I have now done a number of media posts on Iraq and its people.  I have learned great deal about the complexity of their struggle for normalcy.  It would be impossible to cover every issue that Iraq struggles with because, on the larger level, they are too complicated and numerous for me to tackle.  By the end of my media reading I had begun to make a point to focus on the smaller, simpler issues and their greater implications, rather then read about the larger issues and try to make sense of them.  

One issue that came up time and time again was the role of women.  The women in Iraq have a unique struggle in finding their place in the culture.  Women are not highly respected and take a very submissive role to men.  I don’t use the term submission lightly.  In the past I have stressed the importance of remembering that just because a culture is vastly different and foreign, it is not necessarily a negative thing.  Through my reading it is hard to believe that any woman in Iraq would be happy or feel a sense that this is just the way their culture is. Women are sexually abused in numbers unknown.  With a system that treats them like pests when they complain they are driven to self mutilation and suicide.    Increasingly women have started to take part in suicide bombings as a way to lash out against their oppression and helplessness.  

Through my reading I have found firstly that there is a fundamental flaw in Iraqi culture right now, which prevents progress from being made.  It is impossible for the quality of life to get better without more violence.  I believe that the problem is both the US involvement in Iraq, which I don’t consider to have been warranted at any time, and the Iraqi government’s own corruption.  The corruption of the Iraqi government has used the US involvement as a stepping stone to more power.  Both of these threats to peace in the country are large governments with little or no connection to the people.  They both make use of a top down approach to governing.  As a result the people have no way of making their own opinions heard other then violence.  The abused Iraqi women are a good example of people who have no other outlet.  The current system breeds violence.  

I believe that the only way to overcome they violence and terror that grows and shrinks but never goes away is if the Iraqi people somehow achieve a ground up system.  The key to making progress is the strengthening of the local governments.  Regardless of cultural trends which Americans may not understand, I am convinced that no matter what decisions are made in a grassroots type of system, they will encourage peace.  The logistics of making this type of a system are obviously complicated.  For starters, unless the US make a fundamental change in their involvement, we should not be involved at all.  We are a big, overhead type of power which is adverse to the independence and local government I would encourage.

This article is about the holy day “ashura”, which is one of the most important holy days of the muslim calander.  The article covers two main bases; what the day is and how it is celebrated, and the security measures being taken.  Asura is the day that marks the dead of Prophet Muahmmad’s gradson Imam Hussein.  It is honored in various ways, all having to do with either mourning the death or re-enacting the death.  Many people gathered to mourn by beating themselves with their fists.  Some even went as far as self mutilation by cutting themselves.  Other people gathered to make a two mile dash which represented the dash to provide Imam reinforcements on the day of his death.  Others gathered in a soccer stadium to watch a re-enactment of the battle and death.  The battle was one that was fought against all odds.

The article describes the vast security measures being taken to make sure the that traditions are carried out safely.  There has been talk about attacks on Americans in retaliation for Israel’s military campaign against Gaza.  In an unexpected connection to some of my other media posts, women were barred from entry to one of Baghdad’s holiest shrines for fear of suicide bombings.  Ashura is the commemoration of a hero that represents the spirit of rebellion against repression.  Now more then ever Iraqis are feeling the pressure from the “tight security” that sweeps the nation.  Ironically the celebration of what represents their desire for freedom has brought on tighter security.

This article has a seeming double bias.  The first is that the rituals described that take place during Ashura are described as almost barbaric.  The history being celebrated is portrayed as false (which it might be, I don’t know).  On the other hand the author also makes a point to illuminate the vicious cycle which exists, therefor humanizing the Iraqi people and providing a bias towards them.  This is both confusing and effective.  Although I dislike it in principle, the double bias forces me to decide for myself.  In a way, the author sacrifices consistency for effectiveness.

This article is a relatively straightforward article about a killing that took place in Iraq, in Youssifiyah.  A suicide bomber killed at least 23 people who were gathered at a “tribal leader’s” home.  The exact numbers of people killed during the incident varies depending on the report.  The number dead is reported from 23 to 32 and the number wounded anywhere from 32 to 110.  Apparently variation like this is not uncommon because of the general chaos that ensues after an attack.  There were “senior tribal figures” at the luncheon and Sheik Mohammed Abdullah Salih, head of the Sunni al-Garaqul tribe.  There were also people who had turned against al-Qaida at the meeting.  Based on the people at the meeting and the type of bomb, the bomber is suspected to be a member of al-Qaida.  Most notably the attack happened just one day after after the United States handed over responsibility of security to Iraqi forces.  This is the most devastating bombing since December 11.

