More vicious attacks on my people

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on a new study of the political beliefs of college and university faculty by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. This study puzzles me. First, the most troublesome part of the study. Faculty are asked whether they agree or disagree with a number of statements, including these:

“Many of the problems that now exist in Middle Eastern countries can be traced to misguided American policies.”

Forty seven percent agreed with the statement and 42% disagreed.

“Which TWO of the following do you believe are most responsible for the growth of Islamic militancy?”

Fifty four percent responded that the United States policies in the Middle East are partially responsible for the growth of Islamic militancy (compared with 64% who cited political corruption/oppression in the militants’ home countries as a cause and 25% who named the Islamic religion itself).

Now, the people who disagreed with the first statement and failed to list US policies in the Middle East among the top two reasons for the rise of Islamic militancy are idiots. Who can possibly argue against the proposition that America's insatiable demand for oil imports has provided some of the most unstable and despotic nations on earth a huge amount of money, some of which is being used to foment instability in the region or terrorism against US interests? Who can possibly argue against the proposition that American support for oppressive governments in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and elsewhere has fuelled the rise of radical Islamists? This is not just a liberal viewpoint; George Bush himself has made these arguments.

In their analysis of the survey results, the authors of the study write

"Almost half of faculty at least partially blame America for problems in the Middle East: 47% agreed with the [first] statement and 42% disagreed... [in response to the second statement] 54% of faculty believe that the United States policies in the Middle East are partially responsible for the growth of Islamic militancy. Faculty as a whole are two times as likely to blame the United States rather than Islam itself..."

Now just one cotton-pickin' minute. To say that US policies in the Middle East are one source of the problems there is not to blame US policy for these problems. The authors take a perfectly reasonable set of responses to their questions and frame them in a way that fits perfectly with the David Horowitz - style attack on academia. Hence the authors conclude from their analysis:

Faculty Political Ideology Is Overwhelmingly Liberal
Faculty at colleges and universities of all kinds in America are overwhelmingly liberal in their political ideology, creating a strong campus political culture...

Faculty Are Ideologically Critical of America and Business, Supportive of International Institutions
Faculty hold a certain number of beliefs that are pervasive, but not monolithic. They include:
• Criticism of many American foreign and domestic policies.
• Propensity to blame America for world problems.
• A tendency to strongly support international institutions such as the United Nations.
• Strong opposition to American unilateralism.
• Criticism of big business.
• Skepticism about capitalism’s ability to help address poverty in developing nations.

By the way, not a single one of those bulleted items (except the second, which I've criticized above) should be objectionable to anyone of any political stripe. Does a conservative have no reason, none whatsoever, to criticize "many" of America's foreign and domestic policies? Or criticize big business? Or be skeptical - skeptical for God's sake! - about capitalism's ability to solve poverty?

So here's why I'm puzzled. I can't find any evidence from the group's website or the short bios of the authors of the study that this group is some kind of David Horowitz - style advocacy group. They're strongly pro-Israel, but this particular study doesn't ask any questions at all about attitudes towards Israel. The only explanation I can think of is that this is a rightwing pro-Israel group that identifies anyone with left-of-Bush-Administration foreign policy views as anti-Israel and therefore a threat. Hence the need to call academics on the carpet for their liberal views. Who are these people?