Negroponte ’60 on Danish cartoons: ‘I agreed with the decision by Yale’
Leave a CommentWhen the Yale University Press was faced with the decision of whether to reprint the caricatures of the prophet Muhammad that are at the center of its forthcoming book, “The Cartoons that Shook the World,” it turned to the University proper for advice.
University Vice President and Secretary Linda Lorimer then consulted with numerous counterterrorism and diplomatic officials. She asked them whether reprinting the cartoons could incite more violence. For the most part, Yale says, those experts cautioned the University and the Press not to republish the cartoons.
While the University has not revealed the identity of most of the experts with whom it consulted, John Negroponte ’60 recently confirmed to the News that he was among the group of people who spoke with Lorimer and other Yale officials. Negroponte, who served for many years in government and was the nation’s first Director of National Intelligence, will begin teaching at Yale in the fall.
Q: What advice did you give Yale about publishing the cartoons?
A: I agreed with the decision by Yale and I certainly think that publishing the cartoons and the likenesses of Muhammad in the way they appeared in those cartoons would have been a gratuitous act.
