Doyle's office releases letter from controversial UW instructor

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/du...s/14990469.htm

RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press
7/7/2006

MADISON, Wis. - A University of Wisconsin instructor under fire for his views on the Sept. 11 attacks sent a sarcastic letter to Gov. Jim Doyle this week, a spokesman for the governor said Friday.

Doyle's office has forwarded the July 5 letter from Kevin Barrett to UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell, who is reviewing whether Barrett should be allowed to teach a course on Islam this fall, said Doyle spokesman Matt Canter.

"This further highlights the governor's concerns about whether somebody who is touting these outlandish views is fit to teach in the classroom," said Canter, who released a copy of the letter Friday.

Barrett, active in a group called Scholars for 9/11 Truth, is among a small group that believes the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by U.S. government officials, not al-Qaida terrorists.

Some lawmakers called for his firing as a part-time instructor after he spoke on a Wisconsin radio talk show and acknowledged he presented the theory to students in the past.

Doyle also blasted Barrett and questioned his competence but stopped short of demanding he be fired. Barrett responded with the letter to the governor's office.

In it, he ridicules Doyle for political posturing and sarcastically includes a questionnaire for UW-Madison instructors to help Doyle "weed out dissenters from the ranks of UW-Madison instructors."

The questionnaire includes 20 questions about government conspiracy theories dating to the 1800s and sarcastically suggests any teacher who believes them should be fired.

"This shows that he has no regard to facts," Canter said. "In the academic world, theories must be based on some factual evidence and it appears that Mr. Barrett draws conclusions without any factual basis."

Farrell, who launched the review after Barrett's talk show appearance, expected to have the review complete by Friday but decided he needs more time, said UW-Madison spokesman Brian Mattmiller. He said the review should be complete next week and he will take all materials, including the letter to Doyle, into consideration.

In the meantime, Barrett is scheduled to speak Sunday at the Midwest Social Forum at UW-Milwaukee about his belief that the twin towers were destroyed by explosives detonated by U.S. government officials.

The introductory course on Islam is the only one he is scheduled to teach at UW-Madison this fall. He is also scheduled to teach a similar course at Edgewood College in Madison.