Wisconsin Provost Will 'Review' Teaching of Instructor Who Calls the 9/11 Attacks an 'Inside Job'

The provost of the University of Wisconsin at Madison announced last week that he would conduct a "review" of the teaching of an instructor at the university who believes that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were orchestrated by the U.S. government.

The provost's announcement came amid calls from state legislators to fire the instructor, Kevin Barrett, after he discussed his views on a local conservative radio talk show.

Mr. Barrett is a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, a group that includes about 50 professors around the country who dispute the official story that Al Qaeda hijackers carried out the attacks. Mr. Barrett and the other scholars in the group argue that the attacks were an "inside job" designed to sow fear among Americans and to provide a pretext for war in the Middle East (The Chronicle, June 23).

Mr. Barrett, a Muslim, is also a founder of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, a Madison-based group. On that group's Web site, he writes, "From a Muslim perspective, it hardly seems worthwhile to engage in dialogue with non-Muslims who believe that 9/11 was an act of 'Islamic terrorism.' Either we discuss the compelling evidence that 9/11 was an inside job, or there is precious little to talk about."