Research paper
hardsrudent0012
gme_powerpoint_slides_topic_13.pptGeneral Education courses
- A gymnasium of the mind
- Knowledge beyond one’s specialty
- Writing and thinking across disciplines
- Working in collaboration with others
- Thinking critically & reasoning logically
- Developing some computer skills
- Sensitivity to others’ cultures & problems
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Have Fun But Not Too Much!
“But perhaps the biggest reason why intellectuals excoriated entertainment was that they understood all too well their own precariousness in a world dominated by it. For whatever the overt content of any particular work, entertainment as a whole promulgated an unmistakable theme, one that took dead aim at the intellectual’s most cherished values. That theme was the triumph of the senses over the mind, of emotion over reason, of chaos over order, of the id over the superego, of Dionysian abandon over Apollonian harmony. Entertainment was Plato’s worst nightmare. It deposed the rational and enthroned the sensational and in so doing deposed the intellectual minority and enthroned the unrefined majority.
Therein, for the intellectuals, lay utmost danger and deepest despair. They know that in the end, after all the imprecations had rung down around it, entertainment was less about morality or even aesthetics than about power—the power to replace the old cultural order with a new one, the power to replace the sublime with fun.”—Neal Gabler, Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1998, page 21.
Critical thinking tips
- Think about thinking
- Learn how to unlearn
- Know the ‘what’ and the ‘who’
- Synthesis versus analysis
- Wisdom versus knowledge
- Academia versus the media
- Facts versus judgments
- Truth as a thinking virtue
- Action versus reaction
- Justice as a social virtue
- Resist appeals to prejudices
- Be prepared for different perspectives
- Don’t believe everything you think
- Learn the habit of gathering and examining
evidence before forming conclusions
- Be always aware of illusions
- Think sometimes outside the box
Truth that Matters to Society
“Scientists must seek not just truth in general but truth that matters, and truths that matter not just to scientists but also to the larger society in which they live and work”
Philip Kitcher, “On the Autonomy of the Sciences,” Philosophy Today, 2004, pp. 51-57.
Consider the Big Picture
“Many people fall for mistaken common beliefs regarding their health because medicine today does not look at the human body as a whole. For many years there has been a trend for doctors to specialize, looking at and treating just one part of the body. We can’t see the forest for the trees. Everything in the human body is interconnected. Just because a component found in a food helps one part of the body function well, it does not mean that it is good for the entire body. When picking your food and drink, consider the big picture. You cannot decide whether a food is good or bad simply by looking at one ingredient found in that food.”
Hiromi Shinya, MD, The Enzyme Factor: Diet for the Future that will Prevent Heart Disease, Cure Cancer, Stop Type 2 Diabetes, Council Oak Books, San Francisco & Tulsa, 2007, page 12
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Be always wary of illusion and pseudo-events
“Historian Daniel Boorstin, in his path breaking study The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, was describing how everywhere the fabricated, the inauthentic and the theatrical were driving out the natural, the genuine and the spontaneous from life until reality itself had been converted into stagecraft. As Boorstin saw it, Americans increasingly lived in a “world where fantasy is more real than reality,” and he warned, We risk being the first people in history to have been able to make their illusions so vivid, so persuasive, so ‘realistic’ that they can live in them”--Neal Gabler, Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1998, page 4.
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boors: First published in 1962, this wonderfully provocative book introduced the notion of “pseudo-events”—events such as press conferences and presidential debates, which are manufactured solely in order to be reported—and the contemporary definition of celebrity as “a person who is known for his well-knownness.” Since then Daniel J. Boorstin’s prophetic vision of an America inundated by its own illusions has become an essential resource for any reader who wants to distinguish the manifold deceptions of our culture from its few enduring truths. Amazon.com
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“Is Google Making Us Stupid?”
“The Internet is a machine designed for the efficient, automated collection, transmission, and manipulation of information, and its legions of programmers are intent on finding the “one best way”—the perfect algorithm—to carry out the mental movements of what we’ve come to describe as knowledge work. Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters—the Googleplex—is the Internet’s high church, and the religion practiced inside its walls is Taylorism… Drawing on the terabytes of behavioral data it collects through its search engine and other sites, the company carries out thousands of experiments a day and uses the results to refine the algorithms that increasingly guide how all of us find information and extract meaning from it. What Taylor did for the work of the hand, Google is doing for the work of the mind... It would be rash to jump to the conclusion that the Internet is undermining our moral sense. It would not be rash to suggest that as the Net reroutes our vital paths and diminishes our capacity for contemplation, it is altering the depth of our emotions as well as our thoughts” p. 150 & 221.
“In stark contrast [to the printed book], the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption—and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adapt at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection.”
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Think sometimes outside the box
Link the nine dots with four straight lines without lifting the pen
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What Is Culture?
- Culture is all that is manmade: it includes the language, religion, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, socio-economic status, educational level, occupation, personal experience and personality, technologies, and material objects that are passed from one generation to another
- Culture is learned
- Culture is not static
- Culture is not monolithic
- Culture is like the software of the (hardware) body
- Culture tends to shape our information environment, mold our mental models/mindsets/stereotypes, influence our worldview, and impact our judgment and decision making
Culture and the iceberg analogy
Less than 10% of the iceberg is visible
More than 90% of the iceberg is invisible
The “Tip of the iceberg” idiomatic expression:
Only the part of something that can be easily observed, but not the rest of it, which is hidden.
Surface culture
Deep culture
Source: Moore, James L, III; Milner, H Richard, “Beyond Cultureblindness: A Model of Culture With Implications for Gifted Education,” Roeper Review 27. 2 (Winter 2005): 97-103.
