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Ed Webb

Op-Ed Columnist - America vs. The Narrative - NYTimes.com - 6 views

www.nytimes.com/...29friedman.html

opinion friedman NYT Islam Muslims Arabs USA

shared by Ed Webb on 30 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Ed Webb on 30 Nov 09
     
    Musing on an issue some of you wrote about in your midterm. Do you agree with Friedman?
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Rebecca Ben-Amou on 30 Nov 09
     
    I just think it is an interesting concept. "The Narrative" curbs their ideas on American initiatives in the middle east. How its ideals managed to make it to the U.S. and actually be followed is another question. The Narrative can succeed because it begins to spread ideas to children at a young age, which obviously poses an issue. Children legitimately believe the claims and learn that the only way to stop such American evil is by violence. Do I think that this man who killed 13 people at Fort Hood is mentally unbalanced? If you consider following Jihadist beliefs unbalanced then sure. I agree with Friedman, this man was just another case of a child influenced by these ridiculous concepts
  • Morgan Mintz on 30 Nov 09
     
    I think the most interesting part of this whole story is the fact that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan did not grow up being indoctrinated with this concept of "The Narrative." As Friedman points out early on in the article, he was born and raised in America, which makes his acceptance of this Arab/Islamic narrative of blaming America for all their problems all the more surprising. It is clearly a powerful force even beyond the Arab world. This links back perfectly to the other Friedman op-ed we read last week about America's role in Israeli-Palestinian peace. If the United States could somehow extricate itself from the region and just get out of the way (significantly easier said than done, unfortunately, but backing out of the peace process would be a start), it would eventually become clear that America is not the source of every problem in the Middle East. Arab governments might have to start answering to their people for some of the problems in their own countries, instead of just pointing a finger at the US. It will only be when this happens that "The Narrative" will begin to lose some of its power.
  • Sarah Henry on 01 Dec 09
     
    What struck me the most is what Morgan commented on, that this was someone who was born and raised in the US. If this "Narrative" has the ability to reach that far and with that much force, then we need to take a look at what we're doing in the Middle East. Even if, as Friedman says, we were doing a kindness to the Arabs when we deposed the Taliban the Baathist regime, I think any good will or positive effect that may have had on the region has expired. I think we need to pull out as much as is possible for us. I don't agree with President Obama on a lot of issues, but I do like the quote that he included at the end. I think it's now the responsibility of the Muslims in the Middle East to take charge of what they can, and to not fall in with the more negative aspects of Islam, and show what good comes from Islam.
  • anonymous on 01 Dec 09
     
    With the way the media is, I don't think you have to live in a certain area to be indoctrinated with concepts from different regions. What is the whole purpose of us blogging? Our blogs can be seen as a historical account for people in the future. With technology we can read blogs from the Middle East, watch videos showing peoples' experiences with different aspects of their daily lives in their respective country, and watch/ read the news. It is pretty apparent that Hasan was mentally unbalanced. I read/ or saw something that he had been harassed for being a Muslim. Last week in my religion class my professor showed us a clip that mentioned he was working to join al-Qaeda. With the internet he was able to get in contact with people in the Middle East. When a person feels like a minority they will want to latch on to another group to have the feeling of belonging. This is a possibility for how Hasan was thinking when he if he got in contact with a member of al-Qaeda or why he shot all those people.
Jim Franklin

Israel out of NATO event because of Gaza, Turkish official says - CNN.com - 1 views

