Category: Alejandro’s blog

Q.    What’s your perspective on U.S.-Saudi relations from their beginning till now? A. The U.S. has been entangled in Saudi fortunes through the engagement of America I the Saudi oil industry. American entrepreneurs helped to create ARAMCO and the American public is dependent on Saudi oil. This entanglement has made the Saudi’s an American client…

In a move designed to cripple the Brotherhood’s leadership ahead of Parliamentary elections, ten officials are arrested over five provinces overnight: Egypt Arrests 3 Top Muslim Brotherhood Leaders (AP / Washington Post) The Afghan president says his people’s priority is “ending raids at night on Afghan homes, … ending the arrests of Afghans in their…

A few days ago Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad wrote an incisive analysis on the economic costs of the US-led military occupation in Iraq. In it he described how the price tag of empire is hitting the American economy very hard. It is something impossible to ignore despite the administration’s best efforts to systematically spin the ongoing…

On April 15, 2008 Georgetown University hosted former Turkish Parliamentarian Merve Kavakci to discuss “Democratization in Turkey and Stumbling Blocks and the Prospects”. The event was co-sponsored by the Georgetown Muslim Students Association, the Lecture Fund and the International Students Association. The event kicked off with an introduction by Georgetown senior Hafsa Kanjwal. She provided…

On March 4, the Los Angeles Times reported the UN Security Council approved imposing a third set of economic sanctions against Iran in response to controversy over its nuclear program. I shall address the unethical and counterproductive nature of the sanctions at the end of this article. First, while highlighting Iran’s current economic problems, I…

On January 29, President Bush delivered his eighth and final State of the Union Address before Congress. Various news reports locked on the President’s emphasis on economic policy and the war in Iraq. A Washington Post analysis saw the President’s speech as cementing his legacy as President by “consolidating past achievements and focusing strategically on…

On January 4, Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz reported that Stephen Coughlin, a so-called “specialist on Islamic law and Islamist extremism” had been “fired” from his job at the Department of Defense (DoD). Supposedly, the reason he was terminated from his position was because he was accused of being a “Christian zealot with a pen”…

Recently, the Washington Post and CNN featured stories story summarizing the statements of a former CIA case officer, John Kiriakou, who claimed waterboarding “probably saved lives”, but also said he believed it constitutes torture and that Americans can “do better.” While it is very pleasing to hear a former intelligence with field experience like Kiriakou’s…

Recently I just came back from a trip to Hartford University, where, on November 1st and 2nd I gave four different presentations on Islam and contemporary politics, collectively entitled “Examining Islamic Politics and Culture” to various student and faculty groups. The first presentation was an introduction to Islamic beliefs for an Honors Philosophy course taught…