Why Marc Lynch Should Hire Me

I recently found out online that there is an opening for an executive associate at POMEPS working for Marc Lynch, someone whose work I admire greatly. Not only is he an incisive commentator on the Middle East, he's also a fellow hip hop fan. So this will work....right?

6/16/2011

Dear Sir or Madam-

When considering the versatility I bring with me as an executive associate at the Project on Middle East Political Science, I am essentially the Wu Tang Clan of executive associates. Additionally, I am an admirer of Professor Marc Lynch’s work on Foreignpolicy.com and would greatly enjoy working with him. Professor Lynch and I share a number of personal parallels, as we both hail from Wisconsin, hold an avid love for hip hop, and follow each other on Twitter, and are specialists in the Middle East. I also exceed the desired qualifications for the position.

• As is reflected in my academic transcripts and accomplishments, I have the intellect of GZA, ‘the Genuis’. Along with publications in important academic journals and books on the history of the Middle East in both Arabic and English, I have also won a number of writing awards for my research.

• I possess the leadership abilities of RZA, which has led to roles in extracurricular academic activities and outstanding organizational skills.

• Like Ghostface, I am a seasoned veteran, though not in the game of hip hop, but in higher academia. My experience includes working as an editorial intern at a research institute in the West Bank and teaching as an adjunct lecturer in Middle East history.

• Similar to Method Man, I possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Method Man can save a weak cipher with an effortless flow, while I excel at handling difficult matters both professional and personal in a calm and relaxed manner.

• Akin to Inspectah Deck, my research experience proves me to be an outstanding inspector of politics and history of the Middle East. And much like his discography, I have collaborated with a number of leading experts on the region.

• Like Masta Killa, I also spit different styles. I speak Modern Standard Arabic at an intermediate level, along with some colloquial Palestinian and Egyptian dialects.

• Due to my experience working in the restaurant industry to financially support myself as an undergraduate student, like Raekwon, I am also a chef. Thus I can provide Professor Lynch with suggestions for restaurants wherever he travels or if running on a tight schedule.

• I have always thought that U-God was essentially the most useless member of the Wu Tang Clan, so I do not share a lot in common with him.

While my qualifications are presented in a creative way here, please do not see this letter as dismissive of the position, nor of my own professionalism and experience. Based on my academic strengths, Arabic language skills, experience living in the Middle East, and knowledge of Middle East politics, history, and culture, I would be a strong asset as an executive associate at POMEPS. I can communicate with colleagues, perform excellent work in editing, while making sure Professor Lynch has heard the newest Nas record. Please take a moment to look over my CV, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Wu Tang Forever.

With Best Wishes,

WestBankMostafa

Zakariyya David

My wife and I welcomed our first child, Zakariyya David into the world a couple days ago, so the blog is on hold for a bit. I may be biased, but I feel with some level of certainty that I have the most beautiful son in the world.

Bombing Attacks Against Copts in Egypt

I feel very certain that there is the strong influence of foreign elements at play in the attacks against Egyptian Copts, which claimed the lives of 21 people in Alexandria this weekend.

A Rotten System

In case you needed an indicator of the current state of partisanship in American politics: If President Obama gracefully praises a public figure's redemption for past sins, the best way to respond is to call for his execution.

(Side note: I've read a couple articles pointing out that Obama is evoking his Christianity more and more in public recently. While the cynical side of me wants to say that he's just trying to counteract the 'secret Muslim' thing, I actually think that there's probably something about the presidency that really pushes a person to find religion in the midst of the job. I'm not being snide at all when I say that the psychological effect of ordering bombs dropped on peoples' heads daily must push people to seek their own redemption, President Obama included)

Dahlan Suspended From Fatah

Muhammad Dahlan was suspended from all political activities by Fatah today. I'm really wondering if there's any truth to the claims of 'political incitement'. I do know that a few men have admitted to being recruited by him, or was Dahlan maybe just hiring some personal security, and is being pushed out by Abbas? Considering Abbas and some members behind the scenes have said Abbas seems tired by the failures of the peace process, I'm thinking the claims are likely true.