Surface versus Deep Culture
“The body is the hardware and culture is the software.” A Macintosh computer and an IBM computer serve the same functions, but do so in different ways due to different software. So it is with different groups - all people eat and sleep; eating and sleeping are universal, but different groups eat different foods (pork vs. beef vs. no meat) for different reasons (to celebrate, because of traditions, because of folklore) and in different ways (fork vs. chopsticks; utensils vs. hands)… Conceptually, many people also describe culture using an iceberg analogy. Above the surface of the iceberg are cultural artifacts - music, fashion, and art, for example. However, as described next, what is beneath the surface is termed "invisible culture" or "deep culture." Deep culture includes traditions, beliefs, values, norms, and symbolic meanings. Deep culture, using the computer analogy, is the software.”
a small (one ninth) manifestation of a larger problem
‘Arab/Muslim-centric’ map oriented with the south at the top
‘Euro-centric’ map oriented with the north at the top
Mecca, Arabia
Culture and Ethnocentrism
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The ‘outward’ الظاهر vs. the ‘inward’ الباطن
You may think about the Quran story of the encounter between Prophet Moses and a man referred to in the Quran as “one of Our servants—a man to whom We had granted Our mercy and whom We had given knowledge of Our own.” This man is known outside the Quran story as Elkhadir. The story is reported in Quran chapter 18 or surah of The Cave, verses 60-82. It is also reported in hadith books, including elbukhari.
The story teaches us that seeking knowledge requires patience. It teaches us that we need to think critically & deeply beyond the kind of surface knowledge that we receive from our five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch). Indeed if the five senses were enough to inform us correctly about the world, we do not need to spend so much time and resources on science and learning, i.e., on universities.
Moses was concerned with what is apparent or obvious: the ‘outward’ الظاهر.
In contrast to the unidentified man (Elkhadir), Moses was not patient enough to think deeply about the big picture, about the context of what he saw, about the ‘inward’ الباطن
وَإِذۡ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِفَتَٮٰهُ لَآ أَبۡرَحُ حَتَّىٰٓ أَبۡلُغَ مَجۡمَعَ ٱلۡبَحۡرَيۡنِ أَوۡ أَمۡضِىَ حُقُبً۬ا (٦٠) فَلَمَّا بَلَغَا مَجۡمَعَ بَيۡنِهِمَا نَسِيَا حُوتَهُمَا فَٱتَّخَذَ سَبِيلَهُ ۥ فِى ٱلۡبَحۡرِ سَرَبً۬ا (٦١) فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَا قَالَ لِفَتَٮٰهُ ءَاتِنَا غَدَآءَنَا لَقَدۡ لَقِينَا مِن سَفَرِنَا هَـٰذَا نَصَبً۬ا (٦٢) قَالَ أَرَءَيۡتَ إِذۡ أَوَيۡنَآ إِلَى ٱلصَّخۡرَةِ فَإِنِّى نَسِيتُ ٱلۡحُوتَ وَمَآ أَنسَٮٰنِيهُ إِلَّا ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ أَنۡ أَذۡكُرَهُ ۥۚ وَٱتَّخَذَ سَبِيلَهُ ۥ فِى ٱلۡبَحۡرِ عَجَبً۬ا (٦٣) قَالَ ذَٲلِكَ مَا كُنَّا نَبۡغِۚ فَٱرۡتَدَّا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَارِهِمَا قَصَصً۬ا (٦٤) فَوَجَدَا عَبۡدً۬ا مِّنۡ عِبَادِنَآ ءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُ رَحۡمَةً۬ مِّنۡ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمۡنَـٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلۡمً۬ا (٦٥) قَالَ لَهُ ۥ مُوسَىٰ هَلۡ أَتَّبِعُكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تُعَلِّمَنِ مِمَّا عُلِّمۡتَ رُشۡدً۬ا (٦٦) قَالَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسۡتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبۡرً۬ا (٦٧) وَكَيۡفَ تَصۡبِرُ عَلَىٰ مَا لَمۡ تُحِطۡ بِهِۦ خُبۡرً۬ا (٦٨) قَالَ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ صَابِرً۬ا وَلَآ أَعۡصِى لَكَ أَمۡرً۬ا (٦٩) قَالَ فَإِنِ ٱتَّبَعۡتَنِى فَلَا تَسۡـَٔلۡنِى عَن شَىۡءٍ حَتَّىٰٓ أُحۡدِثَ لَكَ مِنۡهُ ذِكۡرً۬ا (٧٠) فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا رَكِبَا فِى ٱلسَّفِينَةِ خَرَقَهَاۖ قَالَ أَخَرَقۡتَہَا لِتُغۡرِقَ أَهۡلَهَا لَقَدۡ جِئۡتَ شَيۡـًٔا إِمۡرً۬ا (٧١) قَالَ أَلَمۡ أَقُلۡ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسۡتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبۡرً۬ا (٧٢) قَالَ لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنِى بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلَا تُرۡهِقۡنِى مِنۡ أَمۡرِى عُسۡرً۬ا (٧٣) فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلَـٰمً۬ا فَقَتَلَهُ ۥ قَالَ أَقَتَلۡتَ نَفۡسً۬ا زَكِيَّةَۢ بِغَيۡرِ نَفۡسٍ۬ لَّقَدۡ جِئۡتَ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا نُّكۡرً۬ا (٧٤) ۞ قَالَ أَلَمۡ أَقُل لَّكَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسۡتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبۡرً۬ا (٧٥) قَالَ إِن سَأَلۡتُكَ عَن شَىۡءِۭ بَعۡدَهَا فَلَا تُصَـٰحِبۡنِىۖ قَدۡ بَلَغۡتَ مِن لَّدُنِّى عُذۡرً۬ا (٧٦) فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَيَآ أَهۡلَ قَرۡيَةٍ ٱسۡتَطۡعَمَآ أَهۡلَهَا فَأَبَوۡاْ أَن يُضَيِّفُوهُمَا فَوَجَدَا فِيہَا جِدَارً۬ا يُرِيدُ أَن يَنقَضَّ فَأَقَامَهُ ۥۖ قَالَ لَوۡ شِئۡتَ لَتَّخَذۡتَ عَلَيۡهِ أَجۡرً۬ا (٧٧) قَالَ هَـٰذَا فِرَاقُ بَيۡنِى وَبَيۡنِكَۚ سَأُنَبِّئُكَ بِتَأۡوِيلِ مَا لَمۡ تَسۡتَطِع عَّلَيۡهِ صَبۡرًا (٧٨) أَمَّا ٱلسَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتۡ لِمَسَـٰكِينَ يَعۡمَلُونَ فِى ٱلۡبَحۡرِ فَأَرَدتُّ أَنۡ أَعِيبَہَا وَكَانَ وَرَآءَهُم مَّلِكٌ۬ يَأۡخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصۡبً۬ا (٧٩) وَأَمَّا ٱلۡغُلَـٰمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤۡمِنَيۡنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرۡهِقَهُمَا طُغۡيَـٰنً۬ا وَڪُفۡرً۬ا (٨٠) فَأَرَدۡنَآ أَن يُبۡدِلَهُمَا رَبُّہُمَا خَيۡرً۬ا مِّنۡهُ زَكَوٰةً۬ وَأَقۡرَبَ رُحۡمً۬ا (٨١) وَأَمَّا ٱلۡجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَـٰمَيۡنِ يَتِيمَيۡنِ فِى ٱلۡمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحۡتَهُ ۥ كَنزٌ۬ لَّهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَـٰلِحً۬ا فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَن يَبۡلُغَآ أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسۡتَخۡرِجَا كَنزَهُمَا رَحۡمَةً۬ مِّن رَّبِّكَۚ وَمَا فَعَلۡتُهُ ۥ عَنۡ أَمۡرِىۚ ذَٲلِكَ تَأۡوِيلُ مَا لَمۡ تَسۡطِع عَّلَيۡهِ صَبۡرً۬ا (٨٢). سُوۡرَةُ الکهف، من الآية 60 إلى الأية 82
