Oh now this is delicious…

On the same day that NRO runs an op-ed condemning Doubleday for publishing the Al-Qaeda Reader, and two days after the New York Post condemns the book, who comes forward to not only defend the book, but reveal that he actually helped the author get it published?

None other than Victor Davis “Type Harder” Hanson, neoconservative hero, presidential speechwriter, and icon of grandiose words and imperialist vision!

Writes Hanson:

I have not seen any of his translations, but on the basis of his conversation, suggested that he contact some editors and literary representatives to see if this was a viable project and especially to ascertain both the legality and ethics about publishing such a text, and whether is was even an authentic document, previously known, or in the public domain. I thought little more about it since it seemed a scholarly project that would take months if not years to complete, and was surprised as any to see the recent media barrage about the announcement from Doubleday.

Amusingly, Hanson is a former winner of the Eric Breindel Award for editorial writing — an award sponsored by the New York Post.

To be fair, there is some thoughtful dissent and discussion of the NRO piece in following Hanson’s post in The Corner. But the two pieces condemning Doubleday and Bertelsman for terror profiteering are ridiculous. Reading it isn’t appeasement. It’s knowing your enemy. And it’s smart.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 24th, 2005 at 9:43 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.