Financial Interests Behind Islamophobia

Wikileaks to Release Documents on Israel

I had read some weird theory that Assange had made a deal with the Israelis to withhold documents, and up until now many of the cables that have been released seemed to, on some level, vindicate Israel. But that whole story seemed a little crazy (and conspiracy theory-ish) to me. Turns out, documents dealing with the assassination of Mabhouh in Dubai and the 2006 bombing of Lebanon are coming soon.

Ethan Bronner on Settlements

The NYT reporting on Israel-Palestine has always been terrible. As a prime example, check out this article on settlements by Ethan Bronner, who is supposedly an unbiased reporter despite the fact that his son is currently serving in the Israeli army:

"...if negotiations ever get back on track, there will be thousands more Israeli settlers who will have to relocate into Israel, posing new problems over how to accommodate them while creating a Palestinian state on the land where many of them are living now."

So Bronner is not concerned about the effect settlers/settlements could have on the Palestinians and the possibility of a contiguous state; he is solely concerned for the settlers who may be forced to move back off Palestinian land if a state is formed.

I took this from Badass Muslimahs, but it was too badass not to post here.

"Separate and Unequal"

Human Rights Watch's new report on life for Palestinians in the West Bank, which "calls on the US and EU member states and on businesses with operations in settlement areas to avoid supporting Israeli settlement policies that are inherently discriminatory and that violate international law."

"Palestinians face systematic discrimination merely because of their race, ethnicity, and national origin, depriving them of electricity, water, schools, and access to roads, while nearby Jewish settlers enjoy all of these state-provided benefits," said Carroll Bogert, deputy executive director for external relations at Human Rights Watch. "While Israeli settlements flourish, Palestinians under Israeli control live in a time warp - not just separate, not just unequal, but sometimes even pushed off their lands and out of their homes."

The West Bank is Already Secure

..though it isn't totally necessary for Israeli security and for negotiations to proceed, according to Martin Van Creveld.

"Palestine Must Be Free"

Criticism of Areikat aside, this is a great response to Ya'alon.

"...the conflict between Israel and the Arab and Muslim worlds is the result of Israel's occupation of Palestinian and Arab territory, and the subsequent denial of equality and liberty to the people of our region.

The simple and overriding truth is this: Palestinians must be free. This overriding moral prerogative remains the driving force for every aspect of Palestinian political, social, cultural, and artistic expression. It is why the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was created, and it remains the raison d'etre for every one of our efforts."

The Legacy of Qutb in the Muslim Brotherhood

Good brief article on why and how the Muslim Brotherhood still invokes Sayyid Qutb.

Poll: Palestinians Afraid to Criticize the PA

They had to do a poll to figure this out? Which leads me to ask, in the remote chance that a peace agreement is reached, do we honestly expect the Palestinians to accept a deal brokered by a government many consider to be illegitimate? And Mahmoud Abbas, when did your presidential term expire again? Then again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the heavy-handedness and failure of the PA to hold elections is necessary to reach the more pressing issue of a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel. (Just kidding)

How Do We Define Success?

When a troop surge results in the death and displacement of even more civilians, probably much differently than the Iraqis and Afghanis do.

"The Great Islamophobic Crusade"

Report by Max Blumenthal for CBS that is well worth a read.

"Erupting so many years after the September 11th trauma, this spasm of anti-Muslim bigotry might seem oddly timed and unexpectedly spontaneous. But think again: it’s the fruit of an organized, long-term campaign by a tight confederation of right-wing activists and operatives who first focused on Islamophobia soon after the September 11th attacks, but only attained critical mass during the Obama era. It was then that embittered conservative forces, voted out of power in 2008, sought with remarkable success to leverage cultural resentment into political and partisan gain."

Considering the sheer dis-ingenuousness of the right-wing Park 51 debate, this should come as no surprise that the dramatized fear-mongering and contrived controversies have been for political gain, and will continue to be.

