US-Arab Encounters

Study Questions

 

September 6

 

Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?” and Lewis, “The Roots of Muslim Rage”

 

1)      How compelling do you find Huntington’s list of “seven or eight main civilizations”?

2)      According to Huntington, how does the “kin-country syndrome” threaten world peace?

3)      According to Lewis, what are the roots of Muslim rage?

4)      Why, according to Lewis, is the US rather than Russia the target of that rage?

5)      To what degree do you think that the events of September 11th prove Lewis correct?

6)      To what degree does Lewis’ article lend support to Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” thesis?

 

 

September 8

 

Buruma, “The Two Minds of Bernard Lewis” and Catherwood, “Why Nations Rage”

 

1)      According to Buruma, what role has Lewis played in recent US-Middle East relations?

2)      To what degree does Catherwood regard the events of September 11th as evidence for the “clash of civilizations” thesis?

3)      According to Catherwood, how does the Sunni-Shia split within Islam complicate Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” thesis?

4)      Overall, do you find the “clash of civilizations” thesis compelling, and if not, what do you think the real threat to stability will be in the 21st century?

 

 

September 13

 

Little, Introduction & Chapter 4 and Gerges, “America and Political Islam”

NOTE: “Foggy Bottom” is the nickname of  the U.S. State department’s Washington DC headquarters, and by extension, the U.S. State department as a whole.

 

1)      According to Little, what is the common thread between the various U.S. “doctrines”, from the 19th through the 20th century?

2)      To what degree was the Eisenhower Doctrine a departure from previous U.S. doctrines?

3)      What were the historical roots of the “two pillars” policy of the 1960’s?

4)      According to Little, what were the negative consequences of the U.S. “fixation with combating the Soviet threat” (p. 155)?

5)      According to Gerges, what accounts for the U.S.’s “preoccupation” with political Islam?

6)      Given events since September 11th, 2001, to what degree do you think that the “Confrontationalists” have assumed control over U.S. foreign policy?

7)      How similar (or different) are Gerges’ and Little’s beliefs about the role played by the Cold War in defining contemporary US-Arab relations?

 

 

September 15

 

Telhami, Preface & Chapter 2 and Brown, “The Shot Seen Around the World”

 

1)      According to Telhami, what are the most important sources of Arab/Moslem resentment against the United States?

2)      Based on this reading, would you describe Telhami as an “accommodationist” or a “confrontationalist,” as those terms are used by Gerges?

3)      According to Telhami, why are conspiracy theories so prevalent in the Arabic and Moslem world?

4)      Two what degree, according to Brown, did Arabs blame U.S. policies for the September 11 attacks?

5)      To what degree, according to Brown, were U.S. values to blame for the September 11 attacks?

 

 

September 20

 

 

Little, Chapter 1 and Pipes and Stillman, “The United States Government: Patron of Islam?” (MERIA)

 

 

1)      According to Little, how important were political motives to Orientalist ideals?

2)      How important, according to Little, was the media in spreading Orientalist ideals?

3)      How compelling do you find John Esposito’s argument about the “threat vacuum” (p. 36)?

4)      To what degree do you agree with Little’s contention that “xenophobia came naturally to most citizens of the United States” (p. 41)?

5)      According to Pipes and Stillman, to what degree has U.S. policy towards Islam been different from that of other nations, such as Napoleon and Mussolini?

6)      What sort of unspoken assumptions do Pipes and Stillman make about the “message” of Islam?

7)      Based on your reading, how do you think that Pipes and Stillman would probably respond to Little’s contention that Arabs are the only ethnic group that can be portrayed negatively in the U.S. media?

 

 

September 22

 

Telhami, Chapter 1 and Taillandier, “Middle-East Connected Anti-American Terror Attacks”

 

1)      According to Telhami, what differences of opinion exist between the U.S. and the global community concerning the definition of terrorism?

2)      According to Telhami, what are the dangers of treating terrorism as if it is an ideology?

3)      In Telhami’s view, what role has religion played in creating Arab terrorism?

4)      According to Telhami, what are the ultimate roots of Arab terrorism?

5)      How, according to Telhami, can terrorism be defeated?

6)      To what degree do you think that Telhami is a political realist?

