Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth

An organization advocating the 9/11 conspiracy theory that the collapses of three World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001 were controlled demolitions.

AE911Truth was founded by Richard Gage to gather the endorsements of as many architects and engineers as possible for the organization's assertions. Their stated goal is to force the creation of a "truly independent investigation with subpoena power" into the collapses of the Twin Towers and Building 7. All current endorsements are displayed at their website, launched in May 2007, and recently redesigned. Gage wished to have 1,000 architects and engineers by September 11, 2008, but fell well short of this goal. As of 12/12/2008, the total number claimed at the site is 549.

The endorsements are gathered both at the website and at lectures by Richard Gage which promote the group's arguments for controlled demolition. The website provides organizational materials, lists what they call technical articles supporting their positions, and gives the reader a chance to purchase AE911Truth merchandise and/or provide donations in several creative ways.

The Petition Signers

However, an examination of the petition signing process leaves much to be desired. When the site was first opened, there was no vetting of the signatures or credentials of signers whatsoever. Several people demonstrated this ineptitude by signing up as fictional cartoon characters with invented engineering degrees. AE911Truth was forced closer to honesty by this embarrassment and has since done a better job of vetting the people on their list.

Which isn't saying much. Their current listing of petition signers shows that of the 549 people the group claims to be building professionals, 47 have yet to provide any "hardcopy or other verification" of their degrees and/or licenses to the group. 15 are retired. 12 have expired licenses.

And 230 of them don't have a professional license at all! They only have degrees in the architectural or engineering fields, the majority with only a bachelor's degree. This number, by the way, only covers those petition signers in the United States. There is no distinction made in the non-U.S. building professionals listed, and the majority of the non-verified experts come from these 97 names.

And of course the term "engineer" covers a wide spectrum of academic discipline, from structural engineering — the most relevant field to the group's aims — to things like software or electrical engineers. All are lumped together, as if a naval engineer could claim special insight into the physics of a collapsing building.

To top it all off, the verification process remains absurdly easy to circumvent, as the recent adventures of a certain Mike Rotch demonstrated this past summer. There is simply no reason to take the AE911Truth petition seriously as a tool to rally for a legally empowered investigation.

The Structural Engineers

This article is not yet finished.

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