www.cnn.com/...index.html

Israel Gaza war crimes Turkey NATO

shared by Jim Franklin on 12 Oct 09 - Cached
Ed Webb liked it
  • Turkey excluded Israel from a planned NATO military exercise partly because of Turkey's criticism of Israel's Gaza offensive nearly a year ago, Turkey's foreign minister told CNN on Sunday.
  • The Turkish government decided to change the list of participating countries and exclude Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. As a result, the NATO exercise was effectively scrapped, although a U.S. embassy representative said it was only postponed.
  • "We hope that the situation in Gaza will be improved, that the situation will be back to the diplomatic track. And that will create a new atmosphere in Turkish-Israeli relations as well. But in the existing situation, of course, we are criticizing this approach, [the] Israeli approach."
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Earlier, the Turkish foreign ministry said "a technical matter," not politics, prompted the delay of the Anatolian Eagle exercise.
  • The United States and Italy
  • withdrew their participation from the drill after learning Israel had been excluded
  • tensions have emerged over strong Turkish criticism of the Gaza offensive in December and January.
  • Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed out of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January after accusing Israeli President Shimon Peres of killing children during the six-week war.
Ed Webb

The Associated Press: Israel says commandos intercept arms shipment - 1 views

www.google.com/...Lu9CfgcBASy2XHOGCk0IAD9BONONG0

israel Lebanon Iran weapons hezbollah

shared by Ed Webb on 04 Nov 09 - Cached
Jim Franklin liked it
  • Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.The pre-dawn seizure near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for Hezbollah.
  • Eli Shaked, former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, said the growing arsenals of Hamas and Hezbollah are changing the balance of power between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant groups.
Julianne Greco

Jihadi Cool: Terrorist Recruiters' Latest Weapon : NPR - 1 views

www.npr.org/...story.php

terrorism cool recruitment jihadi jane ideology technology

shared by Julianne Greco on 27 Mar 10 - Cached
Ed Webb liked it
  • With so many terrorism cases emerging in the U.S. in the past nine months, experts are trying to understand why so much is happening now. One explanation has less to do with religion than with adventure. The latest wave of jihadists traveling to Pakistan and elsewhere for training may have been motivated by a sense of jihadi cool.
  • That's a far cry from what is seen as the traditional route to jihad. It used to be that jihadi recruitment videos opened with the call to prayer and readings from the Quran. These days, many of them are decidedly less religious. They look more like something that would appear on MTV.
  • FBI Director Robert Mueller says the Internet is partly to blame for speeding up the recruitment process. He says the Web now not only radicalizes young Muslims but helps connect them to organizations that launch attacks. Jihadi cool may be a different motivation for taking up arms, but it isn't necessarily any less lethal.
Ed Webb

Saudi sex braggart gets 5 years, 1,000 lashes - CNN.com - 0 views

edition.cnn.com/...saudi.sex.braggart

KSA sex censorship LBC Lebanon TV

shared by Ed Webb on 07 Oct 09 - Cached
  • A Saudi court on Wednesday sentenced a man who caused uproar by bragging about his sex life on television to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes
  • He made the comments on Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, which aired the interview a few months ago. Saudi authorities shut down LBC offices in Jeddah and Riyadh after airing the interview on an episode of its popular show "A Thick Red Line." Abdul Jawad was arrested shortly after the program aired and charged with violating Saudi Arabia's crime of publicizing vice.
  • The segment in question has been posted on the video-sharing site YouTube since its initial broadcast last month, and has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
  • anonymous on 07 Oct 09
     
    I definitely almost posted this on my blog... will he even live through the 1,000 lashes? Also, I think it is majorly creepy that he drives around looking for women. I hope no one ever finds the women he was involved with.
Ed Webb

Iran tested advanced nuclear warhead - report - Yahoo!Xtra News - 0 views

nz.news.yahoo.com/...dvanced-nuclear-warhead-report

iran nuclear nukes IAEA

shared by Ed Webb on 06 Nov 09 - Cached
Jim Franklin liked it
  • The U.N. nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting the Islamic Republic's scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian reported in its Friday edition.The newspaper, citing what it describes as "previously unpublished documentation" from an International Atomic Energy Agency compiled dossier, said Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of a "two-point implosion" device.The IAEA said in September it has no proof Iran has or once had a covert atomic bomb program.The Vienna-based IAEA was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.Iran's Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) were also unavailable for comment when contacted by Reuters.
Rebecca Ben-Amou

