Ziad
Fahmy
PhD
Candidate (University of Arizona)
Althea Bussert's
son-in-law, Ziad Fahmy, spoke at today's meeting.
He is a Fulbright Scholar, and is a doctoral student at the
University of Arizona, soon to be awarded a doctorate in Middle
East Contemporary History.
Modern history and present conditions in the
Middle East.
Ziad Fahmy
gave an open discussion where
members where free to interject at any time with questions.
Below are a few comments
made...
How
did the Middle East become the mess that it is today (or
perceived to be)? It was the colonial powers.
The borders of Middle Eastern countries have been
arbitrarily drawn on maps. Most of these borders have
been fairly stable.
Control of important land routes
became an issue for Great Britain. There was fear of
Russia coming in and taking control.
Britain made promises to
establish rulers. They controlled from the top. The
French were upset and took over some areas.
Middle Eastern society is quite
vast, including their views on gender issues. There are women in
power.
Arabia gained the most power so
Britain backed them financially. In 1928 they become Saudi
Arabia. This country was successful because of oil wells
and western support. They prospered and spread
Wahhabism. The influence of
Wahhabism wasn't
originally viewed as treat.
Great Britain scared the US with
talks of cold war. Enter the CIA's Kermit Roosevelt and the
father of Stormin' Norman. Iran had an elected official
but the US helped put the Shah in power. He became a
brutal dictator. The only form of resistance the people
had was to turn to Islam. This also marks the time when the US
ceased to be admired and became known as an enemy.
Iraq could not maintain a
stable government. Enter
Saddam Hussein. The only way he could rule was with a strong
fist. Democracy as it is now won't work there. Maybe in
the long term it may help to split it up and destabilize the
area.
It's a mess. They abhor outside
interference. I wanted to be or harbor of good news but...
There will be a civil war. I was
against war but if the U.S. pulls out now it will be bloody.
Maybe it needs to happen. 10 years later you either have another
dictator or fragmentation. If we stay it is like putting a
band-aid on a leaky faucet.
Politically, it
won't last here either. People will put up with it 10
years tops.
U.S. should set a strong tone
when helping them set up their government. "Do this." "Don't do
this." Then let them hash it out.
You can't have a democracy
unless you have a stable economy. And you need a broader middle
class. Instead of
spending billions on the war we should spend
money building up institutions. If the kids are fed and
people have jobs they won't think about going to war. Positive
reinforcement. Maybe the surrounding Arabic nations could
chip in with the U.S., Great Britain and Japan for the sake of
area stability.
Watch Iran. I doubt it will
remain a theocracy in 10 years. I think they will be the big
change in the next 6-7 years.