February 17, 2011
Pushing Al Jazeera on Americans
Recently, the Boston Globe (owned by the New York Times) published an op-ed by Juliette Kayyem advocating that more American cable companies carry Al Jazeera
What could go wrong? What harm could more inflammatory misinformation cause? Al Jazeera is filled with Muslim speakers promoting anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism and calling for violence.
Have we not learned anything the last few years about how people such as Nidal Hassan can be driven to kill by propaganda?
But what is of interest is the background of Juliette Kayyem: President Obama appointed her to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. One would think that a key official at the Department of Homeland Security would see the danger of Al Jazeera being broadcast all over America. Maybe another president would have perceived the foolishness of choosing to appoint such a person to such an important position of power.
Furthermore, she hails from Harvard's Belfer Center. This was the congenial home for none other than Stephen Walt who wrote (along with John Mearsheimer) a screed against Israel's supporters in America (Christian and Jewish ). He also advocates a weakening of ties between America and Israel and rapprochement with the Muslim world.