The extremism and bias at Columbia University’s Middle East Studies program have finally gotten noticed. Columbia’s attempt at a whitewash has failed. (For the latest commentary, see this from The Washington Times.) Increasingly, the public is fed up with our universities. Yet the leftist professorate’s near-total monopoly of tenure allows it to hang onto control indefinitely. This raises two clashing images of the future of Middle East Studies.

The first comes from Britain. If you think the Columbia situation is a fluke, or something that can’t get worse, read this piece by Maurice Chittenden from the Sunday Times. Whatever the views of the broader public, the left’s campus monopoly makes this British nightmare a possible–even likely–picture of the future of Middle East Studies in America.

On the other hand, take a look at this piece by Bradley Graham from the April 8 Washington Post. The Pentagon is finally making aggressive efforts to address serious shortages in the foreign language skills and cultural awareness of its personnel. Of course, this confirms that our millions of dollars in Title VI subsidies have failed to accomplish their purpose. But we knew that.

Fortunately, there’s also the promise of a new academic future here, even if it’s only for the very long term. If the Pentagon starts recruiting and promoting “Foreign Area Officers,” these men could someday inject a radially new perspective into the ossified leftist professorate. Retired soldiers with language expertise and real knowledge of the contemporary Middle East could someday bring novel experience and critical intellectual balance into our programs of Middle East Studies. That’s why Title VI reform is so important. Without reform, our returning military men will be largely locked out of Middle East Studies graduate programs–and eventually, faculties. But if we open even a small space in the academy for students and professors with a different point of view, a new kind of expert may someday arise to fill it.