Dahlanist Conspiracy

I am highly anxious to see what will happen if Mohammed Dahlan, former security chief for the PA, tries to topple Abbas. Rumors have been swirling for some time about a rift between them, and it keeps getting better. Dahlan was setting up his own TV station in the West Bank, which Abbas recently shut down, presumably to stop Dahlan from attaining the influence owning a TV station (and his own propaganda outlet) would afford him. And I am really interested to see where the peace process would go under Dahlan. I hope to write a lot more on this later, but I have a lot of stories to catch up on for the time being....

Badass Muslimahs

I am loving this blog: Badass Muslimahs

Palestinians May Look to UN to Stop Settlements

According to Time, "The response to any such diplomatic maneuvering will certainly be a test of Palestinian and Arab confidence in U.S. diplomacy." Hahaha, who told Time the Palestinians had any confidence in US diplomacy left?!? Anyway, have fun with that guys, and enjoy the veto you will receive in return.

Fighting Domestic Terrorism

Or something like that. The FBI program actually comes across as pretty inept when reading these '5 Revelations'. Example:

"Local officials at these fusion centers are tasked with understanding terrorism, but have little or no training. To fill the void, self-styled experts with fairly extreme views on the scope of the Muslim terrorist threat are asked to come in and train local authorities, the Post reports. Professed ex-terrorist Walid Shoebat told a group at the first annual South Dakota Fusion Center Conference in Sioux Falls this year that they should monitor local Muslim student groups and mosques and try to tap their phones. "You can find out a lot of information that way," he said."

I took a class on counter-terrorism tactics with a neo-conservative professor a few years ago, and while I disagreed with nearly all of his political stances, I found myself agreeing with him on how to fight terrorism. He had a very pragmatic view and understood that terrorism is something to be handled, investigated, and prosecuted as a legal issue, much like Bill Clinton did as president. Unfortunately, George W. Bush did precisely what al-Qaeda wanted us to: get drawn in and bogged down in wars in the Middle East. Some day we will learn that you cannot bomb the ideas out of people, and violence only reinforces and spreads their ideology. Also, good luck trying to find terrorism in local mosques guys. Hope you enjoy being bored to death by speeches and khutbas on peace, tolerance, and coexistence, because that's all you're going to hear, unless you can entrap another 19 year old friendless moron.

Iraqi Writers Protest Against Alcohol Ban

I don't drink alcohol, but I know plenty of people who use alcohol as a 'writer's lubricant', and so I thought it was funny (and awesome) to see a bunch of Iraqi writers protesting an alcohol ban. Some of my favorite writing on Palestine involves the writers' clubs and coffee houses in the early 1900's (see the book "Mountain Against the Sea" by Salim Tamari), and I have an historical affinity for writers in the Arab coffee houses, so I would really like to hang out with these guys.

Sunset in Birzeit, Palestine, June 2009

Wikileaks on Israel-Palestine

I agree with the idea of linkages of the occupation of Palestine to larger regional issues in the Middle East, mainly the idea that the occupation hinders the ability of the US to broker peace in the region because "Al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support" and it "gives Iran influence in the Arab world through its clients..." According to this FP piece, those that agree are right in making that assessment, despite the fact that "many Israel hawks have been quick to claim vindication" based what wikileaks has revealed about Israel-Palestine and how it affect relations in the wider region. But according to Matthew Duss, they are ignoring the evidence, namely these tidbits:

-"Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman (said), "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains the core issue; Suleiman contended a peaceful resolution would be a ‘big blow' to terrorist organizations that use the conflict as a pretext. For this reason, President Mubarak is committed to ending the Israeli-Arab ‘stalemate.'"

-"Dubai's ruler Mohamed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, told U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns that a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians would be "the best thing" for the region, and would make radical groups like Hamas "everyone's enemy."

