"Laurie A. Brand, a professor of international relations at the University of Southern California who heads MESA’s academic freedom committee, said she found considerable irony in Lewis and Ajami citing the politicization of the field. “I don’t disagree that there’s been tremendous politicization, but it’s been coming from the folks establishing this new organization,” she said. “I see these people as part of the problem. They can speak from experience about introducing politics to the agenda. ”She noted that Lewis and Ajami “were key advisers to this administration in the Iraq debacle and in cheerleading and justification and so on — it would be hard to think of anything more highly politicized.” Most of those on the new group’s Web site are “at the forefront of the neoconservative support group for the new administration — talk about setting out a political agenda.”" (thanks Nader)