(60) Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not rest until I reach the place where the two seas meet, even if it takes me years!’ (61) but when they reached the place where the two seas meet, they had forgotten all about their fish, which made its way into the sea and swam away. (62) They journey on, and then Moses said to his servant, `Give us our lunch! This journey of ours is very tiring,’ (63) and [the servant] said, ‘Remember when we were resting by the rock? I forgot the fish—Satan made me forget to pay attention to it—and it [must have] made its way into the sea.’ ‘How strange!’ (64) Moses said, ‘Then that was the place we were looking for.’ So the two turned back, retraced their footsteps, (65) and found one of Our servants—a man to whom We had granted Our mercy and whom We had given knowledge of Our own. (66) Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you so that you can teach me some of the right guidance you have been taught?’ (67) The man said, ‘You will not be able to bear with me patiently. (68) How could you be patient in matters beyond your comprehension?’ (69) Moses said, ‘God willing, you will find me patient. I will not disobey you in any way.’ (70) The man said, ‘If you follow me then, do not query anything I do before I mentioned it to you myself.’
(71) They travelled on. Then, when they got into a boat, and the man made a hole in it, Moses said, ‘How could you make a hole in it? Do you want to drown its passengers? What a strange thing to do!’ (72) He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently? (73) Moses said, ‘Forgive me for forgetting. Do not make it too hard for me to follow you.’ (74) And so they travelled on. Then, when they met a young boy and the man killed him, Moses said, ‘How could you kill an innocent person? He has not killed anyone! What a terrible thing to do!’ (75) He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently?’ (76) Moses said, ‘From now on, if I query anything you do, banish me from your company—you have put up with enough from me.’ (77) An so they travelled on. Then when they came to a town and asked the inhabitants for food but were refused hospitality, they saw a wall there that was on the point of falling down and the man repaired it. Moses said, ‘But if you had wished you could have taken payment for doing that.’ (78) He said, ‘This is where you and I part company. I will tell you the meaning of the things you could not bear with patiently: (79) the boat belonged to some needy people who made their living from the sea and I damaged it because I knew that coming after them was a king who was seizing every [serviceable] boat by force. (80) The young boy had parents who were people of faith, and so, fearing he would trouble them through wickedness and disbelief, (81) we wished that their Lord should give them another child—purer and more compassionate—in his place. (82) The wall belonged to two young orphans in the town and there was buried treasure beneath it belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man, so your Lord intended them to reach maturity and then dig up their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do [these things] of my own accord: these are the explanations for those things you could not bear with patience.’ Quran 18:60-82
Read the Quranic story on the next slide:
Moses’ meeting with an unidentified figure
(60) Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not rest until I reach the place where the two seas meet, even if it takes me years!’ (61) but when they reached the place where the two seas meet, they had forgotten all about their fish, which made its way into the sea and swam away. (62) They journey on, and then Moses said to his servant, `Give us our lunch! This journey of ours is very tiring,’ (63) and [the servant] said, ‘Remember when we were resting by the rock? I forgot the fish—Satan made me forget to pay attention to it—and it [must have] made its way into the sea.’ ‘How strange!’ (64) Moses said, ‘Then that was the place we were looking for.’ So the two turned back, retraced their footsteps, (65) and found one of Our servants—a man to whom We had granted Our mercy and whom We had given knowledge of Our own. (66) Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you so that you can teach me some of the right guidance you have been taught?’ (67) The man said, ‘You will not be able to bear with me patiently. (68) How could you be patient in matters beyond your comprehension?’ (69) Moses said, ‘God willing, you will find me patient. I will not disobey you in any way.’ (70) The man said, ‘If you follow me then, do not query anything I do before I mentioned it to you myself.’