-"A cable from an April 2009 meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Amman reports, "While Jordanian officials doubt dialogue with the U.S. will convince Iran to withdraw its ‘tentacles,' they believe they can be severed if Iran is deprived of hot-button issues that make it a hero to many on the Arab street, such as its championing of the Palestinian cause."

-(Lebanese Prime Minister) "Siniora said that Lebanon was encouraged by and supportive of President Obama's commitment to achieving a comprehensive Middle East Peace." Siniora "said the U.S. administration's recognition of the centrality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was an opportunity to push the Arab Peace Initiative forward and to finally achieve a resolution."

-"In a February 2010 meeting between Sen. John Kerry and the Emir of Qatar, "Senator Kerry asked the Emir how the U.S. goes about changing its reputation. The Emir said first and foremost the U.S. must do everything in its power to find a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

While I do take issues with each of these leaders on a number of issues and I also doubt just how deep their concerns for Palestinians actually run, at the very least the leaked cable show that concerns are expressed over the occupation behind closed doors. Check out the full article by Duss here.

Gamal Mubarak

Here is a leaked US diplomatic cable on Gamal Mubarak and the possibility of his taking the presidency after his father, and idea that is "deeply unpopular on the street." Once again, the US' rhetoric on the lack of transparency and democracy in Egypt is publicly labeled "disturbing," while cables like this provide a much more realistic evaluation.

Time Magazine's Person of the Year

Mark Zuckerberg was chosen over Julian Assange for Time's Person of the Year. What a bunch of crap. Like Blake Hounshell says, what's so 2010 about Facebook? Unless you work for Time Magazine, in which case you're 64 years old and just heard of Facebook.

The Rebirth of McCarthyism, Islamophobe Style

House Congressional Republicans are getting ready to have hearings on whether 'Muslim spies' infiltrated the US government because an organization called CAIR placed interns in key positions in the judiciary and congress. This is hilarious, because CAIR is basically an American Muslim civil rights and outreach group. They are the most peaceful, pro-American advocacy group I've ever seen, and people I know very well work for them. They are not 'spying' on America or trying to Islamicize it, they're trying to make sure Muslim civil rights are protected. But this is the age of Islamophobia we live in.

Obvious Much?

"The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) claimed to have uncovered two Israeli spy cameras placed in the mountains overlooking Beirut. And how did it know that the devices belong to Israel? Well, one of them had the word "Israel" written in English on its side."

This is so funny, I almost didn't believe it when I first read it.

"IRAN: NINJA BLACK BELT MASTER DETAILS USE OF MARTIAL ARTS CLUBS FOR REPRESSION"

Yes, that's the actual title of US cable in Iran. Apparently Ahmadinejad is keen on having a ninja army to suppress political demonstrations. And I thought the SAVAK was bad.

US Duplicity or Clumsy Diplomacy?

This excellent analysis of some key US cables on Iraq released by wikileaks is by far the most interesting thing I've read all week. Based on all the narratives I've read thus far, the US was double-dealing in Iraq and essentially baited Saddam into the first Gulf War. Don't believe everything you read....unless it's a leaked cable. Turns out, "Saddam Hussein undoubtedly deceived the US ambassador, albeit also to his own detriment. But she didn't make it particularly difficult for him." Whether you support wikileaks or not, it is undeniable that the glimpses they provide into the world of international diplomacy is absolutely fascinating.

It's Not a Conspiracy, But...

A number of years back, I would have posted this story and said "Look! It's a conspiracy against Julian Assange! They want control us all!.......Man!!!!!" But I don't want to be that guy, and I'm not that guy anymore. Yes, Julian Assange is being both prosecuted and persecuted for what he's doing. But no, it's not some sort of conspiracy against him. He's a high profile suspect, he's done a lot of things to piss off a lot of important people, and so he's going to get handled differently. We certainly have no idea is he committed sexual assault or not, and it's not really relevant.

Shameful.

Some of the Palestinian firemen who fought Carmel fire in Israel were denied entry into Israel to attend a ceremony held in their honor. A comment isn't even needed here, the story speaks for itself.

