Wisconsin instructor's job in peril over odd views

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...calchicago-hed

Associated Press
Published July 9, 2006

MADISON, Wis. -- A University of Wisconsin instructor under fire for his views on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks sent a sarcastic letter to Gov. Jim Doyle last week, a spokesman for the governor said.

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 attacks were carried out by U.S. government officials, not Al Qaeda 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.