http://www.nynewsday.com/nyc-prof0329,0,2015886.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-right
Columbia Prof's Remarks Spark Furor
Callers Wish 'A Million Mogadishus' On Professor
WB11: Columbia Professor Sees Backlash For Anti-War Remarks
By Ron Howell
Staff Writer
March 28, 2003, 9:35 PM EST
Angry callers flooded phone lines at Columbia University Friday, denouncing a professor who called for an Iraqi victory over U.S. troops and said he would like to see "a million Mogadishus."
The Mogadishu reference recalled the Somali city where 18 U.S. soldiers were killed 10 years ago.
University president Lee C. Bollinger called Newsday to say he was stunned by the comments made by Assistant Professor Nicholas De Genova, one of more than two dozen speakers at a "teach-in" Wednesday night.
"I am shocked that someone would make such statements," Bollinger said Friday in a telephone interview from Seattle, where he was traveling. "I am especially saddened for the families of those whose lives are now at risk."
Because of the university's tradition of academic freedom, Bollinger said he does not normally comment on statements by a faculty member. But "This one has crossed the line and I really feel a need to say something," the president said.
At De Genova's office at Columbia, where he is a professor of anthropology and Latino studies, a recording said Friday that his voice mailbox was full.
Eric Foner, a history professor and organizer of the teach-in, told Newsday Thursday that De Genova's remarks were "idiotic" and said that the other speakers offered intelligent and thoughtful arguments against the Iraqi war.
On Wednesday night, De Genova said, "The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military." Newsday also quoted him as saying, "I personally would like to see a million Mogadishus."
In an especially graphic image from the 1993 Mogadishu ambush and firefight, in which Somalis shot down two U.S. helicopters, a slain American soldier was dragged through the streets. The battle was portrayed in the film "Black Hawk Down."
The crowd of hundreds Wednesday night was largely silent as De Genova made the Mogadishu comment, but a number of them applauded later when he said, "If we really that this war is criminal ... then we have to believe in the victory of the Iraqi people and the defeat of the U.S. war machine."
De Genova said in a telephone interview Thursday that he intended to show his support for oppressed Iraqis and to encourage them to fight against their oppressors, whether domestic or foreign.
One caller to Newsday Friday said he would like to hurt De Genova.
"I'd like to shoot him if I could get away with it, in the knee or something, and give him a chance to think about it," said Dodfrey Mathews of the Bronx, who said he was 68 and a retired New York City paramedic. "You got all these mothers and fathers thinking about their children [in the U.S. military] and here's a sucker wishing they were dead."
Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and one of the speakers Wednesday night, said Friday that he disagreed very much with the tone and substance of De Genova's remarks.
"What we want here is an end to the war and we want the U.S. troops back home," Ratner said. "We don't want a lot of battlefield deaths."
Columbia Prof's Remarks Spark Furor
Callers Wish 'A Million Mogadishus' On Professor
WB11: Columbia Professor Sees Backlash For Anti-War Remarks
By Ron Howell
Staff Writer
March 28, 2003, 9:35 PM EST
Angry callers flooded phone lines at Columbia University Friday, denouncing a professor who called for an Iraqi victory over U.S. troops and said he would like to see "a million Mogadishus."
The Mogadishu reference recalled the Somali city where 18 U.S. soldiers were killed 10 years ago.
University president Lee C. Bollinger called Newsday to say he was stunned by the comments made by Assistant Professor Nicholas De Genova, one of more than two dozen speakers at a "teach-in" Wednesday night.
"I am shocked that someone would make such statements," Bollinger said Friday in a telephone interview from Seattle, where he was traveling. "I am especially saddened for the families of those whose lives are now at risk."
Because of the university's tradition of academic freedom, Bollinger said he does not normally comment on statements by a faculty member. But "This one has crossed the line and I really feel a need to say something," the president said.
At De Genova's office at Columbia, where he is a professor of anthropology and Latino studies, a recording said Friday that his voice mailbox was full.
Eric Foner, a history professor and organizer of the teach-in, told Newsday Thursday that De Genova's remarks were "idiotic" and said that the other speakers offered intelligent and thoughtful arguments against the Iraqi war.
On Wednesday night, De Genova said, "The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military." Newsday also quoted him as saying, "I personally would like to see a million Mogadishus."
In an especially graphic image from the 1993 Mogadishu ambush and firefight, in which Somalis shot down two U.S. helicopters, a slain American soldier was dragged through the streets. The battle was portrayed in the film "Black Hawk Down."
The crowd of hundreds Wednesday night was largely silent as De Genova made the Mogadishu comment, but a number of them applauded later when he said, "If we really that this war is criminal ... then we have to believe in the victory of the Iraqi people and the defeat of the U.S. war machine."
De Genova said in a telephone interview Thursday that he intended to show his support for oppressed Iraqis and to encourage them to fight against their oppressors, whether domestic or foreign.
One caller to Newsday Friday said he would like to hurt De Genova.
"I'd like to shoot him if I could get away with it, in the knee or something, and give him a chance to think about it," said Dodfrey Mathews of the Bronx, who said he was 68 and a retired New York City paramedic. "You got all these mothers and fathers thinking about their children [in the U.S. military] and here's a sucker wishing they were dead."
Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and one of the speakers Wednesday night, said Friday that he disagreed very much with the tone and substance of De Genova's remarks.
"What we want here is an end to the war and we want the U.S. troops back home," Ratner said. "We don't want a lot of battlefield deaths."