1)      Does the Taillandier document support the view of Telhami and other “accommodationists” that anti-American terrorism has risen sharply in recent years, or does it support the “confrontationalist” view of deep-rooted and constant hatred of the U.S.?

2)      Based on the Taillandier document does, the September 11th attack look like a logical extension of previous attacks on Americans, or is it a departure from the norm before 9/11?

 

 

September 27

 

Rubin, “The Truth about U.S. Middle East Policy” and Abdallah, “Causes of Anti-Americanism in the Arab World”

 

1)      According to Rubin, how does anti-U.S. sentiment strengthen Islamist political movements?

2)      How persuasive do you find Rubin’s argument that most U.S. policy initiatives have been essentially pro-Arab and pro-Muslim?

3)      To what degree have recent events undermined Rubin’s contention that the U.S. pursues a “minimalist” foreign policy?

4)      What does Rubin mean when he quips, “it would be more accurate to say that where there’s smoke, there are arsonists at work”?

5)      What, according to Rubin, has been the “biggest mistake of all” in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy (p. 21)?

6)      According to Abdallah, what are the roots of Arab anti-U.S. sentiments?

7)      To what extent does Abdallah agree with Rubin’s contention that Anti-U.S. sentiment has been manipulated by Arab actors?

8)      To what extent does this article represent a challenge to the “confrontationalist” thesis, as described by Gerges?

 

 

September 29

 

1)      Based on your class readings, as well as the views presented during the Doha debate, how would you respond to the statement under contention:  “This House Believes that the War on Terror has Become a War Against Islam”?

2)      Do you think that any of the presenters’ views were compromised by strong political motives or biases? Defend your answer.

 

 

October 6

 

Telhami, Ch. 4 and Schulze, pp. 1-22, 33-41

 

1)      According to Telhami, why do leaders like Osama bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein try to link their causes with that of Palestine?

2)      Based on Telhami chapter 4, to what extent has the Israel/Palestine issue harmed American foreign policy initiatives?

3)      According to Telhami, how important is the feeling of weakness on both sides in perpetuating the Arab/Israeli crisis?

4)      Why do many Arabs blame the United States for the plight of the Palestinians?

5)      According to Schulze, how important was religion in the development of Zionism and Arab Nationalism?

6)      How important were Britain’s actions and declarations in laying the groundwork for the later Palestinian/Israeli conflict?

7)      On the whole, did Arab governments improve or exacerbate the plight of the Palestinians, to 1973?

 

 

October 11

 

Quandt, 1-20 and Speigal, 1-3, 386-390

 

1)      Whose argument- Little or Speigal- do you find more compelling concerning the influence of the American Jewish voter and the pro-Israel lobby (AIPAC) on American foreign policy?

2)       Based on your reading of Quandt, how important is the influence of the AIPAC and the Jewish voter on US foreign policy?

3)       Do you agree with Quandt’s argument that oil and Israel are the two enduring US national interests in the Middle East, or do you think other US interests in the region are equally or more important?

4)       Consider Quandt’s four alternative models of US policymaking in light of Little’s account of US Middle East policy and the special US-Israeli relationship: to what degree does Little’s account confirm or contradict Quandt’s model?

 

 

October 18

 

Quandt, 379-396; Schulze, 52-60, 82-96

 

1)      What differences exist between Quandt and Schulze’s accounts concerning the Camp David peace accords?

2)      Based on these readings, do you think that the United States has been or ever can be an effective mediator between Israel and the Palestinians?

3)      To what degree has the United States’ efforts to solve the Palestinian-Israeli crisis been proportional to the importance of the crisis to American national interests?

 

(Please also read the study questions in Opposing Viewpoints, p. 96 and p. 104; you may write a short essay on one of those questions if you have enough to say on the topic)

 

 

October 20

 

1)      Based on your class readings, as well as the views presented during the Doha debate, how would you respond to the statement under contention:  “This House Believes that the Middle East Road Map for Peace is Dead”?

2)      Do you think that any of the presenters’ views were compromised by strong political motives or biases? Defend your answer.

