http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2005/02/05/...hill/print.html

Professor refuses to apologize for 9/11 essay

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Feb. 5, 2005 | DENVER (AP) -- A professor who likened World Trade Center victims to a notorious Nazi refused to apologize, but said his treatise was a "gut response" in his first public comments since the University of Colorado began a review that could lead to his dismissal.

"I don't believe I owe an apology," Ward Churchill said Friday on CNN's "Paula Zahn Now" program.

He defended the essay in which compared those killed in the Sept. 11 attack to "little Eichmanns," a reference to Adolf Eichmann, who organized Nazi plans to exterminate European Jews. He said the victims were akin to U.S. military operations' collateral damage -- or innocent civilians mistakenly killed by soldiers.

"I don't know if the people of 9-11 specifically wanted to kill everybody that was killed," he told Zahn. "It was just worth it to them in order to do whatever it was they decided it was necessary to do that bystanders be killed. And that essentially is the same mentality, the same rubric."

In an interview published Saturday in the Rocky Mountain News, Churchill added, "This was a gut response opinion speech written in about four hours. It's not completely reasoned and thought through."

Churchill said his speech had been misinterpreted. "They take, as is usually the case with propaganda, some kernel of truth to anchor, and then they go wild. I never said anything about 'justifying.' I never said anything about 'advocating.' I never called for the deaths of millions of Americans," he said.

The university's Board of Regents apologized to all Americans on Thursday, especially those targeted by the attacks.

The furor over Churchill's essay erupted last month after he was invited to speak at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. Campus officials discovered that an essay and follow-up book by Churchill characterized the Sept. 11 attacks as a response to a long history of U.S. abuses abroad, particularly against indigenous peoples.
Churchill, who recently resigned as chairman of the ethnic studies department but remains a tenured professor, said he would sue if he were dismissed.

I was at the WTC 8:40AM on 9/11. I'm not a little Eichmann. While I disagree with what he says I do not disput he right to say it. He's wrong but that's his problem.

I do understand the point he is making that every American citizen has indirectly in one way or another benefited from the injustices our government has commited around the world. But if that is the case, then he is as guilty as the rest of us.

From the bits and quotes of what he said and what he wrote, in my opinion he's pretty far off base. Whatever point he was trying to make, did he really think that wouldn't become obscured by comparing Sept.11th victims to a Nazi? I question his judgement if he didn't realize people would respond they way they have.

As for whether the hijackers not wanting to kill as many people as they did, or comparing that to collateral damage in U.S. Military Operations, as far as I know, our military attempts to avoid unnecessary casualties since we use laser-guided missiles, we attempt accuracy at least. It's not perfect, but we try.

There's a difference between what people forced into war end up doing in the heat of battle, and 19 people taking it upon themselves to take an airplane full of civilians and fly them into civilian targets. It seems that Churchill thinks the hijackers cared about being cautious, I adamantly disagree.

The link to the story didn't work, and I'd hope to read the essay in full, rather than exerpts from the more contreversial parts before giving a definite opinion on what I think about what he's saying, since I really don't know first-hand what he is saying.

You don't get Churchill because you never studied his work.

Churchill is referring to how we Americans sit on our hands while the globalist corporations use our CIA and military as a means to their ends.

America has committed atrocities in the name of profit. 911 was nothing compared to our crimes. Even your hero Al Gore covers this in his book EITB. Essentially, we supply terrorists with the means and weapons necessary to overthrow unfriendly governments. These contras kill and torture civilians as a means of intimidation. Once our puppet leader is instilled, our corporations can go in and pimp off the country. Rape it of it's natural and human resources. It's a turnkey solution done over and over again.

So yes, the chickens came home to roost on 911. We are all culpable because we choose to accept things as they are ignoring the suffering created by our capitalist society. I am guilty as charged.