(71) They travelled on. Then, when they got into a boat, and the man made a hole in it, Moses said, ‘How could you make a hole in it? Do you want to drown its passengers? What a strange thing to do!’ (72) He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently? (73) Moses said, ‘Forgive me for forgetting. Do not make it too hard for me to follow you.’ (74) And so they travelled on. Then, when they met a young boy and the man killed him, Moses said, ‘How could you kill an innocent person? He has not killed anyone! What a terrible thing to do!’ (75) He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently?’ (76) Moses said, ‘From now on, if I query anything you do, banish me from your company—you have put up with enough from me.’ (77) An so they travelled on. Then when they came to a town and asked the inhabitants for food but were refused hospitality, they saw a wall there that was on the point of falling down and the man repaired it. Moses said, ‘But if you had wished you could have taken payment for doing that.’ (78) He said, ‘This is where you and I part company. I will tell you the meaning of the things you could not bear with patiently: (79) the boat belonged to some needy people who made their living from the sea and I damaged it because I knew that coming after them was a king who was seizing every [serviceable] boat by force. (80) The young boy had parents who were people of faith, and so, fearing he would trouble them through wickedness and disbelief, (81) we wished that their Lord should give them another child—purer and more compassionate—in his place. (82) The wall belonged to two young orphans in the town and there was buried treasure beneath it belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man, so your Lord intended them to reach maturity and then dig up their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do [these things] of my own accord: these are the explanations for those things you could not bear with patience.’ Quran 18:60-82
Prophet Mohamed said “God bless Moses, we wished that he had patience until God tells us more about their story”
"the six-pack of problems" that leads many of us unconsciously to accept false ideas:
- (1) We prefer stories to statistics;
- (2) We seek to confirm, not to question, our ideas;
- (3) We rarely appreciate the role of chance and coincidence in shaping events;
- (4) We sometimes misperceive the world around us;
- (5) We tend to oversimplify our thinking; and
- (6) Our memories are often inaccurate.
Source: Thomas Kida Don’t believe everything you think : the 6 basic mistakes we make in Thinking, 2006.
Don’t believe everything you think:
6 basic mistakes we make in thinking
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Hacking & Leaking
“Who are hackers? Why do they hack? There are no simple answers to these questions... While each hacker has a distinct story, there are common themes which appear throughout many of the stories. Rebellion against all symbols of authority. Dysfunctional families. Bright children suffocated by ill-equipped teachers. Mental illness or instability. Obsession and addiction”—Suelette Dreyfus, quoted on page 17.
“I want to set up a new standard: ‘scientific journalism.’ If you publish a paper on DNA, you are required, by all the good biological journals, to submit the data that has informed your research—the idea being that people will replicate it, verify it. So this is something that needs to be done for journalism as well. There is an immediate power imbalance, in that readers are unable to verify what they are being told, and that leads to abuse”—Julian Assenge, quoted on page 44.
- As a student at Indiana State University… I will commit my energies to the pursuit of truth, learning, and scholarship---Adopted by the Indiana State University Student Government Association, April 17, 2002
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ISU Freshmen Academic Expectations in Fall 2005
- I expect college to help me improve my ability to:
- Find new ways to think about problems 92.1%
- Effectively communicate my ideas by speaking 91.3%
- Evaluate opposing points of views 90.4%
- Effectively communicate my ideas in writing 89.3%
- Solve complex problems 88.3%
- Understand and appreciate other cultures 87.6%
- Intelligently discuss politics or current events 80.7%
- Use computers or the internet 77.2%
Source: ISU Office of Strategic Planning, Institutional Research and Effectiveness:
http://irt2.indstate.edu/home/index.htm
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Academic Integrity
“Academic honesty boils down to three simple but powerful principles:
[1] When you say you did the work yourself, you actually did it
[2] When you rely on someone else’s work, you cite it. When you use their words, you quote them openly and accurately, and you cite them too
[3] When you present research materials, you present them fairly and truthfully. That’s true whether the research involves data, documents, or the writings of other scholars
These are bedrock principles… They apply to everyone in the university, from freshmen to professors. They’re not just principles for students. They’re principles for academic honesty across the entire university”
Source: Charles Lipson (2004), Doing Honest Work in College (The University of Chicago Press), quoted in “A Faculty Guide to Academic Integrity 2009-2010,” Indiana State University, page 2.
Academic integrity: Facts versus judgment
- Academic integrity requires that moral and political judgment be grounded in facts, not the other way around (as the following four slides could indicate).
The New York Times and the Iraq War
“Over the last year this newspaper has shone the bright light of hindsight on decisions that led the United States into Iraq... Looking back, we wish we had been more aggressive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged -- or failed to emerge”---The New York Times, May 26, 2004
“The New York Times Company, major newspaper publisher and media company. The New York Times Company owns newspapers, television and radio stations, and electronic information services. The company’s flagship publication, the New York Times, is one of the most influential newspapers in the world. The company owns the Boston Globe and numerous regional daily newspapers. The company also owns the International Herald Tribune newspaper. The company’s Information Services Group runs a news service and a features syndicate, and publishes the company’s newspapers on the Internet.”---1993-2009 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved, Accessed 8/20/2009 at: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761588169/New_York_Times.html
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The New York Times and the Iraq War
- “this war is the most important liberal, revolutionary U.S. democracy-building project since the Marshall Plan… it is one of the noblest things this country has ever attempted abroad and it is a moral and strategic imperative that we give it our best shot”--- Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, November 30, 2003
Professor Bernard Lewis and the Iraq War
- Jacob Weisberg regards Bernard Lewis, who received the National Humanities Medal from President Bush in 2006 and the Irving Kristol Award from his disciples at the American Enterprise Institute in 2007, as “the most significant intellectual influence behind the invasion of Iraq.”[1]
- [1] Jacob Weisberg, “Party of Defeat: AEI’s Weird Celebration,” Slate, 14 March 2007, accessed 30 June 2007, http://www.slate.com/id/2161800
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Professor Bernard Lewis and Vice President Dick Cheney
- US Vice President Dick Cheney considers Bernard Lewis his intellectual and political mentor on the Middle East when he said “You simply cannot find a greater authority on Middle Eastern history -- from classical Islamic civilization, to the Ottoman Empire, to the modern period -- than this man [Lewis Bernard] and his works.”… After listening to Bernard Lewis’ advice on “the history and the way forward in the Middle East” following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney said “I decided that day that this was a man I wanted to keep in touch with, and whose work I should follow carefully in the years ahead. Since then we have met often, particularly during the last four-and-a-half years, and Bernard has always had some very good meetings with President Bush… More than three decades ago, at the height of a secular era, he wrote a prescient article titled The Return of Islam. In the 1970s he studied the writings of an obscure cleric named Khomeini, and saw the seeds of a movement that would deliver theocratic despotism. In 1990, he wrote The Roots of Muslim Rage, which anticipated the terrorism of that decade. And in this new century, his wisdom is sought daily by policymakers, diplomats, fellow academics, and the news media.”[1]
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[1] Dick Cheney, “Vice President's Remarks at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Luncheon Honoring Professor Bernard Lewis,” Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1 May 2006, - The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/05/20060501-3.html
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Topic 1:
Global Geopolitics of the Middle East
- Topic 1 will introduce you to the Global Geopolitics of the Middle East, especially
- (1) its strategic geographic location
- (2) its significance in world history and culture
- (3) its role in the global economy
- (4) its relations with the United States.
