Friday, October 31, 2008

Studs Terkel, 96


Studs Terkel, a Chicago and national literary fixture, died today. Known as a chronicler of the everyday person, especially in Hard Times, and questioning simple characterizations of history, such as in "The Good War," both relied on oral history and allowed people to tell stories as they wanted--often in gritty or less than polished tones that fell outside a glossy dressing up of the past.

Khalidi

The slimeballs at Hannity and Colmes--I guess it's not necessarily Colmes endorsing this behavior--decided to ambush Khalidi at his office and get him on tape demanding to hear him speak, like a dog apparently. Khalidi didn't take the bait, but that didn't stop Hannity and his lady, Ann Coulter, from questioning what he had to hide (nothing) and claiming he was a PLO activist (he wasn't). Linked is a story from the NYT claiming that Khalidi has been expecting this for a while.

Accessed 10/31/2008: story

From the story:

"He taught at universities in Lebanon until the mid-’80s, and some critics accuse him of having been a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. Mr. Khalidi has denied working for the group, and says he was consulted as an expert by reporters seeking to understand it.

He was an adviser to the Palestinian delegation during Middle East peace talks from 1991 to 1993. From 1987 until 2003, he was a professor at the University of Chicago, where he became friends with Mr. Obama."

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Islam, politics, and foreign policy

I don't know a significant amount about Islam. My base of knowledge of Middle Eastern history revolves mostly around the growth of nationalism and secular politics during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But I do know a few important things: Islam isn't communism and Islam isn't a totalizing force that forces its adherents to follow dictates by crazy, American-hating mullahs or imams. The threat from "Radical Islam" might be true, or it might be wildly exaggerated by people who view Muslims as blind sheep and prone to religious fervor and hatred. For a good example, see the fine folks who produced the dvd Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West. That's not to say that it isn't a national security threat, but how do you wage war on a form of religion? I guess you create silly words like Islamo-Fascism that have mixed or contradictory meanings, at best. You can’t have a new war or cold war against Islam.

In last Sunday's NYT Op-Eds, Nicholas Kristof blasted US policy in Somalia for failing to see that the Islamic Courts Union potentially offered the US government an ally rather than an enemy. The US, from the way it seems now, encouraged Ethiopia to attack, thus re-unleashing hell in Somalia and empowering groups like Shabab (which translates to youth or rejuvenation, according to my Arabic-English dictionary) that sow instability and might assist those linked to Al Qaeda. Kristof taps into a key aspect of misunderstanding by many in the West and policy-makers who apparently see Muslims as partners (willing or unwilling) in a massive Western hating club that aids and abets Al Qaeda and its ilk.

Some of the most relevant and crucial work done by Middle Eastern historians illustrates the process by which Islam is a cultural force for people in the region and across the world. But, as they’ve found and supported, Islam doesn't trump or even guide all forms of social and political economy and interaction. Islam in Indonesia, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Mauritania, and the Netherlands is quite different and should be understood that way. There isn't a codified version of Islam that binds all of its followers and they decide how to vote or speak. And like the rabid fear of communism and the Soviet Union, viewing Islam as Muslims’ sole (and radical) guiding force imposes characteristics of Muslims as opposed to reason and consistently in a war-like setting.

I guess I can’t expect everyone to know the differences between Sunnis and Shias. I would expect President Bush to have understood the difference, which he didn’t seem to know when he questioned “Wait, I thought they were Muslims?” in 2003, according to some observers. Future policy-makers need to realize that it is entirely possible to work with governments and leaders who follow the Islamic faith. Early in the Cold War, American policy-makers missed opportunities by rigidly interpreting communism and communist states as enemies who could not be peeled away from the Soviet Unions’ sphere. (For instance, in the 1940s, Ho Chi Minh wasn’t a guaranteed communist who wanted to murder American boys for the sake of socialism or communism.) Believing that Al Qaeda is an organic creation out of Islam—and thus inseparable from the larger religion—is to neglect ways to silence a national security threat, but also to repair the United States’ image abroad. In other words, they don't all think and act "that way." The US' international political capital is crucial to carrying out any form of diplomacy with Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Making obscure academics a household name

Sarah Palin, John McCain III, Fox News, the Drudge Report, and the RNC have done a wonderful job of picking academics and people of merit out of ivory tower obscurity in an attempt to demonstrate guilt by association. If Bill Ayers wasn't enough, now the Republicans are raising the alarm on Obama's friendship to the "Palestinian Radical Rashid Khalidi." [insert sarcasm] It appears that Obama and Khalidi built a friendship when both were at Chicago.

Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia, is a well respected scholar. As a matter of fact, he's one of the leading scholars of Middle Eastern studies. He's served as a diplomatic representative for Palestinians and has spoken for Palestinians and their rights under occupation. Even when the august sage Joe the Plumber attests to Obama's threat to Israel's security, the Republican attacks on Khalidi's association with Obama is a thin attack and ploy to scare Jewish voters in Florida and elsewhere and to wring the "radical" bell.

Downsized

I learned this week that my employment with one of the branches within the K-Plus Companies was coming to an end. I am still employed by one of the other branches, but the future might not be too rosy. The housing market has taken a toll on the company and some people had to go. The Caplice brothers have been tremendously generous and patient with me, so I can't be annoyed or hopeless. Such is life. Of course I can maintain that posture as long as I have some gainful employment. If I found myself unemeployed, I'm sure I'd be screaming that the sky is falling.

whipcrack!

Kee-shaw!