Events of September 11, 2001

September 11, 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the events in New York and Washington that have played a dramatic role in modern history. These events have provided a pretext for a War on Terror that has replaced the Cold War as a global conflict framework within which military invasions and occupations have taken place, as well as violations of international law and human rights and a widespread assault on the civil rights crucial to democracies. Global military spending, which began a rapid downswing after the end of the Cold War, has, with the help of the official account of the 9/11 attacks, risen to Cold War levels and continues to rise. The focus on military solutions to complex human problems has sidetracked humanity at the very moment when international cooperation is most required to address genuine challenges that humanity faces.

In the meantime, the credibility of the official reports on the 9/11 attacks (by the 9/11 Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government or government-appointed agencies) has been questioned by millions of citizens in the United States and abroad, including victim family members, expert witnesses and international legal experts.

The International Center for 9/11 Studies has therefore decided to sponsor four days of International Hearings in the city of Toronto, Canada on the 10th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. During these Hearings, which will be broadcasted via the Internet, various expert witnesses will present the best available evidence into the case, discovered in the ten years since the 9/11 events occurred.

Objectives of the Hearings:

(1) To present evidence that the U.S. government’s official investigation into the events of September 11, 2001, as pursued by various government and government-appointed agencies, is seriously flawed and has failed to describe and account for the 9/11 events.

(2) To single out the most weighty evidence of the inadequacy of the U.S. government’s investigation; to organize and classify that evidence; to preserve that evidence; to make that evidence widely known to the public and to governmental, non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations.

(3) To submit a record and a summary of the Hearings, together with signed Statutory Declarations by witnesses, to relevant governments, groups and international agencies with the request that a full and impartial investigation be launched into the events of September 11, 2001, which have been used to initiate military invasions and to restrict the rights of citizens.

(4) To engage the attention of the public, the international community and the media through witness testimony as well as through media events broadcasted via the Internet during the four day event.

Location of the Hearings

The Hearings are international, and the location outside the U.S. is intended to give that message. At the same time, there are good reasons to choose a location reasonably close to the attacks of September 11, 2001 so that people directly associated with the events, such as victims’ families, can travel to the Hearings. Toronto is a 9-hour drive from New York City. Toronto’s Ryerson University has been chosen as the site of the actual hearings.

Participants

The key participants in the Hearings will be moderators, witnesses, and an independent panel comprised of respected international citizens. Moderators will guide the witnesses and panel through the presentation and discussion of evidence. Witnesses (chiefly expert witnesses, but possibly eyewitnesses as well) will speak of their research findings or experiences and, where appropriate, will formally submit evidence to the panel. An international panel of distinguished citizens will listen to the witnesses, examine their evidence, raise questions and engage in discussion, and submit a report after the conclusion of the Hearings.

Each day of the Hearings will have one or more themes. For example, day 3 of the Hearings (Sept 10, 2011) will focus on the destruction of the World Trade Center. The following individuals have agreed to participate as expert witnesses on this day: Niels Harrit, David Chandler, and Jon Cole.