Over the past few years, Juan Cole has been a lightning rod when it comes to Middle East policy. He became so controversial and disliked by the Neo-Cons that he was denied a tenured position at Yale (Cole is currently tenured at the University of Michigan) due to pressure from the right wing.

Yet, his widely read blog, "Informed Comment," turned out to be far more analytically accurate than anything the Neo-Cons wrote. Cole is a historian and Middle East scholar. He also knows how to land a few punches. Cole isn't one to be pushed around.

At a social gathering in Philadelphia a couple of years ago, a friend of the host approached me and asked, "How can you be Jewish and post [link to] articles by Juan Cole on Buzzflash?" I answered simply, "Because most of the time he's right." This led to a lot of invective being thrown my way. I don't like discussing politics at parties, so I let the gentleman have his say. He eventually apologized for coming on so strong, after being told that I support a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and we moved on to small talk.

Suffice it to say, there have been a lot of such encounters around America, I imagine, about how one views the opionionated and unapologetic commentary by Cole about the complexities of the Middle East. I personally tend to find Cole's blog entries to be informed, insightful, and much more nuanced than anything that one will read in the mainstream corporate press (although when attacked, Cole's feistiness strays a little from his academic grounding.)

He's not anti-Israeli or pro-Islamic. He just doesn't have blinders on.

I don't agree with everything he writes, but I don't expect everyone to agree with everything I put into my editor's blogs.

With Cole, you have to start from the perspective that Islam and Islamic nations are diverse rather than a monolithic block. This would seem to be self-evident since the majority of nations with predominantly Islamic populations are American allies or at least not opposed to America.

But this reality got lost in the Bush Administration reign of Islamophobia.

Once you accept the basic premise of Islamic diversity as a geopolitical reality, you can begin to appreciate Cole, even if taking issue now and then with a conclusion he draws.

In a recent interview with Scott Horton of Harper's, you get the distinct feeling that Cole is pretty much in alignment with Obama's view on Middle East issues in general.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people formulating White House policy about the Middle East read Cole's blog, and will be digesting "Engaging the Muslim World." Maybe even Obama himself.

"A leading American expert on the Islamic world, seeks to dispel many of the persistent myths about Islam and the Middle East. Cole convincingly demonstrates why one should not confuse Muslim activism with hidebound fundamentalism. The chapter dealing with Iran is particularly informative and evenhanded, and the analysis of myriad issues in U.S.-Iran relations is a welcome antidote to the barrage of alarmist commentaries on Iran in much of the U.S. press. This readable and intelligent book is a must read for policymakers and the informed public.

--Library Journal, starred review