The American Enterprise Institute is definitely one of the most odious think
thanks. Today, it's also one of the most powerful, a center of gravity for
"neo-conservatives" and their intellectual community.
The following is a "center column" story from DC Indymedia, and
it's worth tossing over here too. They put together handy links to supplemental
information.
| WHO'S
BEHIND THE LIES |
Jun
10 2003 |
Expose the American Enterprise Institute
"[no think tank] has been more influential than the American Enterprise
Institute, " Ronald Reagan
Tomorrow, June 11th, the Bush is Taking
the Shirts Off Our Back to Pay For This War (Shirts Off) Coalition will be
holding a press conference to kick off a campaign against the American
Enterprise Institute (AEI). AEI is a far-right think tank, whose current fellows
include former Republican government officials, as well as many corporate
executives. These include Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle, and former fellow Ken
Lay, of Enron. Twenty former AEI fellows are now employed by the Bush
Administration, or "embedded" with the government. Richard
Behan, Alternet wrote that AEI, "crafted or influenced virtually the
entire agendas of both domestic and foreign policy for the George W. Bush
Administration."
AEI literally "houses" the notorious Project for the New American
Century (PNAC), and the Defence Policy Board, or lots of "family
ties". Recently PNAC formed the NGO "Committee
for the Liberation of Iraq" which lobbied heavily for the invasion of
Iraq. AEI has a "race
desk" charged with the popularization of unscientific and biological
determinist racial "theories", including AEI fellow Charles Murray, of
"Bell Curve", (genetic explanations for poverty in communities of
color), and Dinesh D’Souza, of "The End of Racism"
(African-Americans should stop using institutional racism as an 'excuse' for
their 'failure' to achieve what whites and Asians have achieved.) The AEI promotes
Oriana Fallaci's racist book The
Rage and the Pride: “They breed too much…At least half of the Moslem
women you see in our streets are pregnant or surrounded by streams of
children.” Additionally, AEI held a seminar against funding for education,
called "Are Teachers Paid Too Little... or Too Much?", the purpose of
which was to say that teachers are paid too much.
Tomorrow's press conference will focus on AEI's allegations that NGOs wield to
much power in Washington. It is set to coincide with AEI's seminar
Nongovernmental Organizations: The Growing Power of an Unelected Few.The press
conference will occur at 8:30 AM in front of AEI's officeat 1150 17th St. NW,
Washington, DC