The candidate’s demand concerns an extremely sensitive and important claim, which has frequently been cited by the Bush administration to support its desire to take military action against Iran.  Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), who has been accompanying Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on campaign trips at home and abroad, recently reaffirmed this attribution to Ahmedinejad, adding that when they make a claim like this, you should believe them.  The question Barrett raises is whether the attribution is correct or the translation accurate, for several good reasons.

According to Barrett, the origin of the alleged quote is not the President of Iran but Ayatollah Khomeni, whom Ahmedinejad was citing rather than making an assertion of his own.  Attributing this quote to Ahmedinejad is therefore wrong.

Ahmedinejad’s exact words, moreover, were “Imam (Khomeni) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e (occupying) gods (Jerusalem) bayad (must) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from page of time) mahv shaved (vanish from)”.

In English, he said, “The Imam (Khomeni) said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time”.  One rendering would suggest that it might be likened to the phrase, “This too must pass”, as a temporary state of affairs.

In a letter to Congressman Kind, which his campaign released on July 8, 2008, Barrett observed, “the United States government and virtually every other government on earth except Israel’s have repeatedly called for Israel to withdraw form all of the territories it invaded and occupied in 1967—and that includes Jerusalem.  In fact, the UN, with US support, has repeatedly ordered Israel to withdraw from Jerusalem and the other Occupied Territories.”  This makes Khomeni’s call consistent with past calls for “regime change” in Jerusalem.

Barrett submitted some 1,600 signatures in support of his candidacy to the Election Division of the Wisconsin Accountability Board on July 7, 2008.  “About 80% to 90% of the people I approached agreed to sign my election petitions,” Barrett said.  “This represents overwhelming support for my message.  I am the peace candidate for Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District.”

In an ordinary election year, Congressman Kind would probably not face serious opposition.  He graduated from Harvard, where he played quarterback and graduated with honors in 1985.  Subsequently, he attended the London School of Economics and earned a Master’s degree before securing a law degree from the University of Minnesota.  He was elected in 1995 after serving as a prosecutor in La Cross.

Barrett also possesses imposing credentials.  He earned Master’s degrees in English literature and French from San Francisco State University and his Ph.D. in African languages and literature with a minor in folklore from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He has taught courses in English, French, Arabic, American Civilization, Humanities, African Literature and Islam in San Francisco and in Madison.

Barrett converted to Islam in 1992 and has been outspoken about misrepresentations of the religion.  A student of the events of 9/11, he is a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth and founded the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth.  He is the author of “Truth Jihad” and the co-editor of 9/11 AND AMERICAN EMPIRE, Vol. 2.  He hosts several talk shows, including “The Dynamic Duo” with James H. Fetzer, Ph.D.

Fetzer, founder of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, has been delighted to collaborate with Barrett since retiring to Oregon, WI, after a career spanning 35 years of college teaching, principally courses in logic, critical thinking, and scientific reasoning.  They have made perhaps a dozen or more presentations on 9/11 together.  “Kevin is one of the most remarkable human beings I have ever known,” he said.  “He reeks with integrity.”

Barrett’s background with respect to 9/11 gives him tremendous advantages in this contest, Fetzer observed.  “The truth about 9/11 destroys any pretext of justification for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”  And Barrett is not alone.  Even Ed Thompson, the popular mayor of Tomah, has aligned himself with “9/11 Truthers” who believe that the US government had a significant role in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Shocking as it may sound, officials of the Republican Party circulated a memorandum not long ago explaining that another 9/11 attack would be good for President Bush and good for the GOP.  Charles Black, John McCain’s senior campaign advisor, has said the same thing.  “It might be a good thing if Congress included at least some members who understand how 9/11 functions as political propaganda,” Fetzer remarked.

John Nichols, the noted commentator, has written that Barrett is going to “shake up” the District Three race. “The two party system is corrupt and stale,” he quotes Barrett as saying.  Barrett holds with Libertarians on foreign policy, where he admires Ron Paul (R-TX), for example, but he diverges from them with respect to domestic policies, because he believes the government should help those who can’t help themselves.

“As you can imagine, my main issue is the 9/11 wars and the devastation they have caused to both our economy and our values,” he told Nichols.  If Kind is indeed the kind of Democrat who has not stood up against the wars or in defense of civil rights, this just might be a year in which even independents can defeat party regulars.  “When it comes to 2008 politics,” Fetzer said, “it would be a mistake to rule him out.”

 Barrett’s letter demanding that Kind revise his misleading statement is being posted at his web site, http://www.barrettforcongress.us . It ends with a link to an in-depth article examining the Khomeni-Ahmedinejad quote, which may be found at http://www.mujca.com/iranrumor.htm .