[Mi-kha-el]

Did he live in the Soviet Union? I did. He is just a useful idiot, both for Islam and socialism.

[cpdiii]

Did he live in the Soviet Union? I did. He is just a useful idiot, both for Islam and socialism.

He is not an idiot. He is just a plain damn liar.

TAQIYYA

[x]

That bit about the Soviet Union is Spencer's comment, not something that was in the Times article. The article was an op-ed somebody sent in to the paper, not something the newspaper's staff or management produced.

In fact, it may not even have appeared in the paper but only on the website. In any case, newspapers provide space in print or on line for people who write articles on their own.

By publishing op-eds they do imply that the article isn't completely absurd or dishonest, but they aren't necessarily endorsing the opinions in the op-ed.