I do want to say this: Palestinian firemen have the coolest uniforms I have ever seen in my life, and unfortunately there aren't any decent pictures of them if you google "Palestinian firemen." What do they wear, you ask? Purple camouflage. I always wanted to take a picture with some of them, but I would feel like an ass doing that. A Pali friend of mine and I even shopped for a few days in Ramallah looking for the uniforms, to no avail. Then again, who the hell is going to wear purple camo in public, besides firemen in Palestine? Not me. It would still be cool to have though. One of last days in Palestine I was eating pizza at al-Sultan, which literally has the best pizza I've ever had in my life, with some friends and looked across the valley to see firetrucks in front of our apartment. We thought our building was burning down. It was just a grass fire that the neighbors started. But the family we shared the building with stood outside, talked smack, and looked at the neighbors who started the grass fire like they had committed a mortal sin. While the pervasive gossip in the Arab world can get excessive, it can be really entertaining sometimes.

Settlements are OK, but Wikileaks is Evil

Or at least that's what Mastercard, Visa, and Paypal think:


"Visa, Mastercard and PayPal all enable donations to be made to US-registered groups funding illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank in defiance of international law.

It appears at least one of the major credit cards also enables donations to an extremist Jewish group that has placed a bounty on the lives of Palestinians.

All three have in the last week ceased enabling donations to WikiLeaks. Neither Mastercard nor Visa have explained the basis for their decision to do so. PayPal has backed away from its initial claim that the US State Department told PayPal WikiLeaks had broken the law after the claim was discredited. This is the third occasion on which PayPal has suspended payment services for WikiLeaks."

This isn't exactly meant to be a political statement by me, it's just meant to evoke a little thought.

Saudi Media

The sheer stupidity of the Saudi media, when it is not being muzzled by the monarchy, never fails to amaze me.

Lesson Learned

Here's my lesson learned from last weekend: If you're going to go on twitter and call a very well-known writer, thinker, journalist, and member of the American Task Force on Palestine "a prick," check to make sure he doesn't follow your twitter page. Otherwise, he might respond and you'll feel like an idiot for talking shit about someone who is all likelihood,much smarter than you. Soooooooo.....I have an apology to make.

Streamlining My Blogging

I've found that I post a lot of things on facebook, that I don't put on twitter, that I don't put on here, and every other combination of such. I'm going to sync my blog, fb, and twitter as soon as I have time......which is not today.

"Lieberman is the Problem"

Yes, indeed, he is a huge problem, and even beyond the context of the 'Middle East peace process', if you can even call it that anymore. Here he is called "intensely nationalistic." Come on, now. "Intensely nationalistic"? I remember a couple years ago a bunch of young Israeli college students were chanting "Death to Arabs!" at one of his political rallies, which is actually quite representative of his policies. Let us be honest, the man is a fascist. For proof, check out his proposals on a 'population exchange' in Israel-Palestine. Sound familiar? *ahem* I'm lookin' at you, Turkish Armenian genocide.

On Wikileaks and Why It Matters

Excellent piece on the importance of wikileaks. While no one in America really bats an eyelash at the revelation that the US has been using drones to conduct a secret war in Yemen that has cost untold numbers of civilian deaths (partly because most Americans don't know where Yemen is), the revelations on continued American diplomatic duplicity may tug at some ears. Here's a key quote:

"So yes, it may well be true -- and it would be a relief to know it -- that U.S. diplomats no longer routinely engage in epic lying, deceit, and criminality, as perhaps they did during the Cold War. But the war on terror has its own diplomatic exigencies, and the WikiLeaks cables remind us of the extraordinary demands that American officials now make of U.S. allies. Those allies accommodate American demands out of self-interest, of course: Cables printed by the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, but not yet released by WikiLeaks, disclose that in 2008 Lebanon asked to have American spy planes conduct surveillance of Hezbollah at a time when the Shiite group threatened to overrun the state. But the Lebanese people would have been shocked to hear of Operation Cedar Sweep, as it was picturesquely known, and the revelation has already produced an outcry."

