Here's another article: Ted Turner Says Hijackers Were Brave Men
Tuesday, February 12, 2002
foxnews.com
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Most of the world praised the firefighters, rescue workers and police officers as the courageous ones on Sept. 11. Many said the bravest of all were the passengers who wrestled with their hijackers over Pennsylvania that day, causing their plane to go down in the mountains and preventing an even worse catastrophe.
But media mogul Ted Turner said Monday night that there were other brave people — the terrorists themselves — on the day the World Trade Center crumbled to the ground and a section of the Pentagon was destroyed.
Speaking at Brown University, the AOL Time Warner vice chairman said the 19 terrorists who hijacked civilian passenger planes and killed 3,000 people were motivated by world poverty and "were brave at the very least."
He added that they also "might have been a little nuts."
Turner then asked for a show of hands from those who would act as suicide bombers for their country, but none were raised, the Providence Journal reported.
In his address to an overflow crowd of about 500 people, the CNN founder also praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro while comparing President George W. Bush to Roman tyrant Julius Caesar.
In a statement released Tuesday, Turner said his remarks were reported "out of context" and that he regrets any pain they may have caused.
"I abhor violence in any form and wholeheartedly support the campaign to free the world from the threat of terrorism," Turner's statement read. "The attacks of September 11 were despicable acts. I in no way meant to convey otherwise."
Though the speech, entitled "Our Common Future," was one of a series of lectures centered on international relations, Turner went off on several of his famous tangents, including exhortations to vote and calls for the U.S. to be more generous with international aid. He also said the U.S. should give money to AIDS research, education and women's rights in the Third World.
Turner donated $1 billion of his personal fortune to alleviate the United States debt to the United Nations in 1997.
Turner also blasted America's record on nuclear weapons during the speech, saying that the Bush administration doesn't have "any intention whatsoever" of doing away with nukes, the Brown Daily Herald reported.
On the 2000 election, he spoke regretfully of Al Gore's defeat.
"A few more votes in Florida, and we could have had the best environmental president we ever had," Turner said. "Now we've got an oil man. He (President Bush) is like another Julius Caesar.
"Just what we need," Turner added sarcastically.
When a student from Montana asked Turner if he'd allow public access to his vast landholdings in that state, the white-haired billionaire rejoined with a hands-off-my-stuff attitude.
"You buy it and you can share it," he said. "Can I live in your home with you? We believe in private property in this country."
But perhaps the most controversial statement of the night came when the ex-husband of onetime Vietnam protester Jane Fonda asked the crowd to look at Sept. 11 from another point of view during the question-and-answer session.
"The reason that the World Trade Center got hit is because there are a lot of people living in abject poverty out there who don't have any hope for a better life," Turner said.
No one should have been surprised by Turner's perhaps too-plainspoken comments. He's famous for frequently belittling Christians, saying that America has "some of the dumbest people in the world" and once suggesting the "Star Spangled Banner" be replaced with a less warlike anthem.
Turner was dismissed from Brown in 1960 for living with his girlfriend in his dormitory room. The Ivy League school finally awarded Turner his undergraduate degree 12 years ago.
Ronnie Gunnerson, senior vice president for corporate affairs at Turner Broadcasting System, said in a statement Tuesday:
"Mr. Turner's remarks at Brown University on Feb. 11, 2002, represent his personal opinions and in no way reflect the beliefs of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