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Lebanon government accord reached - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8347965.stm

shared by Rebecca Ben-Amou on 09 Nov 09 - Cached
Jim Franklin liked it
  • Rebecca Ben-Amou on 09 Nov 09
     
    Lebanon's Hezbollah says its opposition alliance has agreed to join a national unity government under PM-designate, Saad Hariri.
Michael Fisher

Syria - National Geographic Magazine - 0 views

ngm.nationalgeographic.com/...1

National Geographic Syria Middle East

shared by Michael Fisher on 09 Nov 09 - Cached
Jim Franklin liked it
  • Michael Fisher on 09 Nov 09
     
    Poised to play a pivotal new role in the Middle East, Syria struggles to escape its dark past. Excellent article from the senior foreign affairs correspondent of the National Geographic Magazine.
  • Jim Franklin on 10 Nov 09
     
    Fantastic article!!
Ed Webb

Why they hate us (II): How many Muslims has the U.S. killed in the past 30 years? | Ste... - 4 views

walt.foreignpolicy.com/...us_killed_in_the_past_30_years

opinion walt friedman Arabs Muslims USA

shared by Ed Webb on 02 Dec 09 - Cached
  • Ed Webb on 02 Dec 09
     
    Walt skewers Friedman. Comment section makes fascinating reading, in places. Your thoughts?
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Sarah Henry on 03 Dec 09
     
    I haven't read the comment section, but I think the article alone raises a lot of discussion. Friedman's article has some truth to it, but I do think that Walt makes a good argument as well when he says that Friedman is missing something when he doesn't account for all the Muslims the US has killed. He's right in saying we need to take responsibility for our country's conduct as much as there needs to be some responsibility taken in the Middle East when we talk about why they hate us. However, I don't think us killing Muslims is the only problem, and I don't think trying to figure out which problem is more correct is going to solve anything-when it comes down to it, we're still Americans and we don't know how it feels to be in their situation. I also think that REGARDLESS of what our perceptions are, it's not our perceptions that matter when it comes to their opinion. I also appreciated his little jab at the end about September 11th, although I'm not sure if it was entirely necessary.
  • Rebecca Ben-Amou on 04 Dec 09
     
    I think that there can be a parallel made here between the more broad US relations with the Muslim world and Israel's relations with the palestinians. There is the same case of one side having many more civilian casualties than the other side. Although I do think that hatred can be rooted in such a circumstance, I think that the Muslim world's hatred of America is far more deep rooted than just because of civilian causality numbers. The US is a representation of a forward-moving society, and a wealthy nation (or at least one point remained wealthy.) I think its just easy to hate the U.S. There is no denying the amount of casualties that the U.S. have caused in the region, but there are plenty of cases where the U.S. helped aid the Middle East. I think that there is some validity in Friedmans discussion of "the Narrative."
  • Carl Kjellman on 05 Dec 09
     
    I think it's interesting that Walt comes down so strongly on the notion of "the narrative." While I do agree that the deaths of Muslims because of American foreign policy is an important contributing factor, it also seems silly to assume that they are mutually exclusive. I think it's more likely that there is a narrative about the United States that is fed by the people that have died at the hands of American policies.
Ed Webb

*: Mleeta, The Hezbollah Resistance Museum - 4 views

sietske-in-beiroet.blogspot.com/...zbollah-resistance-museum.html

Lebanon Israel hezbollah hizbullah museums memory history ideology propaganda

shared by Ed Webb on 18 Sep 10 - No Cached
  • Ed Webb on 18 Sep 10
     
    History really matters in the region, and all political actors attempt to manipulate and exploit it, which is just one reason why it matters for us to try to get it right and analyze as dispassionately as possible. I'd like to offer a fieldtrip to check out this museum, and a few like it elsewhere in the region, but I don't see that happening....
  • Kate Musgrave on 18 Sep 10
     
    that would be an epic fieldtrip; sign me up.
Ed Webb

Muslims in America increasingly alienated as hatred grows in Bible belt | World news | ... - 3 views

www.guardian.co.uk/...slims-america-alienated-hatred

Islam Muslims Islamophobia US USA mosques

shared by Ed Webb on 11 Sep 10 - No Cached
  • Perhaps they can draw comfort from August's primary election for Congress. Zelenick was defeated, along with most of the other politicians who made Islam an election issue in Tennessee.
Ed Webb