There is a slight bias towards the US in this article.  The article is written to make the Iraqi forces look inadequate for allowing the bombing to happen just one day into the new responsibilities.  This bias overlooks the other complications.  The Iraqi forces were in transition when the attack happened.  It is actually a smart time to stage an attack because it is impossible to have a perfectly smooth transition.  There is inevitably a moment of weakness.  

This article is about the recent trend in suicide bombers in Iraq.  Traditionally, suicide bombers are male.  However, since 2007, there has been a growing number that are female.  The author attempts to get to the reasons for this phenomenon.  A large amount of these bombings have come from a province called Diyala.  This is rural province with little connection to the outside world.  It is full of places for a terrorist group to hide out and has become the home of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, aka Al Qaeda in Iraq, aka AQI.  The first trend noticed in the women who become suicide bombers is that many of them have either committed suicide of sacrificed themselves in a suicide bombing for AQI themselves.  The women of Diyala are sheltered and live simple lives.  When the men, brothers or husbands mainly, in their lives disappear they have a very difficult time finding a sense of purpose again.  Some, in an interesting connection to the last two articles I’ve read, have been sexually abused.  

The AQI has noticed this trend and begun to capitalize.  There are reports of Diyala women being forced into doing a suicide bombing.  There is proof that some of the bombs were exploded remotely.  These women are useful in that they have little reason to live, they are culturally submissive, and they are inspected less at checkpoints.  

This article does a good job of describing the issue in a compelling way.  There is little detectable bias.  The author doesn’t make an overt attempt at placing the blame for the issue on any one group.  The article has lots of detail, making the issue come of as a pressing matter.  The implied message is that something needs to be done about this on every level.  The increase in women suicide bombers is a symptom of the deeper issues described, such as the mistreatment of women and the lack of control over AQI.

I looked up an article about women in Iraq after reading the article from Electronic Iraq because, although it was a nice overview of the issue, the first article lacked detail and therefor a convincing argument.

This article focused on American women working for KBR, a military contractor company, who have been sexuality assaulted on the job.  These women each had similar stories to tell.  They were all sexually assaulted in some way, ranging from groping to gang rape.  Some tried reporting first KBR.  These reports were accepted and then disappeared.  Some women were fired for speaking out.  Some women were scolded as being pests.  One women said that from the day she started working for KBR she was aware of the sexually hostile environment and aware that speaking out would get her fired.  Of the women reported on, non have received full justice for the crimes committed.  One even had to continue working with the man who assaulted her for a period of time.  The author reports as many statistics about the levels of sex related crimes but also says that the Iraqi government has not coorperated in giving out the desired information.  The author also reports that the Bush administration has not only done little to change the situation that these American workers are facing, but has also withheld information about the exact numbers of these crimes.  

The author is clearly bias against the Bush administration.  It seems that if the Iraqi government and KBR are not revealing any information, there is no way for the Bush administration to know it.  Although the administration could potentially be doing more to absolve the situation, they are obviously stretched thin and, unfortunately, have little incentive to push for change.  Despite the out of place attack on the Bush administration, the article is thorough and concise.  It has many different sources of information and provides real concrete evidence that there is a serious problem for women in Iraq.

This article talks about the drastically widespread issue of violence against women in Iraq.  The author chooses to quote mainly from the words of Ms. Yakin Ertuerk, who is the “Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its cases and consequences”.  She argues that women are the targets of violence both from within the household and from the outside.  She says that rape, sex trafficking, forced and early marriages, murder, and abduction for sectarian or criminal reasons are threatening iraqi women.  The judicial system, although laws are in place to counteract these threats, does too little.  The men and families taking part in these crimes are treated with leniency, even after being proven guilty.  The author brings up the issue of “honor killings”.  ”Honor killings” are the killing, or just ostracizing, of women who bring dishonor to their families or to their husbands.  There is also an issue with “self-immolation” of female genitals.  This problem is difficult to track because it goes unreported.  Ms. Yakin Ertuerk urges the Iraqi government to protect it’s women and hints that the rest of the world is simply observing from afar.

