"I'll name them as Tarpley names them," Jones said on KUER. "Wolfowitz and Perle, in particular — they do happen to be neocons — but there is a much larger group behind these (attacks) which is the international banking cartel which controls trillions of dollars and which has an interest in controlling countries in the Middle East which are not under their control."

Jones said his reference to international banking might have been influenced by Cleon Skousen, a former BYU instructor and author who claimed international bankers were behind the rise of communism and fascism. Jones shared his research on 9/11 at Skousen's home in the fall of 2005 before Skousen died.

Jones said he regrets talking about who might have been behind the attacks and from now on will leave that investigation to Tarpley and other members of the self-named "9/11 truth movement." "In the past, numerous times I deferred to those experts," Jones said. "This time I said, in my opinion, (Tarpley's) right. But I also think that's way outside the research I specialize in. I think it's smarter to leave the tasks of who should be investigated to those who specialize in those things."

Instead, he'll concentrate on his research about evidence from ground zero and the intriguing, unsettled questions about why the third World Trade Center building, Building Seven, fell later on Sept. 11 without being struck by a plane. A report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology is due early next year.

Jones contends measurements he took of a sample of the molten metal found under all three buildings show it is not aluminum from the planes nor structural steel.

"I can be proven wrong," Jones said. "I accept that. But whoever does it will have to explain this molten metal to me, and especially all the barium found. That's nasty stuff that's not going to be used in a building."

Jones said he doesn't blame Jews for the attacks.

"I had no idea this would be some sort of codespeak for anti-Semitism," Jones said. "It is not right to link such a group to Jews."

Salt Lake Valley resident Scott Klepper said Jones' statements were hurtful. "As a Jew, I view Jones' unsubstantiated conclusion as an affront to the Jewish community, to BYU and to real researchers and academics."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com