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Scholars for 9/11 Truth is a group, founded in january 2006, of about 50 faculty, students, and scholars who question the official scientific account of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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 immeadiately disgarded and/or is unaccessible for 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 among the members of this society are:

• David Ray Griffin: Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Theology, at the Claremont School of Theology, and the author or editor of thirty books
• Morgan Reynolds: A & M Professor of Economics Emeritus, former Chief Economist for the United States Department of Labor, former Director of the Criminal Justice Center
• 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
• Robert M. Bowman: Former Director of the U.S. Advanced Space Programs Development in the Carter and Ford administrations, former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with 101 combat missions.
• James H. Fetzer: Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, author or editor of more than two dozen books and co-chair of S9/11T
• Andreas Von Buelow: former state-secretary in the German Defense Ministry, director of the German Secret Service, minister for research and technology, and member of Parliament for 25 years.
• Wayne Madsen: investigative journalist, author, and syndicated columnist with articles in The Village Voice, CounterPunch, Online Journal, Wired, In These Times, Insider Magazine, and From The Wilderness.
• John McMurtry: FRSC, moral philosopher and ethicist at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and author of six books on public policy issues

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. Since terrorism involves the use of acts of violence and threats of violence to instill fear into a population in order to manipulate it for political purposes, their findings suggest, ironically, 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. These websites represent the efforts of people who have been effectively dealing with the media, victims' families, and congressmembers for years. 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.

Contacts

Fetzer, McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, who is a philosopher of science, and Jones, a professor of physics at Brigham Young University, are listed as contacts.

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"

• 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.
• “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
• Bush Crimes Commission
• 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

External links

• Scholars For 9/11 Truth

• Conspiracy theorists
• Alternative theories of September 11, 2001 attacks