Letters to the Editor

PCAT and AFP are not aligned with any political party

I am disturbed by the inclusion of the Princeton Committee Against Terrorism (PCAT) in the article "Student conservative groups decry liberalism, political apathy on campus" in the Monday, May 6 edition of The Daily Princetonian. PCAT is explicitly non-partisan; and, unlike the College Republicans or The Princeton Tory, is not aligned with any political party. PCAT's mission is simple: to educate students about the threat of international terrorism and to build informed support within the campus community for the continuing war on terrorism.

"However," the article tells us, "Most students consider PCAT and. . . American Foreign Policy, with its hawkish views on the war on terrorism, to be right-wing." If this were so, then the 'Prince' would also have to label something between 80 to 90 percent of the U.S. public "right-wing" for their support of the war on terrorism. The conservative label is particularly unfair to the many proudly liberal AFP staff writers and PCAT members. Although AFP's masthead proudly proclaims "Standing with America at Princeton University," the important point is that there are an infinite number of viewpoints and policy recommendations compatible with patriotism — not only conservative ones. Our editorial policy has consistently recognized this fact.

Similarly, opposition to terrorism need not mean blindly accepting government pronouncements at face value. AFP has published numerous stories highly critical of U.S. policy in the Middle East and Afghanistan and will proudly continue to do so. AFP is not a conservative publication, but rather a forum for a diverse spectrum of perspectives. Otherwise, our staff box would be much shorter! Indeed, if I were to call PCAT faculty adviser and Princeton Professor Sean Wilentz, or AFP Staff Writers Elliot Ratzman GS and Taufiq Rahim '04, "conservatives" they would probably laugh.

In wrongly equating patriotism with conservatism, the mysterious Princeton students who are cited in the article as the authority confirming that PCAT and AFP really are "right-wing" do liberals and conservatives — as well as their country — a profound disservice. Carlos Ramos-Mrosovsky '04 Editor, American Foreign Policy Chairman, Princeton Committee Against Terrorism