Global Geopolitics of the Middle East
- (1) Strategic geographic location
- (2) Significance in world culture
- (3) Role in world economy
- (4) Relations with the United States whose government continues to commit itself to the security of the State of Israel
Naming and defining the region
The Orient
The East
The Levant
The Near East
The Middle East
The Arab World
The Islamic World
North Africa and Southwest Asia
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3
The Term “Middle East”
The term “Middle East” describes a region that is neither Near East nor Far East
It was used by American naval historian Captain Alfred T. Mahan in 1902 in reference to an indefinite area around the Persian/Arabian Gulf
It became better known when the British government applied “Middle East Command” to military forces in the area extending from the central Mediterranean into the Indian subcontinent in the late 1930s
It became more familiar in the United States and Europe during World War II when the Middle East Command Headquarters was moved to Cairo
See also: Colbert C. Held, Middle East Patters: Places, Peoples, and Politics, Fourth Edition, Westview Press, 2006
CIA
Significance in World History and Culture
- Cradle of Civilization
- The Middle East is often referred to as the “cradle of civilization” because the first known cities, states, and forms of writing began in the region
- Birthplace of Monotheism
- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism
- Heartland of Islam
- Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem
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“Arabia was indeed the first staging post in the spread of modern humans around the world”
- “Abstract: A major unanswered question regarding the dispersal of modern humans around the world concerns the geographical site of the first human steps outside of Africa. The southern coastal route model predicts that the early stages of the dispersal took place when people crossed the Red Sea to southern Arabia, but genetic evidence has hitherto been tenuous. We have addressed this question by analyzing the three minor west-Eurasian haplogroups, N1, N2, and X. These lineages branch directly from the first non-African founder node, the root of haplogroup N, and coalesce to the time of the first successful movement of modern humans out of Africa, 60 thousand years (ka) ago. We sequenced complete mtDNA genomes from 85 Southwest Asian samples carrying these haplogroups and compared them with a database of 300 European examples. The results show that these minor haplogroups have a relict distribution that suggests an ancient ancestry within the Arabian Peninsula, and they most likely spread from the Gulf Oasis region toward the Near East and Europe during the pluvial period 5524 ka ago. This pattern suggests that Arabia was indeed the first staging post in the spread of modern humans around the world.”
Source: “The Arabian Cradle: Mitochondrial Relicts of the First Steps along the Southern Route out of Africa,” The American Journal of Human Genetics, 26 January 2012, http:// www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929711005453
Etymology of “Europe”
In ancient Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess whom Zeus abducted after assuming the form of a dazzling white bull. He took her to the island of Crete where she gave birth to Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. For Homer, Europe (Greek: Εὐρώπη, Eurṓpē; see also List of Greek place names) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later, Europa stood for central-north Greece, and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to the lands to the north--- Source: Britannica & Wikipedia encyclopedias.
With no definite etymology of the word “Europa”, one can think or speculate about the word “Arabia” (from which the Phoenicians came) and/or the word “Awruba” (a tribe from the region of North Africa where the Phoenicians founded Ancient Carthage and settled throughout the Carthaginian empire)??!!
Europa and the bull on a Greek vase. Tarquinia Museum, circa 480 BC
Sumer (Akkadian Shumerum)
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The Flood Tablet, relating part of the Epic of Gilgamesh
--Neo-Assyrian, 7th century BC, From Nineveh, northern Iraq
Assyrian relief of Gilgamesh, god-king of Sumer
The British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/the_flood_tablet.aspx
Gilgamesh, the hero-king of Uruk
Gilgamesh may have been an actual king ruling in the city of Uruk around 2700 BC, but he was later deified and became the hero of many stories and eventually an epic. The Sumerian king-list, composed around 2100 BC, calls Gilgamesh the son of the goddess Ninsun and mentions that his father was a 'lillu' (spirit) who later became a high priest of Kullab (an area of Uruk). In the later epic, his father is Lugalbanda, another Sumerian hero king.
By the late third millennium BC, Gilgamesh became known as a 'king of the underworld'. There are five surviving Sumerian stories about him (dating around 2000 BC), some of which were reformulated into a great Babylonian epic. The best-known version of the epic comes from the Assyrian royal library at Nineveh in the seventh century BC.
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Babylonia (Babili, “Gate of God”)
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King Hammurabi of Babylon, d. 1750 BC
Receiving the Law from the Sun God, Shamesh (right).
Hammurabi’s Code was a landmark in social justice. It is the earliest legal code known in its entirety.
Hammurabi said that he promulgated the law “so that the strong should not harm the weak.”
Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) was the sixth ruler of a line of Amorite kings, who had established themselves at the city of Babylon around 1900 BC. For the first thirty years of his reign, Hammurapi appears to have been a minor local ruler. Hethen launched a series of military campaigns and gained control of much of Mesopotamia, defeating the major kingdoms of Larsa (south Mesopotamia), Eshnunna (east of the River Tigris) and then Ashur. Mari, an important city on the River Euphrates, was also captured (the walls of Mari were levelled two years later). Hammurapi's territory now shared a northern border with Aleppo in Syria, one of the other great political centres of the time.
The British Museum, http://www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/invt/cmcn387520?__utma=1.1114606307.1257431658.1257431658.1257431658.1&__utmb=1.17.10.1257431658&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1257431658.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=british%20museum&__utmv=-&__utmk=145349044
Hammurabai head replica
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Egyptian Pyramids
Built between 2700 bc and 1000 bc to serve as royal tombs
Encarta
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Carthage
Encarta
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Arabic
Roman
Greek
Phoenician Alphabet
The Phoenicians developed the first phonetic alphabet
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19
Holy Sepulchre
Jerusalem
Encarta
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St. Paul’s Trip to Arabia
“I did not go to anyone for advice, nor did I go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went at once to Arabia and then I returned to Damascus.” Gallatians 1(16-17)
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25
“The Bible Came From Arabia”
By
Kamal Salibi
London: Jonathan Cape
1988
Kamal Salibi, a former professor of history at the American University of Beirut
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“[Prophet], say, ‘God speaks the truth, so follow Abraham’s religion: he had true faith and he was never an idolater.’ The first House [of worship] to be established for mankind was the one at Becca [Mecca]. It is a blessed place; a source of guidance for all people; there are clear sign in it; it is the place where Abraham stood; whoever enters it is safe. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to God by people who are able to undertake it. Those who reject this [should know that] God has no need of anyone.” Quran 3:95-97
Holy Mosque in Makkah/Mecca (The Holiest City in Islam)
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Al-Idrisi
Abu Abdullah Mohammed Ibn al-Sharif al-Idrisi (1100-1165), an Arab geographer from North Africa, is the author of one of the greatest maps of the medieval world. He joined the court of Roger II of Sicily at Palermo in about 1145.
His major geographic works include a silver planisphere (weighing 400 kg) showing a world map, a sectional map of the world, and a geography text, the Book of Roger, that contains information from his own travels and reports from others. Christopher Columbus used the map which was originally taken from Al-Idrisi's work. The IDRISI GIS software (named after Al-Idrisi) was developed by the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University.
South
North
West
East
al-Idrisi's world map, Arabic, (oriented with South at the top)
Arab/Muslim Perspective in Medieval Maps
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- Admiral
- adobe
- Alcohol
- Alfalfa
- Algebra
- Algorism
- Almanac
- Arsenal
- Cable
- Caliber
- Camel
- Candy
- Coffee
- Cotton
- Emir
- Gazelle
- Giraffe
- Magazine
- Mattress
- Mecca
- Monsoon
- Safari
- Sahara
- Sofa
- Sugar
- Syrup
- Tariff
- Zero
Arabic Numerals
Source: Al-Mawrid English-Arabic Dictionary
From top:
- Modern Arabic (western)
- Early Arabic (western)
- Arabic Letters (used as numerals)
- Modern Arabic (eastern)
- Early Arabic (eastern)
- Early Devanagari (Indian)
- Later Devanagari.
Source: http://islam.org/Mosque/ihame/Sec3.htm
Examples of English Words
Derived from Arabic
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Islamic Calligraphy
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Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry
Source: Mustapha Tallas, Shaer Wa Qaseeda: Mukhtarat Shierya, volume 1, pp. 39-40, 119-120
Arabic culture is saturated with poetic speech
“Since the people of the Arabian Peninsula [and the Arab world in general] speak a variety of dialects, the inhabitants of different regions can only communicate easily by using classical Arabic, as established by Islamic scholars, or modern standard Arabic, the form of the language generally used by the media. Beyond their regional differences, however, all forms of Arabic have certain features in common. Chief among these is the age-old importance accorded to poetic expression—evidence for which predates the coming of Islam—which still exists today in Arabic culture, both Bedouin and urban. Whether it is in the form of Sufi poetry, with its emphasis on mysticism, the repetition of the name of Allah in the form of a litany or dhikr, or the versification of the sacred texts, or of profane love poetry, which may at times glorify the state of intoxication (despite its prohibition by the Muslim religion), Bedouin culture is saturated with poetic speech.” – Etienne Dehau and Pierre Bonte, Bedouin and Nomads: Peoples of the Arabian Deserts, Thames & Hudson, 2007, page 9
Watch also: BBC World News: Arabic poetry becomes reality TV hit, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9UQMjpu8no
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99.unknown
100.unknown
101.unknown
102.unknown
103.unknown
Arabic Cuisine
Ful Medamis (Simmered Fava Beans)
Khouzi Ala Timman (Lamb Shanks and Rice)
Fatayer Spanikh (Triangle Spinach Pies)
Sfiha, lahm Bi’Ajeen (Flat Lamb Pies)
Tabouleh (Burghul and Parsley Salad)
Tamar Al Gibna (Dates with White Cheese)
Kabab Mashwi (Ground Meat Kebab)
Source: Tess Mallos, The Complete Middle East Cookbook, 1993
Dried Beans
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107.unknown
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Arabic Music
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Religious Affiliations of Arab Americans
Based on Zogby International Survey (2002)
The majority of Arab Americans are Christian
Source: Arab American Institute,
http://www.aaiusa.org/arab-americans/22/demographics
*Catholic include Roman Catholic, Maronite, and Melkite (Greek Catholic)
** Muslim includes Sunni, Shi’a, and Druze
***Orthodox includes Antiochian, Syrian, Greek, and Coptic
Ethnicity of America’s 7 Million Muslims in 2001
Source: Mosque Study 2001, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), http://www.cair-net.org/mosquereport/
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Definition of Race Categories Used in the 2010 Census
1. “White” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as “White” or reported entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.
