The Muzzle Is Off

Now that the confirmation battle is over (or to be more honest, circumvented), Daniel Pipes addresses his critics:

For example, last Saturday the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a front-page story about my appointment in which I am quoted saying: “Conflict without violence is the goal. We have differences with all our allies, but there is no possibility of resorting to force with them, and that is the goal which we all hope for. But that is not where we find ourselves now, as we found in Iraq and Afghanistan. We cannot always rely on nonviolent methods.”

Not understanding my argument, the headline writer paraphrased this analysis as “Pipes says Muslim war might be needed.” In fact, it should have been “Pipes says war on militant Islam might be needed.”

I believe this distinction – between Islam and militant Islam – stands at the heart of the War on Terror and urgently needs to be clarified for non-specialists. The most effective way to do so, I expect, is by giving voice to the Muslim victims of Islamist totalitarianism.

Come to think of it, that sounds like the sort of activity that the U.S. Institute of Peace might wish to consider undertaking as part of its mission to “promote the prevention, management and peaceful resolution of international conflicts.”

Read the whole thing.