Dutch students investigate September 11

31 July 2006

AMSTERDAM — Students at the Delft University of Technology are to seek the “truth” behind the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the US.

They will have two weeks this summer to carry out their investigations as part of the Studium Generale (lectures on topics of general interest). A comprehensive programme on 9/11 begins in September and the students will be given a chance to present their findings then, a University spokesperson said on Monday.

Delft’s 9/11 investigation was first reported in newspaper ‘Trouw’. The Studium Generale office said a lively discussion about the 2001 attacks has developed on the internet, with some arguing that the atrocity was organised not by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden but by US intelligence officials.

Opinion poll results suggest 45 percent of the American public want a new investigation and 42 percent believe the official investigation involved a cover-up.

Internet conspiracy debates have even generated an offer of an USD 1 million reward for anyone who can refute the official US government account of the attacks. Eight students taken part in the Delft assignment will have to make do for now with a subsidy to cover expenses.

All universities in the Netherlands have a Studium Generale. These offices were created to improve the general knowledge of students, staff and other interested parties by offering free access to programmes in a range of subjects.

Subject: Dutch news