Ha. An outcry in Lebanon, mind you. Here is the article "The Sunshine Policy."

This is How the Terrorists Win

Jordanian-Palestinian Soccer Clashes

Clashes erupted at a soccer game in Jordan as the Palestinian Widhat beat the Jordanian al-Faisali team. (Footage of the clashes here) This isn't just an average soccer fight, it's a boiling over of tensions between displaced Palestinians and Jordanians that's been going on for decades. As my good Palestinian friend summarized this morning: "It's not like we want to be there."

College Instructor Strips in Class

It's called academic freedom.

US May be Preparing to Bring Charges Against Assange

This is a slippery slope for the US government. What about other major leaks like the Pentagon Papers, or the Watergate scandal? By the current standards the Obama Administration is using, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, and Daniel Ellsberg should all be in prison. And their reporting, with 'leaked' material, created some of the most pivotal moments in American history that defines the nature of the country itself. And what about the first amendment?

Did you know....

that Israel bombed Gaza again last night? Of course not. And now the only power plant functioning in Gaza can produce only about half of what it was before:

"Engineer Darar Abu Sisi, director of operations for the Gaza plant, told The Electronic Intifada that at 2:47am an Israeli air attack on a Hamas site near the power plant scattered rocks and debris into the air. A rock crashed into the a current transformer and voltage transformer in a substation, causing the unit to shut down.

The damage forced the plant to reduce production from its usual 65 megawatts daily to about 35 megawatts, Abu Sisi said, far short of current needs. Unless the damage is repaired it may lead to even longer outages than the power cuts people in Gaza already live with."

I am thankful every single day that I don't experience what the people of Gaza experience.

"That's the Devil's temperature!"

I was talking to one of my former undergraduate academic advisors today and we got on the subject of premillennial dispensationalism and fundamentalist Christian beliefs on Israel-Palestine. He told me he has a good friend who works at Brigham Young University, and that as part of the teaching job he has to lead a study abroad program in the 'Holy Land', the core of the curriculum being to prove that Israel is fulfilling God's promise and the prophecies on the End of Days. As if that wasn't bat shit crazy enough, apparently as a professor there you are expected to abide by their strict moral code, which stipulates that you cannot drink warm beverages. I shit you not. I instantly thought of Kenneth Parcell from 30 Rock when he said he's never had coffee because "That's the Devil's temperature." I had no idea that joke was based on something real.

Another Walt Piece, "On American Exceptionalism"

Great, short write up by Steven Walt-- a realist take on American exceptionalism. Wish I would have had this when I was talking about Iranian nuclear policy to my class not too long ago.

The Myth of the 'Arab Lobby'

A familiar pro-Israel line is that of the mythical "Arab Lobby." Lately it's been mentioned by Jeffery Goldberg, perhaps the most ill-informed, stupid, and reviled reporters put there. Steven Walt put out a good response today in his FP blog. Everyone is obviously aware of the power of the Israel Lobby, which Walt and his colleague John Mearsheimer (who is speaking at the school I teach at soon) expose in their excellent book. Although, I did take issue with their own work in my thesis, as I think they are far too quick to write off the American evangelical as useful idiots. On the contrary, their political power involves 30 million American voters and all kinds of crazy.

Why the US-Israel Settlement Deal Fell Apart

Good reporting here.
(Special note to my students: If you guys remember, Josh Rogin was the CentCom spokesman in the movie "Control Room" we watched in class. As you might also remember, he left the military to work for al-Jazeera)

My New Article in Jerusalem Quarterly

Download the pdf of my new article in Jerusalem Quarterly here (in Arabic-- English version will be released soon)

Just the Beginning...

Speaking as an internet nerd, I can tell you that this is most likely just the beginning of the revenge that will be taken out on groups that turned their back on wikileaks.