Project Censored Responds on 9/11 Scholar’s Talk
When scientists dispute matters as important as 9/11, it seems appropriate to review the evidence.
Project Censored hosted physicist Steven E. Jones, Ph.D. on November 3 at Sonoma State University. Jones is a founding member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth (www.scholarsfor911truth.org) an organization of over 200 researchers who question the veracity of the US government’s official 9/11 Commission Report.
Scholars in the group address a number of questions regarding 9/11 that remain unanswered: Why did the US government ignore numerous pre-warnings from multiple sources, including a team of US military data experts? Why did NORAD fail to intercept the hijacked jets despite more than adequate time to intercede? What is the likelihood that the 19 alleged terrorists acted without significant assistance?
Dr. Jones’ research focuses on the collapse of World Trade Center building 7 (WTC7) at 5:20PM on September 11, 2001. Project Censored recognized Dr. Jones for this specific research in our Censored 2007 yearbook. At Sonoma State, Jones addressed over 250 people, and he emphasized that WTC7 was never hit by an airplane, suffered only minor debris damage from Tower 1, and fires burned on only a few of its floors. Yet, all 24 steel support columns in the building collapsed simultaneously, bringing the 47-story building down in 6.6 seconds (at free-fall speed) in its own footprint. Dr. Jones believes that demolition by military-grade thermite is the only possible explanation for the building’s sudden, complete collapse. He reported that research on molten metal from the debris and analysis of WTC dust reveal chemical traces indicative of thermite reactions. At his SSU lecture, Dr. Jones was clear and adamant in stating that he does not know who placed thermite in the building. He has no conspiracy theory regarding who was involved. Nonetheless, the troubling implications of Dr. Jones’ work have triggered widespread challenges, including the Press Democrat’s front-page article on November 4th, which labeled him a “discredited academic.”
Some scientists in the US (including two at SSU) have challenged Jones’ research, but few have actually read or analyzed his work. Instead many prematurely dismiss Jones as a crazy conspiracy theorist, unworthy of consideration.
To the contrary, Jones has strong support from numerous academic researchers. The Scholars for 9/11 Truth website identifies two-dozen structural engineers, chemists, and physicists who support his demolition hypothesis. Furthermore, two professors of structural analysis and construction from The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH) ? the Swiss equivalent of Cal Teech or MIT ? have recently expressed their support for Jones’ conclusions. Dr. Hugo Bachmann stated on September 9, 2006 that, “WTC7 was, with the utmost probability, brought down by controlled demolition done by experts.” Dr. Jörg Schneider also interprets the available videos of the building’s collapse as indices that “WTC7 was, with the utmost probability, brought down by explosives.”
When scientists dispute the interpretation of data regarding matters as important as the events of 9/11, it seems appropriate to us at Project Censored that a full review of the evidence take place. Inviting Jones to present his analyses for public consideration at Project Censored’s annual Media Accountability Conference is what universities seeking truth and scholarship should do, and hopefully will continue to do.
The weekend before his lecture at SSU, Dr. Jones spoke at the University of Colorado. On October 30, The Denver Post published a balanced news story about his presentation. The Press Democrat should hold itself to the same standards of journalistic professionalism and balance. Like Dr. Jones, we at Project Censored remain committed to raising unanswered questions about the official account of what happened on 9/11. The Press Democrat’s readers, and our nation’s democracy, should depend on no less.
