Pipes' Points Finally Having Impact

Submitted by steve chambers (United States), Oct 11, 2005 at 12:57

As I listened to President Bush's speech to the National Endowment for Democracy, I was pleased and surprised to recognize many of the points that Dr. Pipes has been making, against fierce opposition, for the past four years. I commend Dr. Pipes for his effective perseverance.

I wish it had even greater impact. For example, today a Wall Street Journal editorial ("Selling America") quoted Robert Pape of the University of Chicago as saying that Karen "Hughes is helping bin Laden" in her efforts to represent the US to Muslim communities abroad.

Pape should be talking. In his recent book, Dying to win: the strategic logic of suicide terrorism, Pape uses incomplete statements from al Qaeda along with faulty logic and out-of-date sources to reach the conclusion - popular with other critics of the war against miliatant Islam like the once "Anonymous" Michael Scheuer - that the US can only quell militant Islam by pulling its troops out of Iraq and Saudi Arabia and ceasing its support of Israel. (For more on this, see jihadonusall.blogspot.com.) Such a position truly helps bin Laden.

I would like to see Dr. Pipes review Pape's book. It needs a strong rebuttal.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".