2. “Black or African American” refers to a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as “Black, African Am., or Negro” or reported entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
3. “American Indian or Alaska Native” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicated their race(s) as “American Indian or Alaska Native” or reported their enrolled or principal tribe, such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik, or Central American Indian groups or South American Indian groups.
4. “Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as “Asian” or reported entries such as “Asian Indian,” “Chinese,” “Filipino,” “Korean,” “Japanese,” “Vietnamese,” and “Other Asian” or provided other detailed Asian responses.
5. “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as “Pacific Islander” or reported entries such as “Native Hawaiian,” “Guamanian or Chamorro,” “Samoan,” and “Other Pacific Islander” or provided other detailed Pacific Islander responses.
6. “Some Other Race” includes all other responses not included in the White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander race categories described above. Respondents reporting entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic or Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Spanish) in response to the race question are included in this category.
Source: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010, http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf
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Strategic Geographic Location
Source: Colbert C. Held, Middle East Patters: Places, Peoples, and Politics, Fourth Edition, Westview Press, 2006, page 4, Map 1-1 (“The Middle East as tricontinental hub, centrally located at the heart of the World-Island”).
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4
The Arab League (League of Arab States) includes: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen---Non-Arab League members :Turkey, Iran, and Israel
Strategic Waterways
Strait of Gibraltar
Gibraltar: overseas territory of the UK
Population: 28,000
Area: 6.5 sq km
CIA
Britain weighs legal action against Spain on Gibraltar
"Tensions over the rocky outpost at the mouth of the Mediterranean to which Spain lays claim have turned into one of the worst rows in years between the two European Union states."--Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/12/us-gibraltar-spain-idUSBRE97B0AS20130812
Spain may ask U.N. for support over Gibraltar: El Pais
"Centuries of friction over Gibraltar, a British overseas territory to which Spain lays claim, flared up this month after Spain complained that an artificial reef being built by Gibraltar would block its fishing vessels." --Reuters,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/11/us-spain-gibraltar-idUSBRE97A04U20130811
Turkish Straits: The Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus
The Bosporus Strait, or the Istanbul Strait is about 700 to 3700 m wide
CIA
Strait of Tiran
Strait of Tiran
Land boundaries of Saudi Arabia
Total: 4,431 km
Border countries:
Iraq 814 km
Jordan 744 km
Kuwait 222 km
Oman 676 km
Qatar 60 km
UAE 457 km
Yemen 1,458 km
The exchange of territory under the Jordan-Saudi Arabia Treaty of Amman in 1965 lengthened Jordan’s Gulf of Aqaba coastline by 24 km
CIA
Middle East Journal; Summer 1968; 22, 3; P. 348
Strait of Bab el-Mandeb
Strait of Hormuz
The Suez Canal
The Suez Canal
The difference in sailing time to the East from Europe was cut down markedly with the introduction of the Suez Canal
Video: Modern Marvels: Suez Canal (50 mn). Synopsis: "Since the ancient pharaohs' time, the Isthmus of Suez has been the gateway to trade between East and West. It's thought that the pharaohs could connect the Red Sea with the Mediterranean using a system of small canals; but the desert sands buried them. Not until mid-19th century did mankind readdress the problem. Since its completion in 1869, the Suez Canal has been a vital link in world trade and a point of controversy in geopolitics. Today, more than 20,000 ships transit the canal yearly."
President Nasser of Egypt declares the Nationalization of the Suez Canal Company on July 26, 1956
It is estimated that during the decade of work (1859-1869), over 1.5 million Egyptians were forced to work on the canal, 125,000 of whom perished.
When the Egyptians declared the nationalization of the Suez Canal in July 1956, France and Britain decided to freeze Egyptian assets in European banks, foreign pilots retreated from running the Canal affairs, and Britain, France, and Israel launched the Tripartite Aggression
Today more than 20,000 ships transit the Suez Canal yearly.
The Suez Canal is 163 km (101 mi) long. The minimum bottom width of the channel is 60 m (197 ft) and ships of 16 m (53 ft) draft can make the transit. The canal can accommodate ships as large as 150,000 dead weight tons fully loaded.
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Gulf Cooperation Council
External Security Challenges
“Iran—and Iraq under Saddam Hussein—opposes the inclination of the GCC states to seek assistance from international powers to balance the region’s security equation, arguing that Gulf security affairs should be restricted to the states of the Gulf. We might recall that the GCC countries have been at the forefront of those calling for this, as was mentioned in the statement of their first summit in 1981. However, Iran and Iraq did not propose a viable alternative regional security vision, and their words were contradicted by their actions. The actions of these two countries over the past decades espoused the opposite of what they had called for; this led to complications and to a strengthening of the international component of Gulf security.”
HE Abdulrahman Al Attiyah, “Security in the Gulf Region,” in Arabian Gulf Security: Internal and External Challenges, The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 2008, pp. 13-18.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
- OPEC's mission is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.
Algeria
Angola
Ecuador
Iran
Iraq
Kuwait
Libya
Nigeria
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela
Top U.S. petroleum foreign suppliers of crude oil and products in 2012
(Annual-Thousand Barrels):
- Canada (1,081,385)
- Saudi Arabia (497,570)
- Mexico (377,350)
- Venezuela (348,316)
- Russia (174,683)
- Iraq (173,317)
- Nigeria (161,429)
- Colombia (157,966)
Source: U.S. Energy Information Agency http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_a.htm
U.S. petroleum imports from OPEC countries: 1,557,591
U.S. petroleum imports from Non-OPEC countries:
2,320,659
USA-UAE Relations
- The United States has enjoyed friendly relations with the U.A.E. since 1971.
- Private commercial ties, especially in petroleum (the U.A.E. is the only GCC state to allow private-sector participation in its oil and gas sector), have developed into friendly government-to-government ties, which include security cooperation.
