From Deseret News archives:

Mideast comments prophetic

Expert — slated for U. lecture today — predicted Iraq woes

Published: Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 12:11 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
Almost exactly a year before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Middle East affairs expert Philip Gordon told an Associated Press reporter that an attack must be decisive and that "anything short of a ground invasion would run a high risk of failure."

That quote would, for Gordon, prove to be somewhat prophetic in the context of his latest book, "Winning the Right War: The Path to Security for America and the World." In a presentation that is free and open to the public, he will talk about themes in that book at 4 p.m. today in the University of Utah's Hinckley Caucus Room in Orson Spencer Hall as part of the U.'s Middle East Center lecture series.

At the Web site for the Brookings Institution, where Gordon is a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy, a brief synopsis of the book says the United States is not better off than before it invaded Iraq as part of the "war on terror," and the U.S. has been fighting "and losing" the wrong war, one he says is costing the nation $300 million a day. The latest Department of Defense figures put the number of U.S. military fatalities during the Iraq war at 3,878.

In his book, Gordon also predicts that an end to the war on terror will come when terrorists' "hateful ideology collapses around them" and when extremists become "isolated in their own communities."

Story continues below
On The Page 99 Test blog site, Gordon said one of the key arguments of his book could be summarized from a quote on page 99 of his book that reads, "Just as millions of Europeans had to make their choice in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, now millions of Muslims must decide whether to join the extremists, extend them support, remain neutral, or actively pursue a liberal and nonviolent future in cooperation with the United States and its allies."

Ibrahim Karawan, director of the U. Middle East Center, said Gordon has been trying to show in his new book and in his 2002 analysis of a possible war with Iraq what would work or fail with an invasion.

"He tried from the beginning to make the argument that the name of the game is not power but prudence," Karawan said.

Only now, he added, does the Bush administration appear to be taking a more prudent role, facilitating a meeting this week in Annapolis, Md., between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a renewed U.S.-led effort to help broker peace in that region of the Middle East.

However, Karawan doesn't see success within the next year, whereby Israelis and Palestinians will reach a political settlement that would mean both sides accepting the other's "legitimate presence" without resorting to violence as a means of resolving conflict.

As for ending the war in Iraq or the war on terror, Karawan said he echoes what Gordon is trying to say, which is that it will take a multilateral approach — like this week's summit with more than 40 countries — and Islamic "thinkers" who will stand up and be more outspoken against militants.

"There is no single or simple solution to the issue of terrorism," Karawan said.

The U.'s Middle East lecture series, now in its seventh year, will continue through January and February with more speakers who are experts on Turkey, Iraq and Arab/Israeli relations.


E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Related content
previousnext

Latest comments

will be decided by Byu's Rudy Defensive Backs. I'm betting that David Reed...

Glenn Beck to enter politics?

it would be awsome to watch !! a match made in in EGO-HEAVEN

Florida No. 1, TCU 4 in AP Top 25

I am a BYU fan so I am not exactly complaining, but can someone tell me why...

The purpose of religious law is to get us back to God. The purpose of...

Glenn Beck to enter politics?

for president 2012 LOL LOL i'd love to see it on a bumper sticker **...

Dems are at odds with the whole idea of what is best for the USA. Something...

until you play the Utes this weekend. Then it will only be fun for the Utes D.

Cougars put the fun back in football

lighten up. do you not have any humor? good article.

RSL dancing with soccer stars

I was on the edge of my seat last year during the playoffs. That would so...

3A: Juan Diego's last-gasp play

I am glad I got to be a part of a game that will go down in history. Even...

Advertisements