The Orthodox Union today praised President Bush for appointing Dr. Daniel Pipes, the director of the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum, to the Board of the U.S. Institute for Peace. Richard B. Stone, Chairman of the OU’s Institute for Public Affairs, said, “We applaud President Bush’s wise choice of Dr. Daniel Pipes as a member of the U.S. Institute for Peace, a body founded by Congress that creates programs and fellowships that foster peace and non-violent conflict resolution. Dr. Pipes is a highly respected scholar who has alerted the American people for years to the dangers posed by extremist Islam in this country and all over the world. At the same time, Dr. Pipes has been a defender and champion of moderate Islam. We believe that Dr. Pipes will make an important contribution to the USIP and to the cause of fighting extremism and terrorism and making the world safer for peace. We welcome and commend President Bush’s appointment of Dr. Pipes to this important body and look forward to his contribution to the important work of the Institute.”