Free Republic

If anyone had told me, in the autumn of 2001, that we were less than 18 months away from what might become the world's first nuclear war, I would have thought they were insane. In the half century since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no one has been that reckless or indeed that stupid – even, or so I thought, the Bush White House. Then came the twin towers and everything changed overnight, to the point where we find ourselves apparently on the threshold of a terrifying conflict in the Middle East. So the question I am going to ask, at the...

A French author who suggests that the Sept. 11 attacks were concocted by a faction of the U.S. military is planning to promote his book on a tour that will begin in New York City. The English title of Thierry Meyssan's book is "9-11, The Big Lie," which also suggests that the Pentagon was hit by an American missile, and not American Airlines Flight 77. USA Books, a subsidiary of the book's French publisher, says he could launch the tour as early as this month. The dates have not been finalized yet, according to Asad Lalljee, of USA Books, but...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A University of New Mexico history professor who was heavily criticized for telling a class on the day of the terrorist attacks, ``Anyone who can blow up the Pentagon has my vote'' is retiring this month, complaining of constant harassment. Richard Berthold, a 55-year-old tenured professor, was forced to apologize for the remark, which he called ``an incredibly stupid joke.'' The university also barred him from teaching freshmen. ``Constant harassment by persons in authority at the university is now driving me into retirement,'' he said in a statement Monday. He has taught at the university for...