Setting The Record Straight

Campus Watch corrects false allegations made against it.

Campus Watch Responds:

A December 6 essay at Informed Comment, a web log named, it would appear, with no intentional irony and allegedly written by the so-called "Juan Cole" of the University of Michigan, attacked Middle East Forum Washington Project director Steven Rosen. In the middle of this unhinged piece, so-called "Cole" writes:

Rosen, ironically, was hired by Daniel Pipes' so-called 'Middle East Forum.' Pipes runs Campus Watch, which is a neo-McCarthyite attempt to intimate [sic] US college professors into toeing the Likud Party line whenever they talk about Israel and Palestine. So it is only natural that an indicted spy for Israel, Rosen, should be on staff and energetically using dirty tricks to smear the reputations of patriotic Americans.

The alleged author attempts here a few dirty tricks against Rosen himself--all charges against the latter were dismissed in May, 2009--which boomerang so-called "Cole's" effort at smear-by-association. Alleged writer, cleanse thyself.

As for CW being McCarthyite, at this point we at CW are almost as dismayed by so-called "Cole's" lack of imagination as by the inaccuracy and childishness of the charge itself. As we have written countless times, CW has no governmental authority, nor do we seek it. We cannot issue subpoenas, compel testimony, or use the long arm of the government against our ideological opponents, as old Tail-Gunner Joe did, nor would we if we could (which is more than can be said for so-called "Cole" himself). CW, as a project of the actual Middle East Forum, is part of a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization recognized as such by the (most certainly real) IRS.

Regarding CW's alleged attempt to "intimate" American professors--well, perhaps there's more imagination at work (and of the fevered variety, no less) than we'd initially thought. (Come to think of it, so-called "Cole" has intimated that he's the Ted Williams of Middle East studies.) Toe the Likud Party line? As no one who knows me will be surprised to learn, I can honestly state that I know not a single member of the Likud Party. I've never received memos, cables, emails, or even notes written in invisible ink from them or any other party figure--of any party on earth.

Given the spacy nature of so-called "Cole's" alleged writings, with their fantastic claims and wildly inaccurate assertions, perhaps his inspiration and information originate in outer space itself, somewhere beyond the stars.

So-called "Juan Cole": alleged earthling?

(Posted by Winfield Myers)