Below are a number of sources that I compiled this week asI found them thought-provoking, interesting, alarming or just downright scary (see video).
John Mueller, a professor of political science at Ohio State University published a piece entitled "The Rise of Nuclear Alarmism" in Foreign Policy. His thesis:
The only real effect of nuclear weapons is humanity's unhealthy obsession with them, a preoccupation that has inspired some seriously bad policy decisions.While I am certainly not an expert on anything nuclear related, he makes some convincing (and some not too convincing) arguments about the hysteria surrounding nuclear weapons. In an apt comparison, he mentions the hysteria in the 1960s when China was acquiring nuclear weapons, and the United States believed China would use the bomb to blackmail its enemies. Rather, China acquired the bomb, and kept it quietly hidden away, much as the US and Soviet Union had done (with a few exceptions). He does not make the exact comparison, but I think this will apply to Iran as well should it acquire the bomb.
The article can be found here.
The second article is a blog post from Al Jazeera correspondent Jacky Rowland. Writing in a very personal style, she examines continued Israeli efforts to change the demographic makeup of East Jerusalem by driving out Palestinians, demolishing their homes and destroying their very way of life. The post can be found here.
The third article, also addressing US political options with Iran is an article by the eminent political scientist Steve Walt. In this article, he examines the arguments made by neocon Eliot Cohen, who says the only choice in Iran is this: either Israel bombs Iran or the United States does. The second op-ed examined comes from the NYT and is written by Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett. This op-ed calls for robust diplomatic options with Iran, as everyone knows the military option will not work with Iran. Overall, an interesting analysis. It can be found here.
Finally, a rather frightening piece found on YouTube, courtesy of my Arabic professor. It is a six second clip of a Star Trek episode, with a guest appearance by a certain Middle East figure. I won't tell you who it is, but I'll give you a hint (He is currently king of Jordan). Enjoy.
3 comments:
I loved Star Trek Voyager. I remember that scene! I remember thinking that fellow was familiar and expected him to reappear. He never did. Interesting catch.
As for the eviction of Palestinians from their homes... it is flat wrong. Ethnic cleansing is something we should all work against. Can't we all just be like Americans? I say that half seriously to make a point. I hear so much criticism of our nation from so many sources, yourself included, and I hear so little praise. My father had a neighbor in the 1980's by the name of Ali. Ali and his family moved in next door from Palestine. Ali was quoted as saying that he had arrive in "The Promised Land." My parents enjoyed their neighbors the whole time they were together. What separated them was the voluntary retirement of my folks to southern California.
As for bombs of atomic nature, my fear is the only nation who will find them of some value is Israel. For super powers they are a non-starter as the horrors of their use far out weigh military benefits. Super powers have long term goals in mind. Blowing the hell out of the world is simply "MAD". We all recognize this. However, Israel senses its vulnerability to national and ethnic extinction, literally. So, Golda M. said, "We will not be the ones to start a nuclear war, but we will not be the second ones to use a nuclear weapon." That is Israel's take on life in general. Never again will they go quietly into the night as their European parents did. Their neighbors need to come to grips with this reality. Peace will never come, Palestinians will continue to lose their homes, walls will get longer and higher, as long as Jews are viewed as "enemies" and threatened with real extinction. The greatest paradigm shift that needs to be made is on the part of its Arabic neighbors, who are, as a matter of fact, Muslims. If anyone is guilty of historical ethnic cleansing it is them.
It would also be a bad day if Moscow or Washington, D.C. were to disappear in a terrorist mushroom cloud. So many futurist say it is not a matter of "if", but rather "when" this happens. Time grinds on slowly, but it grinds on.
Sorry, looks like you said Muslims, not Arabs are guilty of historical ethnic cleansing. Regardless, I think my point still stands.
I like our discussion :)
I do find it troubling that you won't however trust any Muslim scholars for information on Iraqi Jews. I am guessing you would have no trouble trusting a Jewish scholar, even though they are just as likely to have a similar, yet opposite bias.
That being said, a few recommendations of scholars and authors (mainly Iraqi Jews) who argue that Israeli agents specifically bombed Jewish communities in Iraq to motivate Jews to go to Israel.
1. Ropes of Sand, by Wilbur Crane Everland
2. Jews of Iraq, Naeim Giladi, Iraqi Jew
3. Uri Avneri, Israeli
4. Ella Shohat, Iraqi Jew
5. David Hirst, Jewish reporter
I also have an email in with a friend who did a research project on the subject, so I can have some more academic sources for you if you are interested.
I must say, I still completely disagree with your ethnic cleansing paragraph. Europeans have killed millions more Jews than Arabs ever have, in very deliberate inquisitions, pograms and policies, in Christian nations, no less. I would say they felt much more safe and secure in the Ottoman Empire, in Iran and Morocco than they ever did in Europe. Yes, they were at times paying a non-Muslim tax, as were the Christians, but this was also sporadic and often more political than religious.
I can't say it is fair to take the extreme example of the Taliban and extrapolate it to all Muslim countries. There are many churches and synagogues throughout the "Muslim world" (a term I don't like, too essentializing). The alleged Muslim conquests, of say, the Ottoman Empire, were in all truth, politics. Might makes right, if you have the ability to expand and win, why not do it? Americans and Europeans are very familiar with this concept, yet we do not label the Christian conquests.
Okay, back to Arabic studying.
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