• About
  • Rent College Pads
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
Search
News
Opinions
Sports
Classifieds
Comics
BMA
Events
Subscribe

Donate

Eastern Echo

Saturday, January 23, 2021 Print Edition

Subscribe

  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Comics
  • Profiles
  • Podcast
  • BMA
  • Events
  • Classifieds
  • Search
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Comics
  • Profiles
  • Podcast
  • BMA
  • Events
  • Classifieds
Search

Subscribe to the Echo

Donate to The Echo

You can support the Echo by donating through the EMU Foundation and selecting to apply your gift to a specific fund. Any of the funds listed below will provide support to the Echo.

01049 -- EMU Echo Editor Endowed Scholarship:  Provides financial support for the current EMU Echo Editor.

02414 -- Scott Stephenson Eastern Echo Scholarship:  This expendable scholarship is for the benefit of student(s) in the School of Communication, Media & Theater Arts in the College of Arts & Sciences.  It will be awarded to a full or part-time junior or senior EMU student majoring in journalism and working for the Eastern Echo.  The student should be working to self-finance their education and not be eligible for need-based grants.

00825 -- Student Media Development:  Provides support for the Student Media program.

Thank you for supporting the Echo and EMU Student Media.

Give Now


12/6/2009, 9:01pm

U-M Professor talks of Middle East

By David Paulk
U-M Professor talks of Middle East
Robert Bunnell and Robert Bunnell
Professor Juan Cole came to EMU on Thursday to talk about the U.S. policy in the Middle East and how it relates to Muslim culture.

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print

Professor Juan R. Cole of the University of Michigan’s History department addressed the situation in the Middle East on Thursday evening in the Student Center, discussing American policy and its relation to Muslim culture in the U.S.

He started the evening by discussing the initial campaign promises of President Barack Obama, which had focused on the withdrawal of American troops from the region.

“Opinion polls showed it was the number one issue for the Arab public,” said Cole. “They were opposed to the U.S. presence in Iraq which they saw, generally speaking, as a military occupation and they wanted to end it.”
This was a reality the Bush administration was slow to grasp.

According to Cole, the Bush administration had felt they were being forced into setting a timetable for troop withdrawal, and had resisted pressure to do so.

This worked to earn Obama critical voter support during the election, given his campaign focus on ending the military presence in Iraq.

“I wouldn’t rule out that Obama might succeed.” However, he did have words for President Obama’s plan to push out the Taliban in Afghanistan. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”

On the subject of the territorial conflict between Israel and Palestine, Dr. Cole does not forsee a resolution in the near future.

“The possibility of a Palestinian state is quickly slipping away, as Gaza remains under Israeli blockade and Israeli settlements spread in the West Bank,” he said.

“The Palestinians have been divided among themselves by the Israelis and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, says he cannot get an agreement from Israelis to free settlements,” Cole said.

According to Cole, the Israelis have tried to appease the Palestinian people, but their efforts have unsuccessful.

“A settlement freeze that does not include Jerusalem is not a settlement freeze. So the Palestinians have declined to come to the negotiating table,” he said.

“It’s a long term problem that’s been there for decades now,” Cole said.

Moving then to the growing tension regarding Iranian nuclear experimentation, Cole said if the Iranians were building an atomic bomb, the Americans would know about it.

“There isn’t any evidence that Iran will build an atomic bomb. You cannot make a bomb if you’re being inspected.”

Dr. Cole commented he would only begin worrying when Iran stops allowing inspectors in, and there is a surge in electricity use, or other indicators of bomb-building activities. If Iran were to build a nuclear bomb, already unstable relations with the U.S. would be seriously damaged.

In Dr. Cole’s view, the reasons why many in the Middle East dislike Americans are inaccurately represented in the media. “They tend to hate America over its policy issues,” he said.

The perception that people from the Middle East hate Americans for their lifestyle choices is incorrect.

“This is bizarre, from my point of view,” he said, in criticism of many common prejudices against people of the Muslim faith.

“The Muslim world is the new Soviet Union,” said Cole, comparing contemporary ignorance-based fear to the Red Scare of the previous century.

“I can’t find the ‘it’ that you are all supposed to be afraid of,” he said.

The world is going to “need petroleum for a very long time,” despite global plans to develop renewable sources of energy.

“We need petroleum, as much as we hate it. It surrounds you, it supports you, and it is your life,” Cole said

Dr. Cole felt most of the people in the Middle East want amiable relations with the United States, despite historical conflict between Christians and Muslims. “The Middle East doesn’t remember the crusades as wonderfully as we do,” he said. “Richard the Lionhearted really was not a nice guy.”

Share



Related Stories

Yamiche Alcindor, White House Correspondent for PBS NewsHour spoke about troubling current events and how people can overcome them during the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration (Screenshot from Eastern Michigan University's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration).

Yamiche Alcindor Speaks at the 2021 MLK Keynote Speaker Event

By Emma Henri

Eastern Michigan University College of Business. (Eastern Michigan University)

Eastern Michigan University students launch job search website to fill roles at small businesses in the Ypsilanti and the Downriver community

By Dan D'Introno

A screenshot from the “'We the People Speak: No Justice, No Peace' Presented by the EMU CloseUp Theatre Troupe” video found on EMU's YouTube channel.

CloseUp Theatre Troupe Performs “We the People Speak: No Justice, No Peace”

By Emma Henri


The Eastern Echo welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.


Most Popular


1/18/2021, 2:40pm

Ypsilanti house shooting occurs south of campus; no injuries reported

By Tyler Gaw

The Eastern Michigan Police sent out an email to all students and staff Sunday afternoon about a shooting that occurred just south of campus on the 200 block of Normal Street. No injuries have been reported.


1/17/2021, 8:54pm

Washtenaw County Prosecutor will no longer charge cases related to marijuana, shrooms, and various psychedelics


1/17/2021, 8:59pm

COVID-19 vaccine distribution concerns arise as new phase begins


1/20/2021, 1:08pm

Eastern Michigan University students launch job search website to fill roles at small businesses in the Ypsilanti and the Downriver community


Podcast


Last Updated 5 hours ago

The Factory Report: Volleyball is back!


1/21/2021, 2:55pm

Podcast: January 20, 2020


1/17/2021, 9:00pm

The Road to the Mac Tournament For EMU Men’s and Women’s Basketball


1/14/2021, 7:11pm

Documentary features EMU student artists' experiences amidst COVID-19 pandemic


Tweets by TheEasternEcho
Eastern Michigan Echo To Homepage
  • About
  • Jobs
  • Freelance
  • Submissions
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Distribution

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2021 The Eastern Echo

Powered by Solutions by The State News.