BOSTON — Former President Jimmy Carter turned down a request to debate Alan Dershowitz about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the outspoken Harvard law professor "knows nothing about the situation."

It is unfortunate that President Carter is willing to write a controversial book, claim to have written it to start “an honest debate” in this country and refuse an opportunity that certainly would have generated quite a bit of media attention by dismissing the quality of the individual he would have debated.

It is hard not to see this as fear or hypocrisy. It would seem that a person who truly believed what he was saying and had written about would welcome an opportunity to shine as much light as possible on the discussion.

I hope that President Carter finds the courage to answer questions about his book and the positions and ideas he outlines.