Adam L. Silverman, PhD*
"Phares obtained a fellowship at the conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a teaching position at National Defense University. He became a trainer at the Center for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, a nongovernmental organization that claims to have "trained over 75,000 Intelligence Community, Military, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Government and Corporate employees over the past 14 years." Phares has testified before Congress and advised the Department of Homeland Security." and ""[Phares] is telling people to suspect all Muslims Americans as something other than how they portray to themselves," says Thomas Cincotta, one of the authors of a report titled "Manufacturing the Muslim Menace," published by the liberal group Political Research Associates. But it's not just anyone Phares is preaching his ideas to. "He's addressing the intelligence community, he's addressing policymakers, military personnel," Cincotta notes." (hat tip to a commenter named Alex at Stiftung Leo Strauss: The Bunker)
Click on over and read the whole thing. I first met Dr. Phares in person in 2004 at a Florida Political Science Association conference. I was coordinating the panels on terrorism and political violence (and was one of the presenters). Every so often we'd cross paths. While I was a post-doc at UF we did some Florida Public Radio segments together by three way telecon on events related to 9-11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I knew he was a Lebanese Christian, somewhat conservative, and had been involved with the Maronite militias. What I did not know was just how involved. From listening to his conference papers, reading his articles on conflict resolution, and doing one or two radio segments together you would have thought he was a center-right, pretty main stream, professor at a tier 2 university. Apparently when you make the jump to a neo-Con funded outfit originally backed by Frank Gaffney and run by one of his proteges, you can really let your freak flag fly! The frightening thing with this is not just that he provides expert testimony for the prosecution in counter-terrorism prosecutions (as we've detailed here before), while admitting he doesn't know a whole lot about Islam or that he's training law enforcement and intelligence personnel (as the Mother Jones' reporting indicates), but that he is now advising the GOP candidate that is considered to be the most likely to gain the nomination at this time. Have to give the neo-Cons credit, they do know how to play the long game.
*Adam L. Silverman
Disclosure of who Presidents and Presidential candidates are advised by and who they listen to is of great importance to the future of our democracy (Republic)!
I just finished a short book by Dr. Bernard Lewis published just after 9/11/01 but not incorporating that event although he evidences clearly knowledge of its occurrence.
The book is captioned "WHAT WENT WRONG--Western Impact and Middle East Response"! I assume his facts are correct but perhaps not all of his analysis. But his facts are quite amazing and would seem to support his conclusions.
Suggest those that have not read it do so!
Posted by: William R. Cumming | 30 October 2011 at 11:28 AM
I have to wonder how these people manage to hustle their academic positions. And then too, why people picked him out as an expert.
Did they really think he's an expert, or is his value that he's a real expert at saying what they want people to hear, being believable and nonthreatening, and lucky at not getting caught?
Glad that he got a little unlucky at last, with this article in Mother Jones.
It was interesting the number of people who would not allow their names to be used. I also wonder how many other people their are like him, partisan refugees here in America that work to manipulate us.
Posted by: jerseycityjoan | 30 October 2011 at 09:53 PM
Thanks for the backgrounder - sorry to see so few comments, but I blame the Overton Window, and the general cynicism and ennui that now greets such revelations. Phares is obviously being employed for his facility in the old 'Muslims are attacking Christians in Lebanon' gambit.
Seems he has found a more comfy nest in the US, where he doesn't have to deal with the repercussions of his past - such a patriot that he whored himself out to the Israelis and begged them to invade Lebanon. No wonder he won't set foot there!
Good times for old Mitt - although I don't give the man much credit, I think this choice has everything to do with his myopic attempts to curry favor with the Right, and he doesn't really have a clue what he's gotten himself into with Phares.
Posted by: Roy G. | 31 October 2011 at 06:31 PM
Adam,
The 'stuff' never seems to end. Take a look at Gaffney's latest:
The enemy is inside the wire: Shariah front groups now oversee fed's counterextremism training
By Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gaffney110111.php3
Posted by: J | 03 November 2011 at 01:03 AM