In search of a great Arab leader? - In Depth - Al Jazeera English - 3 views

english.aljazeera.net/...2010929102544432244.html

Arabs nationalism Egypt

shared by Ed Webb on 30 Sep 10 - No Cached
  • he was very much the product of an era - an era that helped him to loom large in a way that no leader from the South can in our time of pervasive US hegemony and the delegitimisation of resistance movements.
  • The international polarisation brought on by the Cold War both helped and hurt the nascent post-colonial states. On the one hand they became pawns in a merciless struggle between two superpowers. On the other, the Soviet Union became a source of political and military support and training as the national liberation movements found themselves confronting growing US influence.
  • While true that the withdrawal of the invading powers was partly a sign of the advent of US power and the end of French and British influence, Nasser's refusal to submit etched his name in the collective Arab memory in a way that contrasts sharply with the perceived subservience of current Arab heads of state.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Younger generations of Arabs are not as captivated by Nasser's legacy as their parents and grandparents. Some do not understand the nostalgia that has poured forth in Arab newspapers on the occasion of the anniversary of his death. They feel that they have inherited defeat and that the glory of the past has brought neither victory nor democracy.That is partly because the rulers that followed dismantled many of the achievements of Nasser and other leaders of popular movements from that era.But it is also partly because Nasser and other pan-Arab leaders failed to establish democratic institutions and were themselves guilty of repressing - to different degrees - dissent and opposition
  • Theodore MacDonald on 30 Sep 10
     
    Relates to what we were recently discussing in class: will someone ever replace Nasser as the most prominent leader in pan-Arabism?
  • Ed Webb on 30 Sep 10
     
    Nice find, Ted. I added tags and highlights.
Ed Webb

Syria | United States | Diplomacy - 3 views

www.globalpost.com/...iddle-east-diplomacy-us-policy

US Syria opinion diplomacy publicdiplomacy MEPP

shared by Ed Webb on 26 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Ed Webb on 26 Nov 10
     
    Unusually biting commentary from the Syrian Embassy in DC. Who is the audience for this? It is extremely unlikely to convince US politicians to change course.
Jim Franklin

Al Jazeera English - Europe - Rights council adopts Gaza report - 2 views

english.aljazeera.net/...2009101610455533672.html

Gaza war crimes Israel Goldstone Palestinian Authority Hamas

shared by Jim Franklin on 16 Oct 09 - Cached
  • The UN human rights council has endorsed the Goldstone report on Israel's war on Gaza, which accuses the military of using disproportionate force as well as laying charges of war crimes on Israeli occupation forces and Hamas.
  • 25 votes to six with 11 countries abstaining and five declining to vote.
  • Hamas 'thankful'
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • The Palestinian Authority had initially agreed to defer a vote on the UN-sanctioned report, but later backtracked under heavy criticism.
  • The United States and Israel were among those countries which voted against the resolution.
  • the resolution "strongly condemns all policies and measures taken by Israel, the occupying power, including those limiting access of Palestinians to their properties and holy sites".
  • Israel rejected the charges saying the resolution – drafted by the Palestinians with Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tunisia, on behalf of non-aligned, African, Islamic and Arab nations – threatened peace efforts.
  • The report accused Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  • It also accused Hamas, which has de facto control of Gaza, of war crime violations, but reserved most of its criticism for Israel.
  • James P Gittens Jr. on 17 Oct 09
     
