In speech, Turner says Sept. 11 attackers were `brave' but `a little nuts'

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - Media mogul Ted Turner says the Sept. 11 attacks were an act of desperation, and the hijackers were ``brave&#39;&#39; but probably ``a little nuts.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Turner, in a lecture at Brown University, also compared President Bush to Julius Caesar. <br> <br> In a wide-ranging address Monday, the AOL Time Warner vice chairman said the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were an outgrowth of poverty. <br> <br> ``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&#39;t have any hope for a better life,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> He said the attacks were an act of desperation, and that Americans lack an understanding of a willingness to die for one&#39;s country. <br> <br> ``I think they were brave at the very least,&#39;&#39; Turner said of the 19 airliner hijackers believed to have committed the attacks, adding that they ``might have been a little nuts.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Turner made the comments during a question and answer session after he delivered a lecture on international affairs. <br> <br> In a statement Tuesday, Turner said the comments ``were reported out of context, and I deeply regret 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. <br> <br> ``The attacks of Sept. 11 were despicable acts,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I in no way meant to convey otherwise.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Officials from The Providence Journal and The Brown Daily Herald stood by their reporters&#39; stories, which were published Tuesday. <br> <br> ``The reporter who covered Mr. Turner&#39;s speech is a highly competent professional,&#39;&#39; said Carol J. Young, the deputy executive editor of The Journal. <br> <br> ``I was at the lecture and I heard it and I don&#39;t think anything he said was misinterpreted,&#39;&#39; said Seth Kerschner, editor in chief at The Herald. Kerschner did not cover the lecture as a reporter. <br> <br> In the speech, Turner also gave his opinion on the 2000 elections and Al Gore&#39;s loss in the presidential race. <br> <br> ``A few more votes in Florida, and we could have had the best environmental president we ever had,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Now we&#39;ve got an oil man. He (President Bush) is like another Julius Caesar. Just what we need.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Asked if he would allow public access to his vast landholdings in Montana, he replied: ``Can I live in your home with you? We believe in private property in this country.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``You buy it and you can share it,&#39;&#39; Turner said. <br> <br> Turner was expelled from Brown in his junior year in 1960 after he was caught living with a girlfriend in his dorm room. The Ivy League school awarded him his undergraduate degree 12 years ago.

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