THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 251, November 15, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
JUAN COLE BLAMES THE WEST (AGAIN)
By Drue White
JUAN COLE'S FLAWED ANALYSIS OF AMERICA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MIDDLE EAST & THE ISLAMIC WORLD:
BLAMING THE U.S.A. & THE FORMER BUSH PRESIDENCY FOR AMERICA'S PROBLEMS WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD -- COLE'S
POOR JUDGEMENT, ANTI-AMERICAN BIASES, SUBTLE ANTI-SEMITIC JABS, & UTTER LACK OF INTEREST IN HISTORICAL
CONTEXT -- ABSENCE OF SOUND ACADEMIC RESEARCH -- GROSS INACCURACIES & BLATANT PRO-ISLAMIST PROPAGANDA
-- THE NEED TO HOLD AMERICAN ACADEMICS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR LACK OF SCHOLARSHIP, ABUSE OF POSITION, &
PROSTITUTION OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROFESSION
FULL STORY:
Juan Cole's recent lecture at Auburn University in Alabama was a jarring reminder of the importance of pursuing
accountability from our academics. Speaking in the Haley Center's primary auditorium to a room overflowing with
students and a smattering of aging hippies, Cole provided an hour-long lecture on America's relationship with the
Middle East. While the seating arrangement was not uncomfortable, the lighting and the acoustics left something to
be desired.
The overarching theme of the lecture was that the United States, specifically the Bush administration, was to blame
for our problems with the Muslim world. Speaking in the "Deep South," Cole's message was apparently tailored to an
audience that undoubtedly was more Conservative than those he normally faces. He couched his more extreme views
in a nuanced, casual vocabulary that nevertheless failed to obfuscate them.
Calling his new book, Engaging the Muslim World, a "critique of the approach to the Middle East and Muslim
world more broadly adopted in the first eight years of the Twenty-First Century," Cole unveiled, from the very first
moments, his anti-American biases and lack of interest in historical context. He would have us all believe that our
problems began with the Bush administration and that only a "small fringe terrorist group" posed a threat to the
United States. Never mind the record of Islamic terrorist attacks that had plagued the West for the preceding three
decades or the pernicious actions of rogue states like Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya: American bullying is the problem
and Juan Cole's way of thinking is the solution.
While Cole seemed eager to stress his expert credentials through repeated exhortations of his education and travels,
his haphazard sophistry belied his efforts and revealed his poor judgment. No moment better illustrated this than
when Cole discussed the views of an unnamed Turkish friend and stressed that, "from a Turkish point of view, Bush
looked like a kind of Bonaparte." Anecdotally, citing the opinion of a single Turk as evidence of how a nation of 76
million thinks certainly makes for a good quote, but it is not a substitute for sound academic research.
Cole repeated this pattern throughout his lecture, citing statistics and numbers, while providing no specific source
for his figures. While not an uncommon practice, the manner in which Cole uttered his figures was strikingly vague.
He consistently stated "they did a study" and almost always failed to provide the audience an answer as to whom
"they" referred.
In one instance, he claimed that 80 percent of Saudis thought their number one priority was fighting terrorism.
"About ten percent of Saudis said they thought well
of Al-Qa'ida, which is a little bit alarming. And then
they asked them what were their priorities and 80
percent of them said fighting terrorism. That tells me
that they don't really support Al-Qa'ida."
The obvious weakness with this point is that the definition of terrorism for a self-proclaimed supporter of Al-Qa'ida is
likely to be quite different than for your average American citizen.
Cole stressed that his mostly youthful audience should question the reliability of people who claim to speak for the
entire Muslim world, yet apparently expected the audience to suspend such skepticism when he proceeded to do just
that. Cole suggested that the Muslim view of the U.S.A. and its struggle with terrorism was due to the fact that "the
United States is a superpower and is always sticking its nose in other people's business." Yet, this fails to explain
why Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Israel, Thailand, and many other countries struggle with Islamic terrorism.
The most inconsistent portion of Cole's lecture stemmed from his praise of Saudi Arabia and Algeria for combating
Islamic extremists, while lambasting the United States' efforts to do the same in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In this
process, there were predictable jabs at public figures like Rudy Giuliani and Charles Krauthammer. Cole insinuated
that Giuliani had no standing to use the term "Islamic fascists" because he was an Italian-American, a slander of an
entire ethnic group by one claiming to defend Muslims against such low blows. Shortly thereafter, Cole again
substituted slipshod reasoning for cogent analysis by suggesting that Krauthammer probably doesn't even know a
Muslim and therefore is not credible on Middle East issues.
No Juan Cole lecture would be complete without his usual radical statements or subtle anti-Semitic jabs. Cole labeled
unwise the turning of the Abu Ghraib detention facility into "the largest U.S. government factory of pornography"
and would have his audience believe the incident occurred from executive fiat, as opposed to the deplorable behavior
of a few rogue soldiers. In an oddly disjointed moment, Cole argued the term "Islamofascist" was offensive to
Muslims and that using phrases like "Islamic terrorism" was as inappropriate as including "Jewish gangster" activity
in Las Vegas in Judaic Studies. One wonders how the two are similar, since Jewish criminals do not commit crimes in
the name of Judaism, yet radical Islamic terrorists routinely murder and maim in the name of Islam.
When the lecture ended, there was a mad rush to exit the room. Only a handful of individuals remained for the
question and answer period, suggesting that a significant number of students attended the event for extra credit or
class requirements. The badly-attended Q&A period nonetheless produced a few stunning rejoinders from Cole, not
the least of which was his supposition that Iranian despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's penchant for radical statements
is as insignificant as "birther" claims that President Obama was not born in Hawaii. Cole did not take the opportunity
to mention his earlier protest that Ahmadinejad's words were mistranslated regarding the infamous threat to "wipe
Israel off the map," and that the Iranian President "was not making a threat."
Cole was elitist, detached, and unconvincing. His audience was young and polite, but hardly enthused. His claims
reveal him to be precisely what he seeks to conceal — a man desperately seeking affirmation for his extreme views.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Jews & Anti-Semitism
The Islamist Fifth Column -- America's Internal Enemies:
Disloyalty, Subversion, Sedition, & Treason
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
American Foreign Policy -- Political & Psychological Warfare
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Drew White is a graduate of Auburn University. This article was written for Campus Watch, a project of the
Middle East Forum.
The foregoing article by Drew White was originally published in Front Page Magazine, November 15, 2010, and
can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which seeks to
define and promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam,
working for Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote
constitutional democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly
asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
(URL: http://www.meforum.org/2782/juan-cole- blames-the-west)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
November 15, 2010
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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