During the Clinton administration when they imposed severe sacntions on Iraq we knew that children were suffering. Yet you did nothing. Because he's a democrat I presume. This modus operandi crosses Republicans and Democrats.

If you really want to understand Churchill and go to the next level. Then by all means read his works. He will take you to a place so that you will never come back to this message board.

If you are serious about change then you need to unindoctrinate yourself. Left wing propaganda is just as bad as right wing propaganda. They've got both sides by the cahoonas.

I suggest you start with Chomsky and Vidal then work your way up to Churchill.

Regards

Sorry but I have to disagree with this rhetoric. The underlying principle behind his message may be correct, but his choice of words and demeanor is just wrong. We got attacked not because we are a free and soverign nation, we got attacked because of our presence in Saudi Arabia, our views on Israel, our barbaric treament of Muslims during the war against Iraq, and in general our whole policy towards the Middle East. Most of us just don't get it; or at least the government doesn't.

Nevertheless, the people who died 9/11 were innocent and don't deserve to be called Nazi's and this guy should not call for another 9/11 type attack. It is the government that these radicals hate, not the American people. Until our government understands this we will continue to pay for their ignorance.

I have yet to read through the whole essay, but I did find to two links to it:

http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill.html

http://www.darknightpress.org/index.php?i=...t&view=9&long=1

Like I said, I haven't read through the whole thing, but I did come across one select paragraph that caught my attention.
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They did not license themselves to "target innocent civilians."

There is simply no argument to be made that the Pentagon personnel killed on September 11 fill that bill. The building and those inside comprised military targets, pure and simple. As to those in the World Trade Center . . . Well, really. Let's get a grip here, shall we? True enough, they were civilians of a sort. But innocent? Gimme a break. They formed a technocratic corps at the very heart of America's global financial empire – the "mighty engine of profit" to which the military dimension of U.S. policy has always been enslaved – and they did so both willingly and knowingly. Recourse to "ignorance" – a derivative, after all, of the word "ignore" – counts as less than an excuse among this relatively well-educated elite. To the extent that any of them were unaware of the costs and consequences to others of what they were involved in – and in many cases excelling at – it was because of their absolute refusal to see. More likely, it was because they were too busy braying, incessantly and self-importantly, into their cell phones, arranging power lunches and stock transactions, each of which translated, conveniently out of sight, mind and smelling distance, into the starved and rotting flesh of infants. If there was a better, more effective, or in fact any other way of visiting some penalty befitting their participation upon the little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers, I'd really be interested in hearing about it.
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Let me just say, I don't have a problem with the truth, however I do have problem with the lack of compassion he shows.

Now, the reason why I don't get this isn't because I haven't read the rest of his work, the reason why I don't get it, is because I know that Roko Camaj, the window washer who I saw in a story on Extra in late August 2001 was more concerned about providing for his family and making a living, rather than feeding the engine of the corporatist engine that feeds our military's subjugation of peoples' around the world.


Additionally I'm just as sure that to my aunt who stopped working at the WTC in the 80s the "technocratic corps at the very heart of America's global financial empire" was the furthest thing from her and her co-workers' minds when they go to work everyday.

Also, I know that my friend's mom, who - Thank God - wasn't in the building at the time the first airplane hit the building, but who worked for a company at the WTC wasn't aiming to strengthen the "mighty engine of profit" in order to further the agenda of enslavement of people abroad.

I'm not talking about these people to stifle a discussion, but because I believe he seems to be ignorant [and in his own words ignorance is " - a derivative, after all, of the word "ignore""] of the personal side of the tragedy that occured on Sept. 11th.

I don't believe it's a coincidence that Churchill, who - I assume - can't recount what it's like to smell a strong mix of jet fuel and burning steel whenever he leaves his house for 2 weeks straight, doesn't see the irony in this select statement.

"... each of which translated, conveniently out of sight, mind and smelling distance, into the starved and rotting flesh of infants."

Chris, even though I don't agree totally with Churchill, like Tangy, I give him credit for having the guts to say it... :read:

The problem of why BU$H is still in power when he could have been deposed easily comes from Democratic "hand-wringing" when it came to doing anything to DEFY the Pretzel....We NOW have Condi making unveiled THREATS to Iran which could send us spiraling into ANOTHER $500 Billion Dollar WAR where we lose yet MORE Troops!...and what will the DLC do?...sit around "limpwristed" wringing their hands again? I HOPE not! That is why I am HAPPY that Howard Dean is taking over the DNC in two days...at least HE won't be smoooooching GOP & BU$H backsides hoping for a political coupe while DUMBYA and Co. starts yet a BIGGER war with 60 million + Iranians and DESTROYS the Social Security Safety Net because he and his RICH friends want to get their hands on that SS cash(seems like the TAX CUT did nothing because BU$H's rich friends put the cash into "off-shore" accounts rather than invest it in OUR economy)..And then of course we have North Korea ANNOUNCING they DO have NUKES now, and THEY ARE NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM IF PROVOKED BY BU$H!...So come on DUMBYA! TELL'EM to BRING IT ON! Maybe if you get us involved in World War 3, and DESTROY Social Security in the process then we can finally get the people of this nation to wake up! :mad:

YOU SEE THE GOP HAS TRAPPED ITSELF....WHEN BU$H BRINGS DOWN THE HORSE & BREAKS US THEN THAT WHOLE PARTY IS GOING TO SUFFER FOR IT!...BUT THEY ASKED FOR IT!...I SAY BRING IT ON!

But as for Ward Churchill in general...all this is in effect is an AM Radio Neocon Talking Point to keep the public's MIND off of the FACT that RICE is making THREATS to IRAN! :mad:

AND AS WE PROMISED BU$H IS IMMEDIATELY LOOKING FOR A REASON TO MARCH INTO IRAN!

And if this is a BACK BREAKING STRAW for Russia & China then I guarantee WORLD WAR 3! IT will be the WORLD against US...and if these NEOCON idiots THINK we can WIN then let THEM go out and FIGHT IT! :mad:

I hate to say "we told you so America"...months ago.... :mad:

Now all we need is for PRESIDENT LIAR to EAT HIS WORDS when he has to re-instate the DRAFT(Remember? Read my lips!...NO NEW DRAFT!), and when he finds that know matter how much he cuts back on Medicaid and Welfare that it won't cover that HUGE WAR DEFICIT he is putting on our children's backs...I THOUGHT we learned our lesson in the 80's! YOU CAN'T BUILD A MILITARY MONSTER ON BORROWED MONEY!....Sooner or later somebody MUST pay that BILL!....READ MY LIPS! EXPECT MORE TAXES! :mad:

So we can talk of Important subjects or we can snag ourselves in yet another CONSERVATIVE RADIO IDIOT TALKING POINT! What Ward Churchill says will not amount to a "hill of beans" one way or the other...but the OPPOSITION WILL USE THAT MILAGRO BEAN FIELD TO PLAY IN! :blink:

I disagree with him, he must not lump our people and our government. No peoples should ever be lumped with their governments. However, he has the right to say what he wants. No one forced hi students to agree with him, no matter what Fox news will tell you. If ann coulter can suggest we kill all liberals, then he can say what he wants. I appreciate his gutsyness, but id like it better if he could help the Democratc cause. I think 9/11 is similar to the Reichstag Fire, because Bush subsequently signed the Patriot Act and forced his Right wing agenda on the nation, like when Hitler had the Enabling Act passed, which made him the dictator. THATS an analogy which woudl make a GREAT talking point.

Churchill is an idiot, scumbag.

He says we civilians are the ones who fund our governments missiles and hence our attacks on other countries. Did the dumbass ever realise that if we don't pay our taxes, we get sent to jail? Did the dumbass ever realise that innocent civilians aren't the ones who declare war?!