Diplomatic communications made public by WikiLeaks reveal that the U.S. and other countries view higher-education institutions as critical battlefronts in their struggle against Islamic extremism. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports:

A common theme in many of the U.S. State Department dispatches from Europe and the Middle East is that colleges must play a central role in the fight against Islamic extremism, by promoting Western values and by offering educational opportunities that will help keep Muslim people from feeling politically or economically disenfranchised.
The bad news that the cables hold for the United States is that many of its adversaries and competitors similarly have recognized higher education’s potential to advance their interests. For example, the cables cite Iranian efforts to recruit Afghans into its universities and to extend its influence in Iraq through gifts to students and professors there.

Among diplomats, the most in-depth approach to how higher education should be countering Islamic extremism is discussed in a cable by Charles H. Rivkin, the U.S. ambassador to France.

Who knew? Vive Rivkin!