Saturday, November 11, 2006

Journalism at the Milwaukee J-S: Kevin Barrett's Class

So the Milwaukee JS sent a reporter to check on John Wiley's newest UW sensation:

Barrett began Thursday's lecture by reviewing the work of several Muslim writers who believe the Sept. 11 attacks were the work of terrorists. One argues that the attacks reveal broader clashes within Islam; another believes they indicate a blossoming clash between the Muslim world and the West. The writings were among works that had been assigned to Barrett's students to read.

Barrett then moved on to an essay by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, who argues that the Sept. 11 attackers were part of a broad network of terrorism sponsored by the United States and other Western intelligence agencies. Ahmed argues that the U.S. has used terrorism to destabilize other countries and gain control over their resources.

In his lecture, Barrett sprinkled in the phrase 'according to this analysis' periodically at the end of his sentences. But he stated much of Ahmed's argument as fact and offered up his own views or observations to bolster the claims.


On the conventional idea that terrorists were motivated by their belief in Islam, Barrett said: "That's simply not true. That story gets blown out of the water."

On Ahmed's writings, he said at one point: "This is all standard narrative. What he's said so far, no one disputes."

Right. No one. Not one single solitary person.

Ahmed ends his essay by arguing that the U.S. is attempting "to exacerbate the deterioration of security by penetrating, manipulating, and arming the terrorist insurgency, thus legitimizing permanent Anglo-American military involvement in Iraq purportedly to promote security."

It was while discussing this argument that Barrett made his comment about American tax dollars being used to fund the killing of American soldiers, [specifically:]

"Your tax dollars are paying for the killing of American soldiers in Iraq. The CIA is paying for resistance in Iraq."

Well, Hell's Bells!!

Perhaps Ms. Pelosi & Co. will delete the CIA funding for this!

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