Seattle City Council candidate Joe Szwaja is teaching a high school class that asks if the United States helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. Szwaja teaches history at Seattle's Nova High School, an alternative public school. The senior class he's offering is called: "September 11/Iraq War: What happened, why did it happen, and where do we go from here?"

According to the course description, the class will ask provocative questions:

"Did the attacks take place in the manner reported by the major US news media? Were Osama Bin Laden and his followers indeed responsible for these brutal murders? Did the US government do all they reasonably could to avert the attacks, or did the US bungle its sincere attempts to stop this incidence of terrorism? On the other hand, was the US government itself part of planning the attacks or at least involved in them in some way, perhaps in making sure nothing was done to avert them?"

The course was brought to reporters' attention by Cathy Allen, a political consultant working for Szwaja's opponent, incumbent Jean Godden. That looks to me as an endorsement of sorts that Godden takes Szwaja's candidacy seriously.

Szwaja told Times City Hall reporter Bob Young today that he does not believe the U.S. government was involved in planning the attacks or making sure they weren't stopped. Szwaja said:

"I want to teach students to think about important questions and I go out of my way to provide different perspectives."

Is it irresponsible, though, to suggest to students that the U.S. was part of the attacks?

"The main thing I try to do is teach classes that engage students from a variety of perspectives. I pride myself on that. A big part of the class is fact-checking. My goal is not to tell students what happened. My goal is to teach them to think carefully, systematically and pursue answers for themselves."

The course will also look at broader questions:

"How has September 11 affected US civil liberties, Muslim Americans and the way we see politics? How and why are the events around September 11 viewed differently in various countries and regions around the world? What are some of the roots of the disagreements between the US and the Muslim world which helped lead to the many conflicts in which our government is currently engaged?"

UPDATE: There are those who not only want to ask those questions, but are convinced there has been a coverup.

AND MORE: At The Stranger, Paul Constant has a story about the 9/11 Truth Movement:

It's false to refer to Truthers as conspiracy theorists because, as they're quick to point out, they don't have a theory. All they have are questions. Some of them believe that the government is guilty of knowing about the attacks and simply allowing them to happen, others believe that the planes were remote controlled and that no passengers died in the attacks, and still others believe that the Pentagon was hit by a cruise missile and that no plane was involved at all. Many Truthers believe that Flight 93 couldn't have crashed in Pennsylvania since the crash site is only 6 feet wide by 20 feet long. A radical few even claim that no planes struck the Twin Towers, despite what billions of eyes saw that day. The debate within the movement is intense and not always polite -- for instance, not all Truthers believe that doubting the planes' involvement is a good idea, and that to deny the deaths of hundreds of air passengers on September 11th is disrespectful and stupid.

It's well worth a read.