History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett
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History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett |
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Updated as of 2 October 05 Today in History: On October 2, 1780, Major John Andrι, a British spy associated with Benedict Arnold, was executed on this day in history. Quote of the Day: "In my view we are much worse off now than when we went into Iraq. This is not a partisan position. I voted for these guys." A senior figure at a military-sponsored think tank as told to James Fallows in "Bush's Lost Year" in The Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 2004) Take the Ann Coulter Quiz Where are you politically? Take the Neocon Quiz and find out. "History is Far too Important to be left to History Professors" Teaching isn't such a novel idea
Bibliography:
History of Disease Contemporary Terrorist Organizations Map of Islamic Terrorist Cells in the U.S.A.
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Clash of Civilizations and the New World OrderModern World CivilizationSpring 2008Why Did We Go to War? What happened? A few years before Saddam was our bud. What happened? Why did we really give a damn? Why did we send 250,000 Americans to the Middle East? Saddam was a bully. If not us, then who?Facts about Iraq Second largest nation state in the Middle East. Large oil deposits. Divided between three groups Kurds, Sunnis (33%), and Shiites (55% of the population). Sought to replace Egypt as the principal Arab state.Coup and Revolution in Iraq The Iraq situation changed on July 14, 1958. The Iraqi revolution began as a coup. A group of Iraqi army officers seized the royal palace. Murdered Faisal II and his uncle, Abd al-Ilah and then hunted down and murdered Nuri al-Said. Who was a pro-Western Iraqi political leader.The Fall of the Shah In 1978, Iran seemed stable, but it was misleading. Soon, a friendly Iranian official planted a story in the press attacking Khomeini students began a sit-in Qom. The police attack and several students were killed. All the Shah did was replace his SAVAK chief. In September 1978, the SAVAK fired into a major demonstration killing hundreds. Leading ayatollahs told the government that the demonstrations would continue until parliamentary democracy was restored. The Shahs government asked Iraq to expel Khomeini, who then moved on to Paris.Cant Keep Down in Qom Once He Seen Paris The Shahs government made a considerable blunder by forcing Iraq to expel Khomeini. Now he was in Paris and other Iranian exiles. He managed to spread his fundamentalist message via long distance telephone calls, tape recordings, and Western news services. When he called for a strike it nearly closed down Irans oil industry. Pro-Khomeini mobs attack all symbols of the West in Tehran, including theaters and liquor stores.Does History Repeat Itself? Remembering how the Shah fled Mosaddiqs government in 1953. But only to return with the help of the CIA/MI6. Iranians were worried. When the Shah came to New York for medical treatment. The crisis erupted. Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy. Taking sixty-three people Americans hostage.Charges and Counter-Charges The Iranians demanded that the Shah be returned and be tried. Then the Iranians demanded an apology in the Shahs crimes against the Iranian people. The U.S. was outraged. The U.S. had limited options available except for:It Went On and On and On It lasted for 444 days. In the meantime other things happened. RR was elected president. Sunni Fundamentalists gained control of the Main Mosque in Mecca. The Soviets moved into Afghanistan. Iran cut off oil to the West. In April 1980, the U.S. attempted to rescue the hostages and failed.The Attack Iraq attacked on 2 August 1990. The Al Sabah family fled to Saudi Arabia. Saddam claimed that Kuwait was stealing Iraqi oil from the Rumaylah Oil Field. The Americans after prodding from the British PM, acted. The first phase was move American and coalition troops to the theater.Then Came the StormFundamentalism in the Middle East The religious revival strikes back at the West for the Coca Colanization of the Middle East. A rejection of the values of Western cultural advances. Many religious figures in the Middle East saw this trend as more dangerous than Western imperialism. This was a struggle against modernity.Compliant Against the House of Saud Allowed Foreigners, ie, Americans to have bases near the Holy Places. Failure to provide opportunities for jobs and opportunities for Saudi youth. Fail to establish an open society. Failure to share the wealth.The Saudis Export Fundamentalism This was Wahhabism, a Fundamentalist Islamic Sect, that supports the Saudi regime. It was establish in the eighteenth century. By Abd al-Wahhab who died in 1787. The Saudi government exports the teaching of the sect abroad to other regions such as Pakistan and Indonesia. Often this is accomplished by support for madrasahs or Muslim schools.Targets of the Fundamentalists Scholars. Writers. Political opponents. Jews/Israelis. American business and political figures. Symbols of Western cultural imperialism. Victims can also be Muslim who challenge religious authority.Where Does This Happen? Algeria. Egypt. Tunisa. Saudi Arabia. Jordan. Afghanistan. Just to name a few.Some Important Victims Farag Foda, an Egyptian writer and thinker. Tahar Djaout, an Algerian writer who the fundamentalists said he wielded a mighty pen. Salman Rushdie. Plus women who challenge male authority.The Taliban Represses Women and MinoritiesThe Key IsWhy Do They Hate Us So? U.S. support of Israel. Putting the Shah back on the throne in Iran in the 1950s. U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. The secularism of the West. The U.S. supports corrupt govts in the Middle East. U.S. blockade of Iraq. Inability to share in middle-Class life stylesIslamic Terrorism: 1968-79Key Terrorist Groups 1979-91The Globalization of Terror, 1991-01 Al-Qaeda (The Base) Armed Islamic Group (GIA): Aden-Abyan Islamic Army (AAIA): Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM): Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed): Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous):Other Attacks on Americans Nov. 4, 1979 -- Hostages taken at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran May 1981-- Threats from Libya April 18, 1983-- Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut Oct. 23, 1983-- Bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut Dec. 12, 1983-- Bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait March 16, 1984--CIA Station Chief William Buckley kidnapped Sept. 20, 1984-- Bombing of U.S. Embassy annex northeast of Beirut April 5, 1986--Bombing of La Belle Discotheque December 21, 1988--Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103What Do We Know About Bin Laden? Comes from one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia. Devoted to Wahhabism. Worked with the CIA to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. Opposed American interests in the Persian Gulf.OBLs Declaration of WarIdeological Aims of Al-Qaida Ideologically want to cleanse the Islamic world of secular influences. Radicalize existing Islamic groups. Destroy the United States. Support Muslim fighters in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Philippines, Tajikistan, and other places throughout the world.A Different Kind of Foe He uses the media to play to the man on the street. Via Al Jazeera. He appears to the Muslim world a hero fighting the Great Satan. He plays to the disadvantaged in the Middle East.Use Psyops against the TalibanWhy Did Our Intelligence Fail? Underestimated the terrorists. Too much noise. Refused to take the threat seriously. Assumed that the U.S.A was invulnerable to attack. Aversion to intelligence agencies and methods and means of collection.Why Did the Terrorists Succeed? Planned the operation for two to three years. Realized the lax security measures at airports and on commercial jets. Scoped out the US and realized that the Heart of the Beast was vulnerable to attack. Willing to die for the cause.
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