I've resisted creating a blog for quite a while. I once created a Live Journal blog as part of an International Relations of the Middle East course that I teach, but never did much with it beyond giving the instructions for a project I had assigned to the class.I've also been invited to write for other people's blogs, but only did so once--I was shocked by the nastiness, negativity and sheer obtuseness of some of the respondents.
So why here? Why now? Barack Obama's campaign for president means alot to me. I've watched in horror as this country has plunged into one ideology-driven war, and I see it being catapulted into another. I hope, and honestly believe, that if anyone can get us out of the quagmire, it's Barack Obama. I'd like to do more to help him get elected. I've volunteered numerous times on the website, but nothing in keeping with what I'd like to do, and am capable of contributing, has ever materialized. So I am creating my own forum for sharing my thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.
I have a PhD in International Relations, specializing in the Middle East, and find myself frustrated with the way the questions concerning Middle East foreign policy are formulated and framed. If the questions are poorly structured and incorrectly focused, the answers can't really contribute anything serious or positive to a solution to the problems those questions purport to address.
In this blog, I plan to "connect the dots" between the news stories as they are being reported and what's being left out of the picture when questions are directed to--and answered by--the presidential candidates. Much of the focus, although not all, will be directed toward issues related to the Middle East. Next post will most likely be entitled "Middle East Oil: Myths and Realities."
Stay tuned!