 

 

November 8

 

No new material, but you might want to get a jump on the November 10th-17th readings

 

 

November 10

 

Please read the study questions in Opposing Viewpoints, p. 129 and p. 134; you may write a short essay on one of those questions if you have enough to say on the topic

 

 

Little, Chapter 2

 

1)      According to Little, how did the relationship between the U.S. government and U.S. Petroleum companies change over time?

2)      To what degree did the need for oil influence U.S. policy in the Middle East?

3)      To what degree does Little argue that the first Gulf War was about oil, based on chapter 2?

 

 

November 15

 

Little, Chapter 7 and Epilogue

 

1)      According to Little, how did the U.S. experience in the “Blue Bat” operation influence the decisions of U.S. planners for the Vietnam war?

2)      How did the U.S. experience in Vietnam influence American decision-making during the various Middle East crises of the 1970’s?

3)      Why does Little suggest that Reagan’s intervention in Lebanon during the 1980’s was “cautionary tale” (p. 248)?

4)      Based on the information in Little, why do you think that Bush Sr. made the decision to go to war with Iraq over Kuwait?

5)      According to Little, what were George W. Bush’s motives in seeking to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussain?

6)      Based on your readings in Little, how does the present Iraq War differ from more successful American armed interventions in the Middle East since 1950?

7)      To what degree does Little argue that the current Gulf War is about oil, based on the Epilogue?

 

Telhami, Chapter 5

 

1)      To what degree do Little and Telhami disagree about the role played by oil in the first Gulf War?

2)      According to Telhami, what is the link between the U.S. policy of “dual containment” and George W. Bush’s denunciation of the “Axis of Evil”?

3)      Do you agree with Telhami that oil wealth hurts rather than helps the development of Democracy in the Arab world?

 

November 17

 

Pollack, “Anti-Americanism in Contemporary Saudi Arabia” and Al-Khater, “Thinking about Arab-American Relations”

 

1)      According to Pollack, what are the underlying reasons for anti-Americanism in Saudi Arabia?

2)      Do you think Pollack’s article justifies the “confrontationalist” or the “accommodationist” view of Islam, as described by Gerges?

3)      If Pollack’s observations are correct, are there any steps that the US can reasonably take to reduce its unpopularity in Saudi Arabia?

1)      According to al-Khater, who is to blame for most of the problems in the Arab world?

2)      Why does al-Khater feel that the American presence in Qatar and Kuwait is a “Win-Win” situation?

3)      How do you explain the stark difference between al-Khater’s favorable view of America and the prevailing Saudi opinions described by Pollack?

 

November 22

 

1)      Based on your class readings, as well as the views presented during the Doha debate, how would you respond to the statement under contention:  “This House Believes that Iraq’s Neighbors have No Wish to See a Democratic Iraq”?

2)      Do you think that any of the presenters’ views were compromised by strong political motives or biases? Defend your answer.

                    

 

November 29

 

Kazemi and Norton, “Middle East Political Reform”

 

1)      What do Kazemi and Norton mean when they note that democracy is “an experimental process” (p. 89)?

2)      According to Kazemi and Norton, how has the oil, mineral, and foreign aid wealth of the Middle East stifled democracy?

3)      Do you agree with Kazemi and Norton’s limited optimism about the future of political reform in the Middle East?

 

(Please also read the study questions in Opposing Viewpoints, p. 108 and p. 119; you may write a short essay on one of those questions if you have enough to say on the topic)

 

December 1

 

Sadiki, "To Export or Not to Export Democracy to the Arab World: The Islamist Perspective"

 

1)      According to Sadiki, why have Western attempts to bring democracy to the Arab Middle East proved nonproductive?

2)      What does Sadiki suggest is the relationship between technological dominance and cultural dominance?

3)      Based on this reading, to what degree would democracy as practiced by Islamists differ from western democracy?

 

(Please also read the study questions in Opposing Viewpoints, p. 60 and p. 66; you may write a short essay on one of those questions if you have enough to say on the topic)

 

 

December 6

 

1)      Based on your class readings, as well as the views presented during the Doha debate, how would you respond to the statement under contention:  “This House Believes that George W. Bush has Kicked Open the Door to Democracy in the Middle East”?

2)      Do you think that any of the presenters’ views were compromised by strong political motives or biases? Defend your answer.

 

December 8

 

To be determined