August 27, 2007: Esteemed Scientist Disputes Official 9/11 Account

Lynn Margulis, a distinguished professor in the department of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, describes the US government’s account of 9/11 as a “fraud,” and calls for a new investigation of the attacks. In a statement published on the website PatriotsQuestion911.com, she writes, “Certainly, 19 young Arab men and a man in a cave 7,000 miles away, no matter the level of their anger, could not have masterminded and carried out 9/11: the most effective television commercial in the history of Western civilization.” She calls 9/11 a “false-flag operation” that has been used to justify the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with “unprecedented assaults on research, education and civil liberties.” She compares it to the sinking of the USS Maine in 1898—which led to the Spanish American War—and the German Reichstag fire of 1933, which facilitated the rise of the Nazi party. Some have alleged that these earlier events were orchestrated by governmental powers. Margulis has previously written extensively on a wide range of scientific topics, making original contributions to cell biology and microbial evolution, and is best known for her theory of symbiogenesis. In 1999, she received the National Medal of Science, which is America’s highest honor for scientific achievement. Margulis says she came to her conclusions about 9/11 based on her own research and from reading two books about the attacks by retired theology professor David Ray Griffin (see March 1, 2004). She concludes her statement, “I suggest that those of us aware and concerned demand that the glaringly erroneous official account of 9/11 be dismissed as a fraud and a new, thorough, and impartial investigation be undertaken.” [University of Massachusetts, 11/4/2003; Daily Hampshire Gazette, 9/11/2007; Smith College Sophian, 9/20/2007]