re: #520 haakondahl

I suppose I should be pleased to see the esteemed scholar willing to learn, but somehow it falls a bit flat. Welcome, Dr. Dan, we’ve been waiting for you.

My opinion: Pipes kind of blew it. He knows something about Iranian’s politics, and his point about Mousavi having the same evil goals as Ahmadinejad was a very important one. But you just don’t go saying something like “I hope Ahmadinejad stays in power, it would be better for the world.” I mean, in the 1930’s, would it be okay to say “I hate Hitler, but I hope he stays in power, because the other alternative is just as evil but more restrained in showing it”? No—you find a better way to express what you mean.