    Yea I just read that on Al Jazera. Well with this I hope it has a good outcome. I just wonder if the people inside of Gaza are going to recieve any kind of reperations; further more I think the reaction of the people in the Gaza is going to be crucial. Questions like where will they go?, If they stay will there be equal rights?, and how will they respond with all the past and present adversity?
Michael Fisher

Soul-Searching in Turkey After a Gay Man Is Killed - NYTimes.com - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...26turkey.html

Turkey Middle East identity honor killing New York Times

shared by Michael Fisher on 27 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Michael Fisher on 27 Nov 09
     
    Gay man in Turkey killed by his own father...
  • anonymous on 29 Nov 09
     
    And no one would stand up for him but that one woman did say that "killing is a bigger sin," that's so heartbreaking that his father killed him.
  • Sarah Romano on 29 Nov 09
     
    This article talks about the " tensions between the secular modern Turkey of cross-dressing pop stars and a more traditionalist Turkey, in which conservative Islam increasingly holds sway". I am doing my research paper partially on Turkey's role between the Middle East and Europe and have found that Turkey is slowly moving towards more eastern views and ideals. This may be a result of the rejection of Turkey from the EU.
Michael Fisher

Limbo World: Dispatches from Countries That Do Not Exist - By Graeme Wood | Foreign Policy - 2 views

www.foreignpolicy.com/...limbo_world

statehood Kurdistan FP

shared by Michael Fisher on 06 Jan 10 - No Cached
  • Michael Fisher on 06 Jan 10
     
    Limbo World: They start by acting like real countries, then hope to become them.
  • Jim Franklin on 07 Jan 10
     
    interesting. not sure id want that health minister to operate on me haha...
Michael Fisher

Execuitive Secretary Job in Damascus,Syria,Job openings,search positions,opportunities ... - 2 views

www.learn4good.com/...84384

shared by Michael Fisher on 05 Apr 10 - No Cached
  • Syrian female.• Good looking.
  • Michael Fisher on 05 Apr 10
     
    Not an equal opportunity employer... (see highlighted)
Ed Webb

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - US: Deal reached on Iran sanctions - 2 views

english.aljazeera.net/...2010518151434418587.html

shared by Ed Webb on 18 May 10 - Cached
  • Clinton said Iran was trying to deflect pressure with the fuel swap deal it agreed to on Monday
    • Ed Webb
      Ed Webb on 18 May 10
       
      Well, yes. Deflect pressure by compromise. It's called diplomacy.
  • "While we acknowledge the sincere efforts of both Turkey and Brazil to find a solution regarding Iran's standoff with the international community over its nuclear program, we are proceeding to rally the international community on behalf of a strong sanctions resolution that will in our view send an unmistakable message about what is expected from Iran
    • Ed Webb
      Ed Webb on 18 May 10
       
      In other words, we're really aggravated that Brazil and Turkey worked this out, and we're not going to change course just because they did. It's our job to tell Iran what to do, damnit!
Ed Webb

The Outlines of a Future Palestinian State - NYTimes.com - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...31mideast.html

israelpalestine israeliarab Israel Palestine MEPP economy

shared by Ed Webb on 31 Aug 10 - Cached
  • Kate Musgrave on 31 Aug 10
     
    Promising points, but I'm somewhat bothered by the fact that the article relegated the Gaza Strip to more of an aside than anything else - and with that, Hamas (which was, after all, democratically elected, much to the ruin of our theory that democratization automatically means American allies). That, and the point that, were Abbas to "accept an end to the conflict with Israel and its Jewish identity" (a short phrase for a huge task, no?), things would automatically change - Abbas could be best friends and drinking buddies with Bibi Netanyahu, but if his Palestinian citizens don't agree, the conflict won't end. Were Yitzhak Rabin here, he could remind us that citizens' agreement to politicians' more peaceful ideas is key in actually upholding those peaceful ideas... (read: Rabin's non-presence is, of course, the point. heh). ...not to be the depressing cynic, but really... It will be interesting to see what, if any, developments come of this.
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