This article is clearly bias against the violence going on.  The purpose of the article is to expose this violence.  The article would benefit from a few other voices as Ms. Yakin Ertuerk is the only person quoted.  Because of the lack of variety it is difficult to see where all these facts about the rampant violence are coming from.  It seems there is only one source.  

Over the past few months I have followed articles of civil and human rights stories in Turkey.  The stories usually came from either official news or newspaper sites or blogs.  Even though the articles came from a variety of sources, they often had similar messages.  Turkey has always been a hub of culture and westernization in the Middle East, and this reputation is part of what is causing the civil rights issues there.  Turkey has had a quite sordid history when it comes to civil rights, and the fact that they want to join the European Union simply added more pressure to the already tense situation.
Blogs and Newspapers, while both presenting similar sides to the issues, do so in quite contrasting manners.  Blogs often included short personal and more emotional pieces on specific incidents.  Videos and pictures of beatings were often found in blogs presumably for the shock factor.  News sites, however, often included more historically based accounts and rationales for the actions of the government or the police.  While the news sites did not usually condoned the actions of the officials, they seemed to try to find out solutions and compromises that would put an end to the violence more diplomatically.  Blogs often only ranted about the injustices that were being committed every day in the streets, but did not examine other contributing factors such as the push to join the European Union in their discussions.
The issue of civil and human rights has been ongoing for many years in Turkey, but has recently gotten worse.  It seems that the general consensus among the news sources that I have read over the past few months has been that while the police brutality and government censorship has been bad in the past, it is on the rise and neither the government nor other countries are doing anything to stop the violence.  I have also noticed a general pattern among the violence in Turkey.  The European Union states that Turkey is unable to join because of certain reasons concerning their treatment of their citizens; the government passes laws to give them more rights, but leaves out important groups of people, such as women, when doing so; the people protest against the government’s actions; the police react with unnecessary violence and often arrest and/or beat people without warrants; and the European Union has to refuse Turkey admittance again because of their actions against their citizens.
To get a clear picture of why Turkey is the way it is, both the blogs and the news sites have to be read.  In combination the entire situation becomes clearer and isolated incidents become intertwined in a larger picture.  Turkey has always been a progressive Middle Eastern state that has deep roots in western culture and secularism as well as a rich national identity.  This combined with the deep yearning to become the first Middle Eastern state in the European Union, leads to much dissent and reaction by the citizens.  These reactions are often met with force, as the government seems to believe the best way to deal with civil unrest is to meet it with violence.  This violence just provokes more unrest and the cycle continues.  Until Turkey can realize its problem is bigger than it thinks, and that their current course of action is not going to gain them admittance into the European Union or end the public dissent.

The Gulf is one of the many Muslim nations living between two realities: one of modernization and Western influence and one of strict religious faith. The Gulf was once simply the sight for Mecca and Medina, the most important religious sites in the Islamic faith. Now, after years of consistent Western influence through ARAMCO, the Gulf has kickstarted a booming economy. After years of being nothing more than a reststop, the Gulf has come into its own. The youth in Dubai are used to seeing buildings going up almost everyday and new foreigners coming in hoards for the business opportunity. However, even they fear the alarming rate at which their little state is blossoming. One youth shared the worry that the business successs might be fleeting. How unfortunate it would be, having spent all that time and money, only to be lost in the sands once again. If the youth are the feeling the pressure the too much modernization in too short a period of time, I wonder how the previous generation is reacting. One must ask, much like after a night of too much tabbouleh and persuasion, did this all happen to fast?

Islam is one of the few things that has not yet been touched by the Gulf’s boom. You would be hard put to find a traditional Emrati restaurant in the UAE. Those that do exist do not stay open as long. I believe we have the same problem in America, where small family shops that sell freshly made food do not stay open nearly as long as the McDonald’s. In the UAE, even the Arabic language is manipulated in ways to fit foreigners’ speech. Cabis speak a conglomerate of Arabic, Hindi and Urdu. Granted, Arabic is incredibly difficult to learn. However, seeing what has happened to traditional Emirati cuisine, I worry that the pidgin tongue may take over the original one. Because the language and the food’s importance, two keys factors in a group’s cultural background, is deemphasized, Islam is the only way to hold on to Gulf of old.

I believe the Gulf is going through a period where rational man reigns supreme. I think culture, such as food and language, are deemphasized so that business and economics can thrive. Having done this, the Gulf countries are now trying to reach a balance of Middle East and West. To keep too much Western influence at bay, citizens rights are somewhat infringed upon. The importance and omnipresence of Islam is made even more apparent in Saudi Arabia to create a culture of guilt. This is not fair to the Saudi people. If the justification for the stringent rules in the Gulf is to preserve Islam and traditional values, then we must remember Islam has lasted for almost two millenia, but the tall steel buildings are relatively new. Is their fear that Islam, the crux of Arabian culture, will be lost an irrational one? I think so. I look at the Gulf as a perpetual motion machine: one can look away for a second and return to a different image; however, it aways returns to the beginning.

In class we talked about Girls of Riyadh. People had mixed opinions about it, but the overall general opinion was that the book was bad. However, the book portrays this segment of Saudi society very accurately. Although the book presents a terrible image of men, Saudi Arabian society is patriarchal. Saudi Arabian women do show modesty in front of strangers by covering their heads. The scene in which many men are throwing their phone numbers into the girls’ car does actually happen in Saudi Arabia. A major question that came up during class was “Do we judge these women and their situations?” Saudi Arabian culture is different, and we cannot assume that because it is different from American culture that there is something wrong with it. The goal for young Saudi Arabian women is to get married, which is very different from young American women. The women in the book are aware of their situations, but what can they really do to change them? The book presents a complicated idea about gender roles and the place of women in society. As Bram said, “the book is bad, but it has great nuggets of information.” 

Over the semester I’ve read a number of articles and blogs about Iraq. I set out with no particular theme: I decided to focus on whatever the most pressing issue seemed to be. I had no problem discern it: the U.S. occupation and troops. It’s no wonder both major media sources like the New York Times (where I got the majority of my articles) and the handful of blogs I visited consistently both focus on this issue, and to not discuss it would be like discussing America over the past few months and not discussing Obama, the financial crisis, or Joe the plumber. Major new sources fixate on the occupation because most Americans think of Iraq as the place we should or shouldn’t have gone into. The blogs I read focused on it because they are constantly feeling the occupations presence: the innumerable check points, the blown up walls and houses, the neighborhoods consistently caught in the crossfire. I recall reading in one blog (http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/) about part of the bloggers house being blown apart. The occupation is a heavy steal blanket that engulfs the entire region. The blogger I just discussed was eager to talk about her friends, education, and lifestyle, even posting photos of foods but to discuss these things was often to discuss how they were hampered by the U.S. occupation. I found I had to look to Wikipedia etc for historical context as all my sources assumed a basic understanding. The major news sources like the New York times treated discussion of cultural implications and reactions like it was toxic; they presented the cold hard facts: they gave the what, where, and when and packed it in. I had trouble formulating an opinion about whether the occupation would benefit Iraq in the long run. This question is at the forefront of the argument in America concerning whether or not we should have gone into Iraq, and I think if the New York Times had discussed the very real and present effects of the occupation on the civilians, they would have complicated the already heated argument in a way they couldn’t have afforded to. The blogs I read didn’t discuss the possible long term consequences either, distracted most likely by the current effects. But over the course of the semester a few stories came up that were relevant to the question of long-term effects. First and foremost, the security pact, which set an end date to U.S. occupation. Second, the election of Obama. Over the last eight years, the image Iraqi’s have of America, which looks a lot like Bush’s face, has been tarnished. Whether or not your agree with Zedi in the first place, when he threw his shoes at Bush, it epitomized the general contempt Iraqi’s have for the American occupation– even in discussing an end to the occupation, politicians who were weary of their public image were reluctant to even negotiate with America. Now, with Obama, who’s taken a hard stance against the war in Iraq, in the picture and the end to the occupation in sight, America has somewhat of a second shot.