LA Times
August 23, 2003

Bush Picks Controversial Scholar for Peace Think Tank
By Paul Richter, Times Staff Writer

[The president avoids a Senate confirmation battle by appointing
Daniel Pipes, accused by some of anti-Muslim views, during a recess]

WASHINGTON — President Bush bypassed the Senate on Friday to name a
scholar accused of anti-Muslim bias to the board of a federally funded
foreign policy think tank.

Bush appointed Daniel Pipes to the board of the Institute of Peace,
which was chartered by Congress to study ways to solve international
conflicts.

Pipes has spoken out on the danger posed to the United States by
Islamic militants and presides over a group that monitors and
critiques what U.S. academics are writing about Israel and the Middle
East. Critics, including some Muslim and liberal Jewish groups, have
charged that he is an extremist who has no place in an organization
aimed at bringing about peace.

Several senators opposed the nomination. But Bush avoided a wrangle in
the Senate by using a procedure that enables a candidate to avoid
congressional review if he is named during a recess.

In a statement issued from Burbank, Wash., where he was visiting, Bush
called Pipes a well-respected scholar. Pipes has support from such
groups as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the
Anti-Defamation League.

Pipes, who has taught at Harvard University, is a former official of
the State Department and the Pentagon and a columnist for the New York
Post.

numerous than the agents of Osama bin Laden, and share the hijackers'
hatred of us."

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
had opposed Pipes' nomination, said he was "disappointed" with the
administration's decision. "His views are long-standing, well-known,
and decidedly one-sided, and not the words of someone committed to
bridging differences and bringing peace," Kennedy said in a statement
Friday.

The institute's president, Richard Solomon, could not be reached
Friday. One institute official acknowledged that the institute worked
with several Islamic scholars and researchers "who have said it would
be very difficult to continue with the group if Pipes were chosen."

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, which had campaigned against Pipes, called the White House
decision "baffling."

"Why would they go ahead with the appointment of a hard-core
anti-Muslim bigot in the face of overwhelming opposition and in a move
that will harm America's image and interests worldwide?" Hooper asked.

The Institute of Peace has a program that seeks to reach out to the
Muslim world. Hooper said those activities would now be boycotted by
prominent Muslims.

"It would be very difficult now for any mainstream Muslim leader to
cooperate with USIP while Pipes is on the board," he said.

On 20 Sep 2003 09:27:12 -0700, nkdatta8839@bigmailbox.net

How dare the USIP actually appoint someone who brings up facts about
the Middle East that are inconvenient to anti-semites who want Israel
destroyed and the Jews here killed? Proof that "mainstream" Islam is
not at all moderate.

Not to mention that you're:
- bringing up a topic that's old and has been discussed
- too incompetent to think for yourself and just clone an article

On 20 Sep 2003 09:27:12 -0700, nkdatta8839@bigmailbox.net

How dare the USIP actually appoint someone who brings up facts about
the Middle East that are inconvenient to anti-semites who want Israel
destroyed and the Jews here killed? Proof that "mainstream" Islam is
not at all moderate.

Not to mention that you're:
- bringing up a topic that's old and has been discussed
- too incompetent to think for yourself and just clone an article