President Bush has finally stopped deferring to Ted Kennedy and various Arab pressure groups, naming courageous scholar Daniel Pipes to the U.S. Institute for Peace. This is a small step in the right direction -- America needs to develop a much more realistic understanding of the threat posed by radical Islam and Pipes is an expert. Watch how this appointment will become one more talking point for the President's opponents.
President Bush announced yesterday that he is appointing Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes, who has long warned of the dangers posed by Islamic extremists, to the U.S. Institute for Peace, a federally funded think tank. The White House said Mr. Bush decided to place Mr. Pipes on the institute's 15-member board of directors as a temporary recess appointment, circumventing Democratic opposition led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who blocked his confirmation in the Senate.The Harvard-trained scholar, who has written and spoken widely about the dangers of militant Islamic fundamentalists, was bitterly opposed by Arab and Muslim organizations but won strong support from Jewish organizations and a large number of academics. Mr. Pipes has said that militant Islamists pose the greatest threat to peace since communism and that moderate Islam must be encouraged to combat this threat.
Pipes is no yes-man for the administration. The Weekly Standard makes an interesting observation about the appointment.
So why would the White House go to all this trouble for someone who hasn't been particularly friendly? Pipes has often hinted, suggested, and even said outright that the Bush administration is overly beholden to Muslims and the interest groups that claim to represent them. His appointment to the U.S. Institute of Peace over serious opposition from those very groups, and in the face of his refusal to moderate his message, speaks volumes about just how little pandering the administration is planning on in the near future.
Check out Daniel Pipes's web site to read his own words, not the spin promulgated by his opponents. High-octane stuff.
Posted by Alan at August 23, 2003 10:33 AM