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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
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To: one_less who wrote (243183)9/26/2007 6:20:16 PM
From: Nadine Carroll  Read Replies (6) of 281500
 
from Powerline blog:

UPDATE: An attorney with one of New York's most prestigious firms writes to comment:

I am an alumnus of Columbia Law School and received the email you mentioned this morning. It struck me as yet another PR disaster. They seem to be under the impression that if alumni will just watch this (cough) bold defense of the First Amendment then everyone will be enlightened and the outrage will disappear. However, they are once again behind the issue by at least a news cycle. The story abroad, and especially in Iran, is that people are outraged at how Bollinger treated this crazy man instead of being upset about the ridiculous comments like "there are no homosexuals in Iran" or "I support academic freedom." Bollinger gave him just what he wanted: a platform and a chance to play the victim of the Imperial West.

I am delighted to watch Columbia squirm at being called imperialistic cowboys, since heaven knows that they used this term to smear those who disagreed with them in at least half of my classes. However, only ivory tower academics could have managed to actually find a third alternative that was worse than either disinviting him or giving him a platform. This will turn into such a media victory for him at home that it will make the Oxford Union Debate look like a victory for the West. Bollinger should be congratulated for destroying internal dissent in Iran and solidifying the present regime in a way that I thought could only be done by a large scale bombing campaign. I hear North Korea is shaky right now too. Perhaps Bollinger should have Kim Jong-il over to speak as well.

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