Sep 26 2007
A little humility
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007A little humility
By Daoud Kuttab
Guest Columnist
    The controversy surrounding an academic invitation to the Iranian president reflects one of the more serious problems that is negatively affecting the image of the United States around the world.    It was clear that Columbia president Bollinger and his staff wanted to boast that their university respects freedom of expression by inviting a controversial head of state. But when this academic exercise was challenged (mostly by radical pro-Israeli elements), he was forced to tweak this right in order to satisfy his critics and more importantly, the university donors. The way in which this problem was handled (nasty irreverent and unprovoked attack at a guest you invited) made the Ivy League university lose any credit it could have gained by what was otherwise a courageous decision. Continue Reading »