Psychological Warfare in Waco

Pop quiz: Who said the following:

"My tertiary specialty in the Air Force was psychological warfare, and I was no mean student thereof. It is imperative to know everything conceivably possible about your adversaries and their soft underbelly -- and have the patience to await the most strategic moment to strike."

(a) Karl Rove
(b) Jack Bauer
(c) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

None of the above. It was written by Herbert Reynolds, past president of Baylor University, in an e-mail threat to Baylor personnel planning to release a book. The working title is Baylor Beyond the Crossroads: A Story of Aspiration and Controversy. The book covers the last few years at Baylor where controversy surrounded President Robert Sloan's "2012 Vision" designed to raise Baylor into the top echelon of research universities while strengthening its Christian character.

Reynolds sent a long, threatening e-mail, including the quote above, and the university backed out of their plans to publish the book. Now the book is in need of a new publisher.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has an article on the controversy. The site requires subscription, but you can read the article for free here. Dr. Sloan, a contributor to the book and now the new president at Houston Baptist University, expressed disappointment that Baylor's press was pulling the project: “I think it's always unfortunate when people give in to external pressure to suppress information. This is a very collegial disagreement that needs to be aired. That's why we have universities and books like these. The suppression of a book -- or threats that some have made if a book is published -- is completely antithetical to Baptist principles of academic freedom and open discussion."

Hear, hear.

I'm looking forward to reading the book when they get it published.