting the people to virtually unrestricted surveillance. They suggest that the American government appears to be using terrorism to manipulate the American people.
Criticism of Scholars For 9/11 Truth
Although most activists and researchers in the 9/11 Truth Movement have been positive and excited about the formation of a scholars group and most would agree that it is an important step for the movement to take, some also express concern that members of the scholars group and its website are promoting debunked theories which discredit the movement , such as the idea that the commercial aircraft used on 9/11 were not actually involved in the attacks, but instead, were replaced by fake planes or military drones, as described by Morgan Reynolds and Leonard Spencer, among other members of the group.
Some 9/11 researchers have criticized the website,,, noting that it promotes one-sided views of issues which are debated within the movement (such as the idea that Flight 77 did not hit the Pentagon). Although the 'Resources' page states, "We do not necessarily endorse or concur with conclusions or opinions expressed here, but we think that they provide suggestive and stimulating resources for further contemplation," only one side of a serious and divisive debate within the 9/11 movement is presented for contemplation. Similarly, papers asserting that a plane did not hit the Pentagon are posted on the front page, but no papers asserting the opposite are posted, that a Boeing 757 did indeed hit the building as described by dozens of witnesses at the scene.
As of February 2006, the website was pointing readers to sources which some members of the 9/11 Truth movement say lack credibility and scientific merit, are packaged as entertainment and distort evidence in favor of their claims. A related concern has been that the website effectively ignores the websites and original work by some of the most respected long-term researchers of the 9/11 attacks, such as CooperativeResearch.org, FromTheWilderness.com, 911Truth.org, OilEmpire.us, 911Research.WTC7.net, Ratical.org/ratville/CAH/, and WTCEO.org. In contrast to the scholars group, most of these researchers believe that commercial jets with real passengers did hit the buildings on September 11 2001.
Media Coverage and Works
Radio Interviews:
- February 23 – February 24, 2006 -- James H. Fetzer with David Ray Griffin and Morgan Reynolds on Coast to Coast AM radio (link)
- 25 February 2006 -- James H. Fetzer "An Inside Job" (podcast)
- 15 February 2006 -- James H. Fetzer "Radioactive Radio" (link)
Lectures:
- 15 March 2006 -- Kevin Ryan: "A 9/11 Whistleblower Examines the Official Conspiracy Theory"
- 30 March 2006 -- David Ray Griffin "9/11: The Myth & the Reality"
- 31 March 2006 -- Morgan Reynolds, Ph.D., and Don Paul, Author
"Critical Analysis: 9/11"
Papers: Scholars for 9/11 Truth describes these papers as "peer-reviewed", although they have not been published in any scientific journal.
- “Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?” by Steven E. Jones, Ph.D.
- “The Destruction of the World Trade Center: Why the Official Account Cannot Be True” by David Ray Griffin, Ph.D.
- “Thinking about "Conspiracy Theories": 9/11 and JFK” by James H. Fetzer, Ph.D.
See also
- 9/11 Truth Movement
- Criticisms of the 9/11 Commission Report
- Collapse of the World Trade Center
- Researchers questioning the official account of 9/11
- Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity