Charlie Rose

ShalomFreedman  10/16/2011 03:34 PM Report

Robin Wright claims the Islamic world says 'We want to reject violence'. Doesn't she read what Hamas, Hizbollah, the Islamic Revolutionary Regime in Iran She talks about the youth of the population. But of course a younger population is generally a more violent one. She speaks about a counter- jihad but Ahmadinejad and Nasrallah are talking about a Jihad which will destroy Israel and bring down the United States.

She lyricizes about 'the Arab Spring'. But the Arab Spring has not brought into being one true Democracy. Charlie Rose presses her about the rosy future she sees in Iran when the opposition has been completely shut down. She says the regime will inevitably fall but she gives no evidence of this happening now.

She says nothing whatsoever about the fact that there is a fundamental Shiite and Sunnite divide which produces violence every day. She does not mention the situation of the Kurds. She idealizes Turkey but says nothing about their repression of the Kurds. She does not speak about the persecution of Christians throughout the Arab Middle East.

OBSERVER  10/15/2011 07:45 PM Report

Dear Charlie,

Thanks for your very interesting & informative discussions,as always.

With respect to Iran, the country is in mess, politically, economically, socially, culturally, etc. Having said that, the US & European policies, UNFORTUNATELY, have been PUNISHING IRANIANS(PEOPLE) through all kinds of Sanctions, while the Regime & its establishment do carry their business as usual via their Diplomatic Immunity of their Embassies abroad and Petrolium. THIS WRONG POLICY OF WEST MUST BE REVERSED in order to punish the REGIME, NOT PEOPLE.

beenthere2460  10/14/2011 09:34 PM Report

She is one of the most vibrant and knowledgeable experts in regards to understanding the Arab world. I have watched her for almost 30 years, and her point of view is always informative and enlightening.

Arab countries are going through some tough defining moments in their

search for an identity that is meaningful and practical in the world we live in.

Change is bound to come, it is just a matter of accommodating the wave of challenges they face.

SharkswithfrikingLazers  10/14/2011 02:41 PM Report

Yes, music can be key to any revolution especially our own Civil Rights movement.

El Général had a big impact after WikiLeaks and that is why Tunisian police made him sign a statement to shut him down:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_G%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral

SharkswithfrikingLazers  10/14/2011 02:35 PM Report

Yes, thank you for pointing out that Osama bin Laden was with us (America) for a decade. It is amazing how many folks forget about "blowback".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowback_%28intelligence%29

REMant  10/14/2011 11:21 AM Report

What I see, as I predicted, are fundamentalist groups in position to take over - indeed seem to have largely taken over in both Egypt and Libya - where they could never have been had the "autocrats" remained in power, and, even without fundamentalism, globalisation soundly rejected. Education, Internet, TV, LL Cool J, feminism, or stand-up comedians have zip to do with it. Believing these are somehow reconcilable or simply a matter of Western misunderstanding is clearly obfuscation. It's like saying that America isn't basically evangelical at the same time as it is liberal, when she, herself, is a perfect illustration of the fact that it is. Where American fundamentalists, however, are evangelical, Muslim fundamentalists are exactly the opposite. We believe God owes us something; they believe God owes us nothing. As long as that is true - and it has a very long history - there can be no accommodation, which is not to conclude we are right. BTW, I also mentioned some time ago that the economic situation would trump the political, and I am reminded in the case of Libya of Hassan's quip that oil and democracy don't mix.