Former Bush Official: Beck Criticism "Absurd"

by Joe Strupp

A former Bush administration official featured in Glenn Beck's elaborate Egypt conspiracy theory has called the Fox host's comments "absurd."

In 2008, while serving as an Under Secretary of State, James K. Glassman helped create the Alliance for Youth Movements, a non-profit organization "that aims to support and sustain campaigns for nonviolent social change that harness 21st century tools to safeguard human rights, promote good governance and foster civic engagement."

On his Monday show, Beck suggested that AYM was tied to violent Islamic extremism and that the State Department was aiding groups that want to use the Egyptian protests to create an Islamic "caliphate."

Reached for comment Tuesday, Glassman told Media Matters that he had reviewed video of portions of Beck's show as well as related material on Beck's website.

Glassman called Beck's theory "literally absurd," adding that "it was like the world turned upside down."

"The work we were doing was to advance the cause of anti-violence and freedom, and if we played any small role in events in Egypt, that advances those causes," said Glassman. "I would think that Glenn Beck would stand for those goals."

Glassman is currently executive director of the George W. Bush Institute at the Bush Presidential Library in Dallas. Before joining the State Department, he served as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Watch video of Beck's Monday show: