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Today's
Stories
March 3, 2008
Jennifer Loewenstein
Gazan Holocaust
March 1 / 2,
2008
Alexander Cockburn
The
Race Card
Paul Craig
Roberts
The
Political Trial of Don Siegelman
Kathleen and Bill Christison
Nader the Best Antidote to American Imperialism
Nelson P. Valdés
Cuba After Fidel
Christopher Brauchli
Meet Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev: Friend of Bill, George and Dick
Ron Jacobs
Inside the Secret City: Bomb Making at Oak Ridge
John Ross
The New Conquistadores: Spain's Reconquest of Mexico
Robert Fantina
Posturing Over Patriotism: Obama and Those Lapel Pins
Robert Weissman
Hidden in Plain Sight: Human Rights Hypocrisy
Mohammed Omer
Fear in Gaza
Remi Kanazi
Barack Obama and the Politics of Xenophobia
Bob Jackson
Why is Yellowstone Destroying Its Bison Herd?
Richard Rhames
Casual Threats: Loaded with Mercury
Franklin Lamb
Lebanon Awaits the Arrival of the USS Cole
Rannie Amiri
Showboat Diplomacy: US Warships Steam Toward Lebanon
David Michael
Green
The Three Faces of Hillary: the Politics of Flim-Flam
Conn Hallinan
Notes from the Southern Cone
Faheem Hussain
Prince Harry of Afghanistan and the Meaning of Normalcy
Poets' Basement
Gibbons, Orloski, Gardner and Ford
Website of
the Weekend
The Palestine Chronicle Needs (and Deserves) Your Help!
February 29,
2008
Matt Gonzalez
The
Obama Craze
Jonathan Cook
Academic Freedom? Not for Arabs in Israel
Joshua Frank
Obama and Israel
Anthony DiMaggio
The Unilateral Presidency: Signing Statements and the Rollback
of American Law
Linn Washington, Jr.
Cop Abuse in America
Binoy Kampmark
Hubris and Nemesis
Robert Bryce
Energy Efficiency May be a Good Thing, But It Won't Cut Energy
Use
Sonja Karkar
Australia's Government Continues Its Love Affair with Israel
Dave Lindorff
A Manchurian Candidate in the White House? Obama or Bush?
Website of
the Day
Olduvai George
February 28,
2008
Patrick Cockburn
"Iraq"
Falls Apart
Fred Gardner
The Birth of NAFTA
Michael Levitin
The Crisis in Kosovo is Just Beginning
William S.
Lind
The Fake State of Kosovo
David Macaray
A Ray of Hope for Organized Labor
Stephen Fleischman
Nader's Latest Run: Monkey Wrench or Cattle Prod?
George Wuerthner
The Myths of Forest Health: Why Ecological Logging is an Oxymoron
Laura Carlsen
The North American Union Farce
Carl Finamore
Why the Delta-Northwest Deal Hasn't Taken Off
Michael Dickinson
The Day I Bombed the House of Commons
Website of the Day
Plane Stupid
February 27,
2008
David Rosen
Playing
the Race Card: Obama, Love Across the Color Line and Political
Dirty Tricks
Vijay Prashad
Bomber John: McCain and the 100 Year War
Harvey Wasserman
Incident at Turkey Point: Did Florida Go to the Radioactive Brink?
Andy Worthington
Guantánamo's Shambolic Trials: Pentagon Boss Resigns,
Ex-Prosecutor Joins Defense
Wajahat Ali
Pakistan for Sale: an Interview with Ayesha Siddiqa on Pakistan's
Military Economy
Peter Morici
The Auction-Rate Securities Fiasco: a Drama of Greed and Betrayal
Stephen Philion
Conspiracy Theory, Fears of Betrayal and Today's Anti-War Movement
Michael Donnelly
Obama by Unanimous Decision
Erica Rosenberg /
Janine Blaeloch
After the Land Deals: Will There
be Any Wilderness Left to Protect?
Website of
the Day
Dress Blues
February 26,
2008
Debbie Nathan
Confessions
of a Gitmo Guard
Alan Dershowitz
v. Frank Menetrez
On Finkelstein
Harvey Wasserman
How Ohio Got Nuked
Michael Colby
Ralph Nader vs. the Fundamentalist Liberals
Gary Leupp
Condi vs. Putin on Bullying Belgrade
David Orchard
The New Conquistadors: Canada in Afghanistan
Martha Rosenberg
The Big HRT
Fran Shor
The Electoral Circus and Nader's Sideshow
Serge Halimi
The Dom Perignon Socialist Manifesto: Bernard Henri-Levy's Plan
for the French Left
Global Balkans
Neo-Liberalism and Protectorate States in the Post-Yugoslav Balkans:
an Interview with Tariq Ali
Website of
the Day
Texistentialism
February 25,
2008
Roger Morris
A
Death in Damascus
Anthony DiMaggio
Military
Bases, the Media and the Democrats
Ralph Nader
Why I'm Running
Patrick Cockburn
Iraq Broils
Paul Craig Roberts
Kosovo and the Empire Crazies
Peter Morici
Bernanke's Failing Policies: a Long Recession Looms
Dave Lindorff
General Welch's Whitewash: What We Still Don't Know About That
Minot Nuke Incident
Saul Landau
/
Farrah Hassen
Fanatics, Mountebanks and Drillers: a Bloody Oil Film
Heather Gray
James Orange, Civil Rights Legend
Robert Weitzel
Accomodating Torture
John Halle
Kucinich Goes Down
Website of the Day
Do the Trunk Monkey!
February 23 / 4, 2008
Alexander Cockburn
The
Mushrooming Clouds That Hang Over McCain
Paul Craig
Roberts
Obama
and Global Trade
Wajahat Ali
Omissions of the Commission: an Interview with Phillip Shenon
on the 9/11 Commission
Ralph Nader
Neutering the FDA
Jürgen
Vsych
"What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?"
Fidel Castro
Watching the US Presidential Campaign from Havana
Andy Worthington
Britain's Guantánamo
David Macaray
Unions Under Assault
Jeremy Scahill
The Real Story Behind Kosovo's Independence
David Krieger
Stanley Sheinbaum
Caging the Cold War Monster
Ron Jacobs
Building for the Future
Michael Garrity
The Last, Best Hope for the Northern Rockies
Brian McKenna
Higher Ed's "Civic Engagements" Get Dumbed Down
Missy Beattie
Over the Hill with John McCain
Fred Gardner
American College of Physicians Takes Pro-Cannabis Stand (Mostly)
Boris Kagarlitsky
The Growth of the Russian Labor Movement
Mike Ferner
Kick That Barrel
Dan Bacher
On the Trail with the Border Angels
Christopher
Ketcham
Hillary Goes Where Obama Fears to Tread
Poets' Basement
Davies and Buknatski
Website of
the Weekend
Obama
Mariachi
February 22,
2008
Mike Whitney
The
Bonfire of Capital
Jason Hribal
Elephants and the Circus: The Story of Janet
Liaquat Ali Khan
Arresting Musharraf
Joshua Frank
That Obama Glow: the Nuclear Industry's Golden Child
Dave Lindorff
Vicki's John: Ask Not What She Did for Him, Ask What He Did for
Her!
Liliana Segura
When Torture is Old News: McCain's Blonde Diversion
Robert Fantina
Castro, Bush and Cuba: a Fiasco Waiting to Happen?
Yifat Susskind
The ABCs of Death: Bush vs. Africa's Women
Norm Kent
Pushing 60 with Pot
Website of
the Day
Bush Gets Down in Liberia
February 21,
2008
Saul Landau
Fidel
Steps Aside
Elizabeth Schulte
Left Behind, With No End in Sight: America's Long-Term Unemployed
Helen Redmond
Health Care as a Human Right
Benjamin Dangl
Undermining Bolivia
Michael Levitin
Kosovo's Dilemma
Liam Leonard
Fear and Loathing on the Emerald Isle
Patrick Irelan
Land and Food in Venezuela
Linn Cohen-Cole
Poor Ohio: a Second Letter to Hillary on Her Ties to Monsanto
Michael Simmons
Daydream Believer: John Stewart, the Miles Davis of Folk Music
CounterPunch
News Service
A Message from the Women of Okinawa to US GIs
Website of the Day
Cop Abuse in Shreveport
February 20,
2008
Paul Craig
Roberts
Lies
and Spies
Paul Krassner
My
Brief Encounter with Fidel Castro
Fawzia Afzal-Khan
The
Pakistani Elections
Farzana Versey
The
Great Dictator: Musharraf, Peace and the Autumn of the Patriarch
Allan Nairn
Dying for a Second Round: Israel's
New Plan to Attack Lebanon
John V. Whitbeck
If Kosovo, Why Not Palestine?
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
A Balcony Seat to Our Own Balkanization?
Steve Eckardt
Cuba Sans Fidel: No News is Big News
Lee Sustar
Union-Busting at Freightliner
Mike Ferner
How Sick of It are You?
Website of the Day
The US Military Index
February 19,
2008
Uri Avnery
Blood
and Champagne
Paul Craig
Roberts
Paying
Insurgents Not to Fight
Gary Leupp
The Independence of Kosovo
Fidel Castro
The Moment Has Come
David Macaray
Management's Dirty Little Secret
Reza Fiyouzat
Buck the Circus! The Left and the Elections
Valerie Morse
The New Zealand Terror Raids: Land of the Long White Lie
Walter Brasch
Bush on Safari
Website of the Day
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright
February 18,
2008
Wajahat Ali
Free
Pakistan: an Interview with Imran Khan
Diana Johnstone
NATO's
Kosovo Colony
Paul Craig Roberts
What Do We Stand For?
Andy Worthington
Gitmo: "We're Making This Up as We Go Along"
Debbie Nathan
Bernie Ward's Sex Tapes
Anthony DiMaggio
Following the Money Trail: the Democratic Party and the Business
of Elections
Bill Simpich
Ten Years Ago, People Power Stopped Clinton in Iraq
Eva Liddell
A Short History of Super-Delegates: Hope, Yes! But Pay in Cash
Christopher Brauchli
The President Who Couldn't Keep His Word: Short-Changing Veterans
Stephen Soldz
Wikileaks is Under Attack!
Johann Rossouw
The Ouster of Thabo Mbeki: South Africa and the Costs of Neoliberalism
Website of
the Day
Sick of It Day!
February 16
/ 17, 2008
Alexander Cockburn
The
Terrorists Still at Ground Zero, 7 World Trade Tower, Lower Manhattan
Ralph Nader
We
the Corporations ...
David Macaray
The Big Buy Out: Did GM Drive Another Nail in Labor's Coffin?
William J.
Peace
Wheelchair Dumping
Ron Jacobs
War on the Psyche: Shellshock and Redemption
Diane Christian
War Corrupts
Alan Maass
Oil, Blood and Greed: Taking Upton Sinclair to the Big Screen
(and Beyond)
Ramzy Baroud
Iraq and the US Elections
Michael Donnelly
Genitalia First! Old Guard Feminists Play the XX Card
Cpt. Paul Watson
The Art of Finding Whalers
James L. Secor
China Diary: Spring Festival and New Year 2008
Eve Bachrach
Bush Returns to Africa
Nikolas Kozloff
Hugo Chávez's Anti-Imperialist Army
Stephen Gowans
Steven Spielberg, Faux-Humanitarian
Missy Beattie
To Vote or Not to Vote?
David Michael
Green
Warming Slowly to Obama
Wajahat Ali
Attack of the Info-tainment Circus
Poets' Basement
Gibbons, Willson, Mickey Z., Orloski and Reuther
Website of the Day
Yellowstone's Bison Need Your Help--NOW!
February 15,
2008
George Szamuely
The
Absurdity of "Independent" Kosovo
Patrick Cockburn
Ground-Truthing the Surge: Is the US Really Bringing Stability
to Baghdad?
Wajahat Ali
Pakistan is Burning: an Interview with Steve Coll on the Taliban,
Bin Laden and the Bush Administration
Mike Whitney
Henry Paulsen's Wild Ride on the Economic Hindenberg
Alan Farago
God and the Democrats
Chris Genovali
Alberta's Black Gold Rush
Jacob Hornberger
Courting Injustice: Scalia on Torture
Dave Lindorff
Snoops Always Ring Twice: Bush's Protect America Bill Bull
Website of the Day
Live From the Land of Hopes and Dreams
February 14,
2008
Kathleen and
Bill Christison
Palestine
in the Mind of America
Mike Whitney
Swan Song for NATO
Clancy Sigal
Strike Notes from a Screenwriter
George Wuerthner
A Bloody Sham: the Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
Peter Morici
Is Bernanke Headed for the Exit?
John Ross
Drug War Mayhem Boils Over from Border to Border
Allan Nairn
Mafia Rules in the Middle East: If You're Big Enough, You Can
Whack Anyone
Rannie Amiri
Lebanon's Warmongers
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
The New Tractatus: Where Wittgenstein Meets Feinstein
Donna Volatile
Be Careful What You Vote For, You Just Might Get It
Seth Sandronsky
The Student Squeeze: Fighting California's Tuition Hikes
Website of
the Day
Conventions: the Land Around Us
February 13,
2008
Nikolas Kozloff
Meet
John McCain: Mr. Big Stick in Latin America
Alan Farago
Hell to Pay: Warren Buffett on the Goal Line
Christina Kasica
King's Dream Foreclosed: the Subprime Crisis in Black America
Vicente Navarro
How to Read the U.S. Primaries
Hall Greenland
Australia's Finest Hour
Lee Sustar
Strange Stimulation: Too Little for Those Who Need It Most
David Macaray
The Writers' Strike Finally Ends
Roderick Frazier
Nash
Celebrating Wilderness
Patrick Irelan
Hugo Chávez and High Anxiety at the NYT
Anthony Papa
Mean Mister Mukasey: AG Tries to Block Crack Cocaine Releases
Carl Finamore
Another Parade Passes Me By: Don't Let Your Movement be Coopted
by Politicians
Website of
the Day
John He Is
February 12,
2008
Frank J. Menetrez
The
Case Against Alan Dershowitz
Paul Craig
Roberts
War Without End
Dr. Trudy Bond
The Elephant at Gitmo: Camp 7 and the Torturer's Shrink
Andy Worthington
The Guantánamo Six: Why Charge Them Now? What About the
Torture?
Col. Dan Smith
The Psychology of Killing: Close In or Far Away?
Ronnie Cummins
Globalization: Standing at the End of the Road
Ralph Nader
Open the Government
John V. Walsh
Antiwarriors, Divided and Conquered
Dave Lindorff
Obama and Progressive Change: Let's Hope the Movement Transforms
the Candidate
Michael Donnelly
Who's Pimping Whom? The Clintons' Selective No Talk Rules
Ron Jacobs
La Lucha Continua: Castro's "Life"
Ben Tripp
Beggars Collide
Website of the Day
Springsteen and Youngstown
February 11,
2008
Cockburn /
St. Clair
Lessons
for Obama: When is a Delegate Not a Delegate?
Wajahat Ali
A Discussion with Walt and Mearsheimer on the Israel Lobby
Ray McGovern
Waterboarding for God and Country
Allan Nairn
The Shooting of Jose Ramos Horta
Uri Avnery
An End Foreseen?
Chris Floyd
American
Psycho: the Meaning of Mitt Romney's Exit Speech
Martha Rosenberg
School Lessons in a Lunchbox: Lunchmeat from Tortured Cows
Stephen Fleischman
The Bonnie and Clyde of American Politics
Marc Lamont Hill
Not My Brand of Hope
Liliana Segura
Obama and Torture: the Sounds of Silence and Equivocation
Peter Morici
Challenges for the New President
Christopher
Brauchli
A Drug Rant from a Former Taker
Website of the Day
Annie vs. the Blue Angels
February 8
/ 10, 2008
Paul Craig
Roberts
Does
the GOP Have Aces Up Its Sleeves?
Patrick Cockburn
Will Moqtada al-Sadr's Truce Hold?
Mike Whitney
The Great Bust of '08
Anthony DiMaggio
How the Press Covers Waterboarding
Andy Worthington
The Guántanamo Trials: Where are the Terrorists?
Linn Cohen-Cole
Hillary, Will You Renounce Your Ties to Monsanto?
Firmin DeBrabander
Notes from the Foreclosure Front: Suing Your Way to Solvency
Cpt. Paul Watson
The Other Whaling Industry: How Greenpeace Cashes In on the Suffering
and Deaths of the Great Whales
Kenneth S. Pope
Why I Resigned from the American Psychological Association
Jacob G. Hornberger
American Soldiers Will Pay the Price for Bush's Torture Policy
Robert Bryce
Beyond Group Think on Climate Change: If More CO2 is Bad ...
Then What?
P. Sainath
The Last of the Buccaneer Editors
Allan Nairn
Give Me Back My Land
Fred Gardner
/
Pebbles Trippet
"The District Attorney of Shasta County Doesn't Know the
Law!"
Andrew Wimmer
Growing Up Catholic: Ignorance is Death
Robert Fantina
America's Disgrace: the Case of Omar Khadr
David Michael Green
Partycide in Six Easy Steps: Watch the Democrats Destroy Themselves
Kevin Zeese
Is Dennis Kucinich Being McKinney'd?
Peter Morici
Wall Street Gives Bernacke a Vote of No Confidence
Chris Driscoll
Could Nader be the Come-Back Kid of 2008?
Prairie Miller
Black August: Bringing George Jackson's Life to the Screen
Poets Basement
Davies and Buknatski
February 7,
2008
Patrick Cockburn
Why
Baghdad Will Explode Again
Bill Christison
Potholes Bigger Than Ever for Palestinians
David Anderson
NBC's "To Entrap" a Predator: Perverting Justice for
the Sake of Ratings
Ron Jacobs
Innocent Flesh: Recruiting Kids to Kill
Nikolas Kozloff
Hugo Chávez's Coca: It's the Real Thing
Jane Rockefeller
The Moral Economy of an Anti-Poverty Foundation
Andy Worthington
On Waterboarding: Two Questions for Michael Hayden
Dave Zirin
Instep Intifada
Saul Landau
The "Honestest" Candidate Since Lincoln
Susie Day
Our Blob in the White House
Website of the Day
George Carlin on Voting
February 6,
2008
Cockburn /
St. Clair
Super
Tuesday's Vote for Chaos
Ben Rosenfeld
Informant Games: The Disturbing GreenScare Case of Briana Waters
Vijay Prashad
An Intellectual Hustler Lays It All Out
Joe Bageant
Nine Billion Little Feet on the Highway of the Damned
Michael Donnelly
What White Women Do In Private Voting Booths
Allan Nairn
Does the US Need a Civilizing Mayan Invasion?
Kathryn Gray
Wilderness on Edge: The Fate of Donner Summit
Ray McGovern
Powell's UN Fiasco
Sheldon Richman
The Whining Empire
Paul Cantor
/ Roger Sparks
A
Presidential Aptitude Examination
John Chuckman
Political Bits and Pieces
Website of
the Day
Save the Albatross
February 5,
2008
Winslow T.
Wheeler
The
Chaos in America's Vast Security Budget
Tariq Ali
Why I Will Not Participate in the Turin Book Fair
Stephen Soldz
The Secret Rules of Engagement in Iraq: Did Rumsfeld Authorize
War Crimes?
Chris Floyd
Strange
Fruit: America's Gulag and the Good War
William S. Lind
Saddam's Secret War Strategy: Die and Win
Martha Rosenberg
Live From the Killing Floor
Heather Gray
Conversations with Georgia Voters
Ayesha Ijaz
Khan
Obama, Bhagwandas and the Battle for a Secular Politics
David Macaray
Unions Need to Stop Being So Nice
Eliza Ernshire
Making Music and Laughing Till the Tears Run
Brenda Norrell
Hated Nation
Website of
the Day
The Things I Used to Do
February 4,
2008
Marc Levy
Winter
in America
Patrick Cockburn
The Bird Market Bombings
Saree Makdisi
Strangling Gaza
Uri Avnery
From Stalingrad to Winograd
Alan Farago
Let's Get Bambi! Someone is Slaughtering Florida's Key Deer
Ben Tripp
Spare Change: the Whine of the Progressive Voter
Paul Wolf
Civil Wars North and South
Paul Craig
Roberts
Why Were the 9/11 Tapes Destroyed?
Joshua Frank
MoveOn's Obama Endorsement: Why There's No Hope for Change
John Halle
Whither Progressive Democrats?
Website of the Day
How to Cheat in School
February 2
/ 3, 2008
Alexander Cockburn
Hot
Democratic Properties
Pam Martens
Bankers
Gone Bonkers: Global Finance and the Insanity Defense
Ralph Nader
The Great Clinton-Obama Debate: Questions They Weren't Asked
John Ross
Hilaria
vs. "El Moreno"
Wajahat Ali
Hillary, Obama and the Clash of Civilizations: an Interview with
Imam Zaid Shakir
Robert Fantina
A Colony by Any Other Name: Iraq as Stepchild of the American
Empire
B. R. Gowani
Not All Veils and Guns
James L. Secor
China in Winter: On the Western Edge of the Great Snow
John V. Walsh
The Invisible Green Primary
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Barack's Bubble, Bubba's Trouble
Dave Zirin
Who Stole the Super Bowl's Soul?
Jeremy Scahill
Blackwater and Blood
Fidel Castro
Reflections on Lula
Joe Allen
Tet Reconsidered: the Turning Point in the Vietnam War
Stephen Lendman
Life in Occupied Gaza
Patrick Irelan
What Happened to the Streetcars?
Andrej Grubacic
Ziga Vodovnik
Caligula's Horse: the USA, New Europe and Kosovo
Josh Karpoff
Dead Soldiers and the Antiwar Movement
Ron Jacobs
Carl Oglesby's War
Paul Krassner
Tom Waits Meets Super-Joel
Website of the Weekend
Company Woman: Hillary and Wal-Mart
February 1,
2008
Ray McGovern
The
Iniquities and Inequalities of War
Diane Farsetta
The Wild Career of James "Dow 36,000" Glassman
Patrick Cockburn
The
Most Dangerous Country in the World for Journalists
Tariq Ali
Et
Tu, New York Times?
Allan Nairn
Eating Dirt for Lunch in Haiti
Rannie Amiri
Collective Punishment in Beirut
Ramzy Baroud
People Power in Gaza: They Simply Did It
Kenneth Couesbouc
The Mother of All Snowballs
Peter Morici
Recession Looms
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Witha "Brutha" Like This: Bill Clinton as White Negro
Rosemary Jackowski
27 Reasons Nader Should Run for President
Scott Campbell
Direct Action to Stop the War Re-emerges
Website of the Day
Betes et Hommes
January 31,
2008
Saul Landau
Return
to Afghanistan
Andy Worthington
Horror at Guantánamo
Mike Whitney
Rate Cut as Dagger: America's Teetering Banking System
Jeff Ballinger
Sustainability for Dictators Initiative? Clinton Praises the
"Suharto of the Steppe"
Tiffany Ten
Eyck
The Saga of the Freightliner Five
William Loren
Katz
Waterboarding:
Torure or Mystery?
Alan Farago
Why the Republicans are in Deep Trouble
Col. Dan Smith
Oh Say Can You See the 2009 Budget?
China Hand
Slouching Toward Islamabad
Dave Lindorff
The Usual Suspects Once Again
Wadner Pierre
Fake Democracy in Haiti
Website of the Day
One Big Union
January 30,
2008
Cockburn /
St. Clair
McCain
vs. Clinton?
Christopher
Ketcham
The Genius of the Development Industrial-Complex
Robert Weissman
America By the Numbers: The Shameful State of the Union
Neve Gordon
An Experiment in Famine
Paul Craig Roberts
Regulation or Deregulation, Which is Worse?
Joanne Mariner
How Anti-Terror Laws Threaten Free Speech
David Macaray
Labor's Only Real Weapon
Liaquat Ali
Khan
Is NATO Committing Genocide in Afghanistan?
Raymond J. Lawrence
Prankster-in-Chief: Bush's Troubling Non-Verbal Communication
Dan Bacher
The Collapse of the Central Valley Salmon
Website of the Day
Onward Through the Fog
January 29,
2008
Franklin C.
Spinney
Bush's
New War Budget: the $70 Billion Hand-Off
Mike Whitney
The Great Credit Unwind of 2008
Alan Farago
Buyer Beware: Florida, the Candidates and the Latin Builders
Association
Patrick Cockburn
"The Americans Bring Us Only Destruction"
Gary Leupp
"We Can't Afford to Let Them Spill the Beans:" a Sibel
Edmonds Timeline
R. F. Blader
A
World Without Abortion: USA v. Romania
Ahmad Faruqui
Musharraf's Post-Electoral Prospect
Fran Shor
Obama, the Kennedys and "Change We Can Believe In"
Jeremy Scahill
Secret Trials and Criminal Convictions: the Ordeal of the Blackwater
Protesters
Allan Nairn
Bush's
SOTU: Entitlement, Justice and the War of All Against All
Website of the Day
The Ghost of Rambo
January 28,
2008
Patrick Cockburn
Return
to Fallujah
Paul Craig
Roberts
The End of American Liberty
Allan Nairn
The Breaking of the Gaza Wall
Eyad al-Sarraj
/ Sara Roy
Ending the Stranglehold on Gaza
Martha Rosenberg
Obit for the "Front Page" City
Corporate Crime
Reporter
How They Rip Us Off
David Michael Green
Kristolizing Iraq: What a Great Freakin' War
Jennifer Van
Bergen
What's Left?
Nancy Oden
Survival Tips for Hard Times
Divya Karnad
Saving India's Sea Turtles
James L. Secor
Pissed About Pistorious: Why the Olympics Needs a Gimp
Website of
the Day
Yellow Journalism?
|
March
3, 2008
Analyzing the Gallup
World Poll with John Esposito
Who
Speaks for a Billion Muslims?
By WAJAHAT ALI
While speaking authoritatively about
Islam and the "psychology" of the Muslim mind, the
talking heads on television screens, the experts sitting in prestigious
think tanks, the policy analysts strategizing in D.C., and the
often loud and bombastic voices heard on the airwaves are rarely,
if ever, Muslims.
To many concerned and prescient
minds, this reality is often baffling and troubling. One such
individual, Jim Clifton, Gallup's Chairman and CEO, remarked,
"no one in Washington had any idea what 1.3 billion Muslims
were thinking, and yet we were working on intricate strategies
that were going to change the world for all time."
In order to discover what Muslims
truly think, Gallup spent 6 years interviewing nearly 50,000
Muslims from 35 countries representing the most comprehensive
analysis of the wishes, desires, grievances, complaints, and
opinions of nearly 1.3 billion Muslims. The results are illuminating
to say the least.
The results were collected
and analyzed by John L. Esposito, a leading American expert on
Islam and University Professor at Georgetown, and Dalia Mogahed,
a senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center
for Muslim Studies, in their new, groundbreaking work: "Who
Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think."
I recently interviewed Professor
Esposito to discuss the results of this massive survey and their
profound implications in elucidating and understanding the misconceptions,
stereotypes, and realities of 1.3 billion Muslims.
ALI: Most people are inherently
skeptical of polls and surveys. There seems to be so many of
them, often conflicting, and it's hard to assess their veracity.
So, how can we verify the accuracy of this data in your book?
How can you convince a skeptic that the procedures you used for
this book are in fact an accurate assessment of how a billion
Muslims really do think?
ESPOSITO: There are lots of
polling organizations out there. One would have to say that,
by industry standards, Gallup is clearly seen as a leader if
not the leader in polling. It has that reputation for
its methodology and accuracy. Here, we are looking at a Gallup-world
poll, one that looks at some 35 Muslim countries and indeed has
the methodology and graphs which looks at urban and village differences,
one that looks at men and women, one that looks at young and
old, one that looks at different socio-economic class, etc. It's
a very systematic and sustained methodology that one is sort
of drawing from. You can see the data from this. By industry
standards, plus or minus 3%, this poll is seen as representing
a billion voices in Muslim countries.
It was the largest survey of
its kind ever done. So, we're not talking about some individual,
ad hoc service, kind of survey done by Pew or Zogby, we are talking
about a systematic and sustained, comprehensive survey. It started
from data collected from 2001 right up to 2007.
It's very representative also
in terms of the different areas of the Muslim world. It's not
simply the Middle East. It also includes South Asia, Central
Asia, and Indonesia, etc., as well. It's a very sophisticated
vehicle.
Obviously, you're always going
to have people who will raise issues. I firmly expect this book
will be celebrated because a good deal of data goes against  conventional wisdom. But,
on the other hand, those who are ideologues and have very ideological
positions on Arabs and Muslims, of course, they are going to
have problems with this. Because, suddenly, [the ideologues]
won't be able to comfortably spout off their "wisdom,"
instead these statistics will make people ask, "Hey, wait
a minute. You've been saying "X" about why Muslims
hate us or about their gender issues. But, you know, a lot of
what you said about Muslims--when you actually poll a majority
of Muslims in these countries- is incorrect. They disagree with
you."
I think that's the value of
this study. That one is able to say, on a variety of political,
religious issues, that a majority of Muslims hold this position
or that position, or this outlook or that
attitude, etc.
ALI: Frequently in America
we hear, "Muslims hate our values and our freedoms."
The Question is: Do they hate us, and if they do, why?
ESPOSITO: That's part of it.
When you look at the data, you actually have a refutation of
that argument. When Muslims are asked, "Do they admire anything
about the West?" contrast that to Americans when asked,
"What do you admire about Muslims?" The answer of majority
Americans is either, "I don't know" or "Nothing."
So, close to 56% Americans say this.
Muslims, even though they do
resent us, they talk about how they admire us. How they admire
our freedom, how they admire our work ethic, our technology,
and a whole slew of qualities. When asked, "What do you
resent about the West and what concerns you about the West?"
They are very clear about this as well. They're very clear about
resenting the denigration of Islam and Muslims and painting them
as extremists. They're very clear about being concerned about
[American] invasion or "dominance." But the important
thing here is that the notion-- "they hate us for who we
are", our values, our freedoms, and our democratization--is
simply refuted.
A majority of Muslims in most
Muslim countries surveyed simply indicate the opposite.
That answers another question that we have here which is, "You
know, if 'they' hate 'us' so much, when they're given an opportunity
how come many would like to study here or visit?"
Anti Americanism is not based
on who we are, in terms of values and principles, many of which
are admired by others. But, rather, it's by what we do. It's
the way we walk, not so much by the way we talk in terms of our
principles. It's the sense of our double standards that creates
the problem.
ALI: In your book you differentiate
between the "politically radicalized Muslims" and the
"moderate Muslims". Often times we hear radicalization
is caused by poverty, hardship, marginalization, lack of opportunity,
and oppressive governments.
Yet, your data shows the
politically radicalized, on average, are more educated than moderates:
"67 percent of those
with extremist views have secondary or higher educations (vs.
52 percent of moderates)."
They are also more likely
to report average or above-average income:
"65 percent of the
politically radicalized say they have average or above-average
income versus 55 percent of moderates."
So, Islam must in someway
inherently cause or inspire the violence, right? Don't these
findings contradict the assumption that only the destitute and
oppressed engage in or harbor extremist feelings?
ESPOSITO: It does. Clearly,
these are factors. But the primary drivers are politics and not
piety. In that, the politics that drive it have to do with what
are perceived or experienced as American foreign policy, or other
people's policy. Issues like occupation, issues of dependency,
issues of support for authoritarian regimes who are seen as oppressive.
It's primarily politics.
That doesn't rule out the fact
that religion comes to play a role when people go to legitimate
who they are and why they're doing what they doing. The primary
causes and drivers are political grievances. You see this when
you look at the lives of the primary players; if you look at
the speeches of the Bin Ladens and the Ayman al Zawihiris and
many others. In the early parts of their speeches the drivers
are political grievances. Then, when they talk about "what
shall we do" and "how should we respond", and
then when it's about support, mobilization, and legitimating
what they want to do, then they contextualize it and say, "We're
fighting for justice here." They don't pull out Arab nationalism
or Arab socialism, which are dead ideologies, they cite religion--they
cite Islam.
ALI: Let's talk about moving
forward in the future. Should we isolate and forget the politically
radicalized? Cut them out of the equation completely and focus
on the moderates? Or, is there a way to make a conversation with
the politically radicalized?
ESPOSITO; I think the most
important sector is the politically radicalized. I mean the moderates
are like the moderates here. They are like mainstream Westerners.
They're not the issue.
The politically radicalized
are interesting, because that label doesn't mean they engage
in violence, but it does mean they have a perception of the world
and of the West, which can lead to further, if you will, marginalization
and a further sense of alienation. Therefore, some can be attracted
by the Bin Ladens of the world. That's why one wants to look
and ask what are their grievances? The key thing here is the
politically radicalized are the people who will still say, "9-11
was justified."
Part of what you want to address
is, "What are the kind of issues the politically radicalized
have and is there any legitimacy to these issues?" When
you examine the issues there is a concern and legitimacy to see
some Western countries and politically radicalized distinguish
between Western countries for example, Bush and Blair are
very low in their ratings in term of approval, whereas leaders
of other European countries fare much better.
So, then one has to look into
issues of unilateralism and arrogance; issues of a double standard
when it comes to the promotion of democracy. Issues of whom do
we support when it comes to authoritarian regimes. So, you look
at this and learn from it. For example, take Egypt and look at
the growing authoritarian posture of [dictator of Egypt] Hosni
Mubarak and you see it, such as in the recent trial with the
Muslim Brotherhood when 3 civil courts threw out all their charges,
but then Mubarak sent the case to a military court, who are now
stampeding to a decision.
Well, one can understand the
frustration, where if the U.S. is saying it is going to promote
democracy amongst its allies, and then provides significant financial
support to the Mubarak regime. This can reinforce the fact such
policies can push those who are politically radicalized in their
worldview can push some of them not only to a negative
view of American foreign policy, but also push some into extremism.
ALI: Let's take what you
just said and apply it to current affairs, where you say the
politically radicalized have an animosity towards England and
the U.S. regarding, what they perceive, as disrespect towards
Islam and Muslims. Barak Obama is a good example of how "Muslim"
has become the Scarlet Letter of the 21st century. They consistently
smear him with allegations of "Muslim" as if to taint
his character--even though he isn't Muslim. It's like he's apologizing
for an assumed leprosy and disease he doesn't have.
ESPOSITO: Exactly
ALI: Does this smear campaign
highlight the overwhelming animosity of Americans towards Muslims
and Islam or is it an isolated incident used for political expediency?
ESPOSITO: I don't think it
reflects a majority of the situations in America or Europe. But
it does reflect a significant minority in that they are a significant
minority of the population in Europe and America that are increasingly
appealed to by a lot of our Islamophobic political and media
commentators. So, you get someone like Daniel Pipes [Founder
of the Middle East Forum and Campus Watch] who writes one article
after another trying to justify why he can say that in an early
stage in Obama's life, Obama was a Muslim or some kind of Muslim.
As if that is some sort of negative or a disease. A) Pipes is
distorting the data, and B) there's an implication that if he
can establish [Obama's link to Islam], that somehow that should
de-legitimate Obama.
I think part of the reality
we have in recent years is the growth of Islamophobia both in
Europe and America. That's why Kofi Annan and others held a major
conference at the U.N. on Islamophobia, which I and a number
of others attended. It does reflect the fact you've got people
playing this "Muslim Card," as a way to de-legitimate
someone.
A comparable example is to
look at what happened to Keith Ellison [African American Muslim
Congressman from Minnesota], both when he was running and when
he was elected. Fortunately, even though they tried to pile it
on as he was running, he had tremendous support from the community,
including from local Jewish leaders when people were trying to
imply all kind of things about him.
But, even after he was elected,
remember the whole questions whether or not, and when he did
take his oath on the Quran? What you've got are people, and we
sometimes underestimate the number of people like this, such
as [Glenn] Beck on CNN, the number of academic experts, so called
media and commentator experts, who are anti-Muslim. One
just has to say that flat out.
ALI: In discussing Islam
over the years, you've confronted a number of critics and serious
allegations about your character. Here's a criticism often leveled
against you, and I'd like your response. Pipes and others have
described you "as one of the foremost apologists for Islamism
in recent years." Why is the attempt in trying to show Islam
in a more accurate light seen by many as apologia and what's
your response to the criticism?
ESPOSITO: The fact is these
kinds of statements were never made for years. The fact
is when people disagreed about what an expert said they'd say
why they disagreed. This kind of, sort of "using
name-calling" is a very interesting thing. When Daniel Pipes
uses this type of language, or some of the other authors whose
positions I find very problematic, such as Bernard Lewis and
Martin Kramer, would they all feel comfortable if I said they
were enemies of Islam?
You know, this is a phony kind
of word. It's just a way to come up with a term to try to denigrate.
Pipes creates his website [Campus Watch to investigate "anti-American"
professors on campuses] after 9-11. It was a response and it
has an agenda and they've continued, Pipes and others like him,
for a purpose, a grander plan to not only be free to assert their
positions, which they have every right to do under freedom of
speech; but, what they want to do is shut down other people.
They want to intimidate and silence. That's what their hope is.
That's why they started the Campus Watch website.
Initially, when they posted
the names [on the website], I was in the top 12. Many wrote in
and said they stood in solidarity with us, not even with regards
to the issues, but they stood in solidarity for freedom of speech
with those of us that were being targeted. Immediately, these
people were labeled as those sympathetic with suicide bombers
who were anti-Semitic, etc. So, when you start doing that, it's
a clear attempt to silence and shut down and to intimidate. These
are the preachers of hate that I think need to be exposed in
our society.
ALI: You mention the "preachers
of hate" and I want to talk about preachers in general.
Right-wingers, for lack of a better description, and religious
conservatives in this country routinely paint Muslims as incompatible
with U.S. values, specifically separation of church and state
and the concept of nationalism and allegiance to U.S. First,
how accurate is that assessment? And secondly, aren't these "Sharia,
theocracy-now Muslims" very similar to Christians in this
country who vocally advocate for a more God-Bible based legislative
and judiciary system?
ESPOSITO: We have to be far
more sophisticated and nuanced when we look at things. First,
when Muslims talk about Sharia, many are talking about principles
and values of Islam. Some are talking about specific codes and
prescriptions. Very ultra conservative Muslims want to apply
the corpus of law that was developed in the past by religious
scholars.
But for many others, as seen
in the Gallup survey, when they say they want to see Sharia as
a source of law, they want to see democratization. What they
want is a move towards democratization, but in a society which
also incorporates what they consider to be true Islamic values
or "Sharia values." So, we have to distinguish between
those who want a Taliban mentality, or a corpus of law that one
will find in Saudi Arabia, and then, finally, many Muslims across
the world who just want to see their religious values.
At the same time you have to
think comparatively, because you make a very good point. The
fact is we have Christian fundamentalists in this country and
it is a significant minority. When you look at the percentages
in this book, when you ask Americans, you wind up with a significant
percentage of Americans who believe that our laws should be based
on the Bible. One has to realize even in our secular society
you have people advocating this kind of position.
ALI: You've studied religion
and theology all your life. You have a unique background and
have world experience with Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Explain
the rise of religious extremism in the 21st century and specifically
why it is often linked inexorably with politics? It seems political
ideology has hijacked or forcibly married religion as a convenient
vehicle for selfish, purely political ends? Why has this been
so successful?
ESPOSITO: The reality is this:
what we've seen in the last 3 or 4 decades, we've seen in many
religions, in fact I'd say all the world's religions in greater
or lesser extent, we've seen a reassertion of religion amongst
a segment of the population not only in personal life, but for
some it carries into social and political life. A lot of that
is mainstream. People want prayer in school; people want more
recognition of religious values in society. People might be anti-abortion,
or for abortion but argued from a religious position.
But, at the same, what we also
see is that religion has become a vehicle for religious extremists.
We see this in regards to Hindu fundamentalists, Jewish fundamentalists,
Christian fundamentalists, and Muslim fundamentalists.
Fundamentalists aren't necessarily
radical, but there are radical fundamentalists in these groups.
We've seen instances in Israel with the assassination of Rabin.
We've seen it with conflicts between Muslims and Jews in relation
to Israel. We see it in Sri Lanka with the Tamils. We see it
certainly in the Middle East. We see it with abortion clinic
bombings here.
So the question is why the
appeal to religion? Well, because, people have grievances and
for some of these people, genuinely although distorted, they
do realize there is far more power and legitimacy in an ability
to mobilize- if one can do it--one's doing if one can claim it
in God's will. No matter how charismatic you are as an individual,
you are still an individual. But, if you can claim that this
is God's will, then you obviously both have great certitude in
your life, but also you can bring followers together and attempt
to legitimate your claims.
For example, both of those
who engaged in violence, those who are Jewish and Muslim in Israel/Palestine,
they can enhance what they're doing if they can claim it's not
just a fight over land, but it's a fight for land given to them
or promised to them by God.
ALI: Let's, hypothetically,
grant what you said as truth. However, can't one say, "Listen,
terrorists are everywhere, agreed. But, Islam produces the greatest
and most consistent number. If you don't believe me, Professor
Esposito, just look at the Muslim world! It's in flames!"
ESPOSITO: Absolutely.
ALI: We see terrorists in
Europe, in Latin America, in Asia, yet this overwhelming brand
of suicide bombing and terror networking, if you will, runs rampant
throughout Muslim regions. Isn't this more proof of an inherently
dangerous religion; that something exists within this religion that causes the violence?"
ESPOSITO: I don't think so.
I certainly think there is an indication that there is a "dark
side" within Muslim societies and that dark side uses and
appeals to religion. But, when you base the question on why it's
so widespread, I say look at the nature of so many Muslim societies.
Many of these by the way are secular governments that are authoritarian
and oppressive, etc. If you had, say, 35 Northern Irelands, you'd
say, "My God, look at all these Christians, look at all
these Catholics and Protestants that go at it." If you have
35 Israel and Palestines, you would not only say, "What
is about these Muslims?" you'd also say, "What is it
about these religious Jews?"
The fact is you have lots of
Muslim countries, which for a variety of political and economic
reasons, not all, but many are societies in which levels of injustice
are very high. These become a ground for people to legitimate
acts of wanton violence. If you think before the time of this
resurgence of religion, during the period of Arab nationalism,
socialism, and Marxism , etc., one saw violence in a number of
Muslim countries at that time. The appeal wasn't to religion
to legitimate it; it was to some form of Marxism, socialism,
Arab nationalism, etc. So, what you've got now is " ideologized
religion." This happens when religion becomes a political
ideology to address to major issues of injustice within the religion.
Wajahat Ali is Pakistani Muslim American who is
neither a terrorist nor a saint. He is a playwright, essayist,
humorist, and recent J.D. whose work, "The Domestic Crusaders,"
is the first major play about Muslim Pakistani Americans living
in a post 9-11 America. His blog is at http://goatmilk.wordpress.com/.
He can be reached at wajahatmali@gmail.com
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