Charlie Rose

LearnedHand  03/05/2011 03:21 AM Report

In response to Worldwatcher's comment, I'm surprised that the slurs against Fouad Ajami met the decency standards of this forum, and will simply say that Fouad Ajami is disproportionately modest for his poetic prose and wisdom on Arab culture.

The comment also claims that it is a rare "perq [sic]" for anti-war voices to be invited onto the show. Just scrolling through the names of the last couple of weeks, are these all rare exceptions, too? Anthony Shahid, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Malley, Mark Halperin, Gwen Ifill, Jon Meacham, Lynn Sweet, Kenneth Roth, Susan Rice, and Taoufik Ben Amor?

It is strange that the commentor claims to be well-versed on Ajami's personality, yet only "probably" knows what Ajami's take on Mubarak has been for the last three decades, and guesses wrong at that. In fact, Ajami supported the war against Saddam Hussein precisely because he knew the disruption of a status quo of Sunni hegemony would terrify Arab despots like Mubarak. Indeed, Qadafi presented his weapons arsenal to President Bush shortly after the invasion, and Assad saw fit to end his imperial army's oppressive presence in Lebanon. And indeed, time has caught up to Mubarak.

One more thought: if the US had not overthown Saddam Hussein, and the Arab uprisings were happening today, do we really think that the Iraqi people (if they had not already risen up) would stay silent? And do we think Saddam would not have used his weapons arsenal, helicopters, and sadistic Republican Guard against them with far more barbarity and success than Qadafi in Libya currently? And what would Iraqis then make of us saying we support there revolt, after we spend the last two decades continuing deadly sanctions on them, off of which French, British, and Russian politicians were pleasantly profiting?

worldwatcher  02/02/2011 04:46 AM Report

As USUAL, Fouad Ajami didn't contribute much except his EGO.

And remember, he was and is, otherwise, a, 'LET'S GO GET 'EM!', ever-loyal anti-Arab Arab-American academic LACKEY/SUCK-UP - the *special* Arab - the *good* A-rab - the Arab neocon - in service to U.S. and Israeli militarism and imperialism. The words "Arab people's _SELLOUT_" comes immediately to mind, as the briefest discription. Or, "the Arab 'Tonto'" -- like Fareed Zacharia (the *special* South Asian), in his own way, subsequently aspired to, once he too (who, for example, was previously, but *not anymore*, quite critical of Israel) then saw the system of U.S. political and establisment rewards. Besides financially, handsomely rewarded, high establishment employment, and gobs of subsidiary money, in all sorts of forms for those 'services rendered', coming their way, they get to be on TV all the time! - great for people with huge egos, that *love* to be constantly stroked, in the first place!

(Can you imagine the kind of glassy-eyed, celebrity-mongering, formally 'educated' idiots, 'the best & the brightest', young university students that just salivate to take Ajami's classes at Johns Hopkins!? - and to imagine that one day some of those very students will be, in part, advising or, perhaps, even directly guiding U.S. foreign policy? We'll be in a whole other 'Vietnam-syle', mess again! - and nobody benefiting except the U.S. military-industrial complex - but with many, many thousands of another swarthy-skin people to die, and MILLIONS upon MILLSIONS suffering at U.S./Israeli, or other U.S.-supported brutal dicators', hands.)

I guess that, for Ajami, thus getting to be on The Charlie Rose Show is a perq even when he has nothing to substantively add, except constantly, boisterously and boorishly interrupting (that's his tactic when he's intellectually cornered) anti-war voices (those rare ones that Charlie ever invited), and especially such women guests, on the show. Ajami has been an extreme pro-war hawk against Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and, of course, heavy sabre-rattler or military attack backer against Iran - no matter how many, many, many thousands of innocent people must horribly die (burned to death with U.S. phosphorus bombs or shredded with cluster bombs), be grievously maimed, or made abject refugees. This so, unless things really start looking bad for the U.S., and then [his moistened index finger always raised to the wind] he pretends he was always on the side of giving *opposing* cautions and warnings.

I bet that - *before* the Egyptian people's HUGE pro-democarcy uprising [pending great success at ousting Mubarak] - Ajami was probably a strong supporter, or at least very strong apologist, for Mubarak!

blank  02/02/2011 12:55 AM Report

i hate politics because i don't believe in partnerships i don't think anything should be a business transaction i liked how the guy with the glasses got really excited i think that this is a good show i think it's pretty clear that he and the guy from notre dame had pretty good plans to follow maybe even just hire them to go and deal with the process i know this sentence sounds a little dangerous but those are the points i'm also giving completely up on text i think i might be losing my mind i think that i like to observe in an insulated world but that being said maybe that is what's going on i need to better insulate my world all this is a shell see it's black on either side and these are letters printed on the shell of an egg it would force me to change the way i write to make capital letters and such then i'd have to change my identity and pretend to be a different person i only see what it is cuz that's what is once i see it i don't care about it being what is a lot of times things are more straight forward than they appear to be warmth i like being on the inside i feel like i'm outside when i'm sitting inside my apartment i will not look for somebody outside to provide that for me i need that for myself and then bring somebody in with me

or i could have written

i liked the guy who got really excited with the glasses and the guy from notre dame i would hire those two to deal with the issue on a second note i don't believe in partnerships because i don't believe in business transactions ?

or things are what they are a business transaction could take many forms depending on how you define it i still don't believe in them and i never will and that's why i can't fit into a normal functioning society

i shouldn't even post this message but i can't help it when i don't something bad always happens

OlyaPolya  02/01/2011 02:42 PM Report

CR blew an opportunity of positioning the obvious last question. I wish that Charlie pushed the envelope to the brink, towards the end of the interview, when both guests agreed that this is the 'moment' of the test...the spontaneous test of democracy. The hypothetical or last 'obvious' point to bring up should have been: IF THIS DEMOCRATIC PROCESS BRINGS ABOUT A BETTER AND HEALTHIER EGYPT,THEN MAYBE -DOWN THE ROAD- EGYPT WILL INITIATE DEMOCRATIC REALTIONS WITH ISRAEL, a second branch of peace? Could this push that Arab-Israeli relationship to new paradigms? to the next level of partnership and really putting down the guns and bombs between these 2 foes?????

REMant  02/01/2011 12:19 PM Report

As I've already said, I think this is less a matter of democracy, than of economics, and so it will be hard to both quell, or solve. There is nothing new in this. One can point to the medieval peasant revolts, the anti-Whig riots, and the storming of the Bastille. The methods too are as old as the newspapers and broadsheets of the English Civil War and American Revolution. Investments are being withdrawn, and the price of oil is rising, which will only fuel more speculation as in 2007. Egypt, of course, hasn't got the resources of some of the middle eastern countries. Its population has nearly doubled during Mubarak's time in power. And its debt is more than its GDP. The situation in Jordan is similar, which sacked its govt today. The Army would seem to be the key, but I don't think it is clear with whom they will side. Since Mubarak is ex-military, himself, I don't know how I would interpret its involvement now. And at the moment disparate groups are cooperating, but that will not likely remain the case.