Scholars for 9/11 Truth

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Scholars for 9/11 Truth ("S9/11T") is a group of about 300 faculty, students, and scholars who question the official scientific account of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The group was founded on December 15, 2005.

Overview

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 questions pertaining to the attacks have been ignored by senior government officials. These questions include:

What caused building #7 of the World Trade Center to collapse?
How did all three WTC buildings collapse close to the speed of which they would have collapsed had there been no structural stability at all?
What happened to the significant core column structure during the collapse?
What is the source of molten metal which was observed pooling in the rubble?

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 the S9/11T 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

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. Bowman also holds a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Nuclear Engineering[1][2][3]
James H. Fetzer: McKnight Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and co-chair of S9/11T. [4][5]
David Ray Griffin: Professor of philosophy of religion and theology emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology.[6][7]
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.[8]
Wayne Madsen: investigative journalist, author, and syndicated columnist. [9]
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. [10]
Morgan Reynolds: Texas A&M University Professor of Economics Emeritus, and former Chief Economist for the United States Department of Labor, former Director of the Criminal Justice Center.[11][12][13]
Andreas von Bülow: former state-secretary in the German Defense Ministry, minister for research and technology, and member of Parliament for 25 years.[14]

National 9/11 Debate

According to an S9/11T press release, a debate was proposed on the subject of 9/11. The debate would be between two seven-member teams: a "civilian" team and a "government" team. The government team would defend the official story of 9/11, while the civilian team would challenge it. The event was scheduled for September 16, 2006 in North Charleston, South Carolina.

This event was proposed by members of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, who have announced that their civilian team would consist of Philip J. Berg, Steven E. Jones, James H. Fetzer, David Ray Griffin, George Nelson, Morgan Reynolds, and Judy Wood.

According to the Scholars website, invitations were extended to the 9/11 commission members, NIST investigators, FEMA investigators, engineering organizations, and security providers. None of these has as yet acknowledged the invitation^{[citation needed]}.

Another member of the Scholars is Webster G. Tarpley, author of George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography (1192) and 9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA (2005-6, historian and terrorism expert.

Conclusion

According to the Scholars website, their conclusions are based on the results of their own scientific and political research. They suggest that the official version of events on September 11, 2001 is being used to manipulate the American people for political purposes, to undermine the Constitution, launch illegal wars, and subject the people to virtually unrestricted surveillance.

Criticism

Some express concern that individual members of the scholars group and its website are promoting theories or speculation not shared by all members of the movement (such as the idea that military planes were used in the attacks or that Flight 77 did not hit the Pentagon [15]) and may thus discredit the movement [16], [17],[18]. Although the 'Resources' page at the scholars' website 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".

Another criticism is based on the "member list" viewable at the website. Detractors point to the following "breakdown" of the scientific disciplines the various members have:

Philosophy, 9 members.
7 with no academic discipline
English/literature 5 members.
Psychology 5 members.
Physics 5 members.
Theology 4 members.
Humanities 3 members.
Engineers 2 members.

They also point to the fact there are 0 Structural Engineers, and 0 Middle Eastern or Arabic language experts, and the few Engineers have little relevant work with the appropriate discipline, for example Judy Wood, who has focused her work on the stresses of dentistry. When combined, this member list is shown by detractors to be indicative of a group of people who are not "experts" as the site has claimed, on the matters and disciplines relevant to the September 11 attacks.

Media coverage and works

Television Interviews:

22 June 2006 — James H. Fetzer, guest on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes (podcast, YouTube [19])

Radio Interviews:

23 February – 24 February 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"
2 June – 4 June 2006 — Steven E. Jones "9/11: Revealing the Truth, Reclaiming Our Future”

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. [20]
“Thinking about "Conspiracy Theories": 9/11 and JFK” by James H. Fetzer, Ph.D. [21]

Books

Greenwald, Glenn (Constitutional law attorney).How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok. Working Assets Publishing, 2006, 146 p.

Griffin, Dr. David Ray. The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11.Olive Branch Press, Northampton, MA, 2004.

Griffin, Dr. David Ray. The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions And Distortions.Olive Branch Press, Northampton, MA, 2004.

Marrs, Jim (journalist). Inside Job.Origin Press, 2004. 240 p.

Ruppert, Michael C. (former Los Angeles Police Department narcotics investigator). Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil. New Society Publishers, 2004. 696 p.

Smith, Dr. J.W. Why? The Deeper History Behind the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America, 3rd ed., The Institute for Economic Democracy, Sun City, AZ, 2005.

Snow, Dr. Nancy. Information War: American Propaganda, Free Speech, and Opinion Control Since 9/11. Seven Stories Press, 2003

Zarembka, Dr. Paul., ed.The Hidden History of 9-11-2001 (Vol. 23 of Research in Political Economy),Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2006.
- Including: David Ray Griffin, “The Destruction of the World Trade Center: Why the Official Account Cannot Be True”, pp 79–122, [22]

External links