Self-Inflicted Ideological Wounds

Michael Tanji makes some important points here. Mainly why do we have so few western, non-Muslim experts advising our military and political figures on Islam? But in this particular case, I wonder why Deputy SECDEF Gordon England chose to terminate another point of view on the global jihad. It seems to me that any high level decision maker owes it to himself and the people of this county to maintain experts with differing points of view. Surrounding himself with people of only one view is pointless, unless he already has already made up his mind or is pushing a personal agenda.

Islam has ties to some questionable Islamic groups and also has a large influence on England. So I have to ask, what are Deputy SECDEF Gordon England’s reasons for terminating Stephen Coughlin? Does Hesham Islam hold some power over him? Is England so enamored by Islam he cannot accept other points of view from his staff? Does he have some hidden political agenda counter to the presidents? If any of the above, England has no business in the position he holds.

We are in a state of war with radical Islam, and cannot afford to discount any reasonable advice offered by the best minds available.
FROM THREATWATCH.ORG:

Self-Inflicted Ideological Wounds
Why Such a Shallow Bench of Experts on Islam?
By Michael Tanji
January 9, 2008
Readers of ThreatsWatch and related sites are probably not strangers to the controversy surrounding the firing of Stephen Coughlin, late an Islamic law scholar on the Joint Staff. Reportedly he was sacked for his “extreme” opinions on radical Islam, which included such radical ideas as not affiliating with Islamic groups with known, or suspected, ties to terrorist organizations. The impetus of his ouster was apparently triggered by Hesham Islam, advisor to Deputy SECDEF Gordon England. Based on what little we know about Mr. Islam we are hard pressed to label him an apologist for Islamists and his dedication to this nation and its principles is perfectly clear.

Still, Mr. Islam is the driving force behind the Pentagon’s Muslim outreach effort, which includes reaching out to some groups with ties to terrorist organizations.
Put more simply: Mr. Coughlin is not a Muslim who is considered an expert on Islam and Islamic law; Mr. Islam is a Muslim, but as far as we know is not a theologian or scholar of Islam.

The fact that Mr. Coughlin’s work is not in the public domain is a problem for those conducting outside analysis because we have no way of judging for ourselves the quality or nature of his work. While it may not be a fair assessment, your author viewed a short extract of Mr. Coughlin’s work and was not overly impressed.

Not knowing who else Mr. Islam is working with (besides groups like ISNA, which is not exactly a bastion of moderates) and lacking more detailed information on his qualifications are also problems. Like any other bureaucracy, the Pentagon is not immune from picking “experts” using disputable means.
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