So he's worse than a crackpot, he's an elitist member of academia whose crackpot ideas are well respected and, as you've demonstrated, unquestioned by many people. His field of expertiese seems to be Middle East cultures and politics. Does this qualify him to comment on American foreign policy? No, but when has that ever stopped anybody?
And even if he's right and he isn't a crackpot, he is a leftist and that colors all of his opinions. So don't be surprised if some people choose not to believe everything they read just because the writer has a huge bibliography. And try to remember that credentialism is a poor substitute for real argument.
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