- The U.A.E. is the United States’ single largest export market in the Middle East and North Africa region, with $14.4 billion in exports (in 2008) and more than 1000 U.S. firms operating locally (in 2013).
- There are nearly 50 weekly non-stop flights to the U.A.E. from six U.S. cities.
- The U.A.E. is a leading partner in U.S. counterterrorism efforts, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas since September 11, 2001. In 2009, the U.A.E. was the largest foreign buyer of U.S. defense equipment. U.A.E. ports host more U.S. Navy ships than any port outside the U.S.
- Source: Background Note: United Arab Emirates, March 16, 2011, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5444.htm
- U.S. Relations With United Arab Emirates, June 11, 2013, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5444.htm
According to one U.S. Embassy official in Abu Dhabi, there are some 40,000 American citizens living in the United Arab Emirates in 2011, up from some 30,000 a few years ago.
USA-Egypt Relations
“Ties With Egypt Army Constrain Washington
WASHINGTON — Most nations, including many close allies of the United States, require up to a week’s notice before American warplanes are allowed to cross their territory. Not Egypt, which offers near-automatic approval for military overflights, to resupply the war effort in Afghanistan or to carry out counterterrorism operations in the Middle East, Southwest Asia or the Horn of Africa.
Losing that route could significantly increase flight times to the region.
American warships are also allowed to cut to the front of the line through the Suez Canal in times of crisis, even when oil tankers are stacked up like cars on an interstate highway at rush hour. Without Egypt’s cooperation, military missions could take days longer…
“We need them for the Suez Canal, we need them for the peace treaty with Israel, we need them for the overflights, and we need them for the continued fight against violent extremists who are as much of a threat to Egypt’s transition to democracy as they are to American interests,” said Gen. James N. Mattis, who retired this year as head of the military’s Central Command.”
The New York Times, 8/17/2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/world/middleeast/us-officials-fear-losing-an-eager-ally-in-the-egyptian-military.html?hp&_r=0
The Power of the Israel Lobby and the Making of U.S. Middle East Foreign Policy
Paul Findley’s They dare to speak out (1985)
Edward Tivnan’s The Lobby (1987)
Jonathan Jeremy Goldberg’s Jewish power (1996)
James Petras’s The Power of Israel in the United States (2006)
Mearsheimer & Walt’s The Israel lobby and U.S. foreign policy (2007).
Mark Green (ed.)’s Persecution, Privilege & Power (2008)
Jeff Gates‟ Guilt by Association: How Deception and Self-Deceit Took America to War (2008)
U.S. Commitment to the Security of
the State of Israel is Unconstitutional
1. “The bonds between the United States an d Israel are unbreakable and the commitment of the United States to the security of Israel is ironclad… I and my administration have made the security of Israel a priority. It‘s why we‘ve increased cooperation between our militaries to unprecedented levels. It‘s why we‘re making our most advanced technologies available to our Israeli allies. It‘s why, despite tough fiscal times, we‘ve increased foreign military financing to record levels. And that includes additional support –- beyond regular military aid -– for the Iron Dome anti-rocket system… So make no mistake, we will maintain Israel‘s qualitative military edge… You also see our commitment to our shared security in our determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Here in the United States, we‘ve imposed the toughest sanctions ever on the Iranian regime… You also see our commitment to Israel‘s security in our steadfast opposition to any attempt to de-legitimize the State of Israel. As I said at the United Nations last year, Israel’s existence must not be a subject for debate,‘ and ‗efforts to chip away at Israel‘s legitimacy will only be met by the unshakeable opposition of the United States.‘ So when the Durban Review Conference advanced anti-Israel sentiment, we withdrew. In the wake of the Goldstone Report, we stood up strongly for Israel‘s right to defend itself. When an effort was made to insert the United Nations into matters that should be resolved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, we vetoed it… No vote at the United Nations will ever create an independent Palestinian state. And the United States will stand up against efforts to single Israel out at the United Nations or in any international forum. Israel‘s legitimacy is not a matter for debate. That is my commitment; that is my pledge to all of you [AIPAC Policy Conference 2011].‖--U.S. President Barack Obama (5/22/2011)
2. “I am a Zionist… You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist‖— U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden (Shalom TV, 3/27/2007).
3. “I have a deep personal commitment to Israel.” ---U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Haaretz, 4/20/2010)
Ten years ago today the debate over the Iraq war came to Congress in the form of a resolution promoted by the Bush administration. The war in Iraq will cost the United States as much as $5 trillion. It played a role in spurring the global financial crisis. Four thousand, four hundred and eighty eight Americans were killed. More than 33,000 were injured.
As many as 1,000,000 innocent Iraqi civilians were killed. The monetary cost of the war to Iraq is incalculable. A sectarian civil war has ravaged Iraq for nearly a decade. Iraq has become home to al-Qaeda.
The war in Iraq was sold to Congress and the American people with easily disproved lies. We must learn from this dark period in American history to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes. And we must hold accountable those who misled the American public. --Former presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November/December 2012, Page 11,
Iraq: Ten Years, a Million Lives and Trillions Of Dollars Later
Iraqis inspect the site of a car bomb in central Baghdad’s Karrada district, Sept. 30, 2012. Nine car bombs and a shooting occurred that day in six Iraqi cities and towns, killing at least 15 people and wounding 42, officials said. (W.G. Dunlop/AFP/GettyImages)
Iraqi security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad, May 30, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Thaier al-Sudani
More than 1,000 killed in Iraq violence in May 2013—Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/01/us-iraq-violence-idUSBRE95004P20130601
The Department of Defense has updated the Unified Command Plan (UCP), a key strategic document that establishes the missions, responsibilities, and geographic areas of responsibility for commanders of combatant commands. DoD, 12/23/2008, http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/MAP12-08.pdf
Unified Command Plan 2008
152.pdf
