Scholars for 9/11 Truth

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Scholars for 9/11 Truth (stj911.org) was a group including 300 people of varying backgrounds and expertise,^[1] who questioned the mainstream media and government account of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The group was founded on December 15, 2005, then split into 2 different scholars groups - Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice,^[2] and Scholars for 9/11 Truth^[3] approximately one year later. This article refers to information about the original Scholars for 9/11 Truth group (referred to on this page as "the group") as it existed from December of 2005 to December of 2006, not to either of the new groups, each of whose purpose, membership, and websites have since changed. The arguments advanced by the group have not been published in established scientific peer-reviewed journals, and are not generally accepted by the relevant academic and professional communities.

1 Overview
2 Theory
3 Criticism
4 Current members
5 Media coverage and works
- 5.1 "Reclaiming Our Future" conference
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Overview

"As the founder of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, I would observe that our members, building on prior research by earlier students of 9/11, have established more than a dozen disproofs of the official government account, the truth of any one of which is enough to show that the government's account--in one or another of its guises--cannot possibly be correct." - James H. Fetzer

The group says it provides scientific research and evidence^[4] that question the official theory for the destruction of the World Trade Center building on 9/11. The group concludes that the investigations by FEMA and NIST of the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings are inadequate, and that crucial facts and questions pertaining to the attacks have been ignored, omitted, or changed by senior government officials. These questions include:

What could have caused building 7 World Trade Center to collapse other than being hit by a plane?
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 towers during the collapse?
What is the source of molten metal which was observed pooling in the rubble?

The group is petitioning Congress^[5] 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. One of their suggestions is that thermite, which can be used to weld or cut metal, might have played a role in causing the collapse of the towers.

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."

[edit] Theory

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According to the Scholars for 9/11 Truth, political forces in the United States government planned and executed the attacks on September 11, 2001. They question the physics involved with the structural collapse of the World Trade Center Plaza, assert that five of the nineteen hijackers were interviewed by the BBC months after the attack, and suspect thermite or thermite-based incendiaries^[4] were implemented around key support beams in critical areas of the Towers prior to the attack. The Scholars for 9/11 Truth believe that these incendiaries could then be remotely triggered, eat through core columns in key locations, such as on each region of windowless, reinforced mechanical floors (the light bands that can be observed in each Tower), and allow the Towers to fall straight down upon themselves with virtually no resistance.

[edit] Criticism

Critics observed their website lists only three structural engineers as members,^[6] and argue that the engineers involved with the scholars have little or no relevant experience or qualifications in the disciplines related to structural engineering or controlled demolitions.^[7] Critics also noted that they have just one American Society of Civil Engineers member, Joseph M. Phelps.^[8] Other critiques have noted the bias in the website's Pentagon views and the inclusion of information which has little basis in evidence.^[9]

Two members of the group, Judy Wood and Morgan Reynolds, left the Scholars due to disagreement with the organization, objecting in particular to the Scholar's rejection of their 'no plane' theories (theories arguing that no planes hit the World Trade Center).^[10] However, st911 co-founder, co-chair and webmaster James Fetzer has recently spoken and written positively about Judy Wood's views - a piece by Fetzer on the st911 website argues that the Scholars should now broaden their research to consider the possibility that "directed energy...space based" weapons or "mini-nukes" were used to bring down the World Trade Center.^[11] Steven E. Jones and others have criticised the mini-nuke claims.^[12]^[13] Jones later resigned over the issue of the "star wars beam weapons" as a plausible theory.^[14]

[edit] Current members

Scholars for Truth's membership includes approximately 75 academics. Members included in this society are:

James H. Fetzer	McKnight Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and co-chair of S9/11T. ^[15]
Paul W. Rea	humanities lecturer at St. Mary's College in Moraga ^[16]
Stephen LeRoy	an economics professor at UC Santa Barbara who has been a visiting economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco^[16]
Tracy Belvins	a research scientist in bioengineering at Rice University ^[16]
David Gabbard	an education professor at East Carolina.^[17] ^[18]
Jim Marrs	Author of several books on the September 11 attacks, such as Inside Job: The Shocking Case for a 9/11 Conspiracy
Daniel Orr	retired economics chair at the University of Illinois ^[19] ^[18]
Kevin Barrett	adjunct lecturer at the University of Wisconsin on the subject of Islam: Religion and Culture.^[20],^[21],^[22],^[23]
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. Bowman has never held an academic position at any university. ^[24],^[25],^[26]
David Ray Griffin	Professor of philosophy of religion and theology emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology.
Wayne Madsen	investigative journalist, author, and syndicated columnist. ^[27]
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.
Webster G. Tarpley	author of George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography (1992) and 9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA (2005-6), historian and terrorism expert.
Andreas von Bülow	former state-secretary in the German Defense Ministry, minister for research and technology, and member of Parliament for 25 years.
William Woodward	Professor of psychology^[28]

[edit] Media coverage and works

Televised symposia:

25 June 2006 — 9/11 + The Neo-Con Agenda Symposium in L.A. Sheraton Hotel - discussion panel then rebroadcasted in July and August prime time on main CSPAN channel. Featured speakers Webster Tarpley, Steven Jones, Bob Bowman, James Fetzer, and Alex Jones (stream & download media link)

Television Interviews:

22 June 2006 — James H. Fetzer, guest on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes (podcast, YouTube [6])

Radio Interviews:

23 February – 24 February 2006 — James H. Fetzer with David Ray Griffin and Morgan Reynolds on Coast to Coast AM radio (link)

15 February 2006 — James H. Fetzer "Radioactive Radio" (link)

Papers:

“Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?” by Steven E. Jones, Ph.D. [7]

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.

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, [8]

[edit] "Reclaiming Our Future" conference

In July 2006, many members of the group met in Chicago, Illinois, for a conference on 9/11 theories, which was covered by some international media.^[29]