Washington Watch Articles From 2004
FOR BUSINESS SAKE
I recently addressed the 11th World Islamic Banking Conference in Bahrain on how Arabs and Muslims are perceived in the West. In preparation for my presentation, Zogby International (ZI) conducted a December poll to discover what Americans think about doing business in the region.
WHY BUSH WON
From the outside looking in at America, one might assume that in reelecting President Bush, American voters, fully aware of these situations, approved of those policies and decided to give the President a mandate to continue them for four more years. This, quite simply, was not the case.
AN OPPORTUNITY?
n the past month, following the US election and the death of Yasser Arafat, several leading US policy makers and analysts have written opinion pieces, each beginning with a variation on a single theme
A DAY IN THE PARK
t was Sunday. Behind me was the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church where, apparently given the number of Secret Service personnel milling about, either the President or Vice President were in attendance.
ARABS WANT REFORM, BUT NOT US HELP
Before the Bush Administration pushes ahead with plans to promote reform in the Arab world, attention should be given to the results of our latest Arab American Institute/Zogby International (AAI/ZI) poll.
SHEIKH ZAYED’S LEGACY
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.
ARAB AMERICANS IN ELECTION 2004
This was an historic election and Arab Americans responded to its challenges.
BUSH’S CHALLENGE
The election is over. We learned what we knew all along, that America is a deeply divided nation.
HOPE FOR A LANDSLIDE ON ELECTION DAY
With both Democrats and Republicans having fielded armies of thousands of lawyers posed to challenge and/or defend voting procedures, voter eligibility and vote outcomes, there is real concern that the election of 2004 could end up more conflicted and contentious than the disaster of 2000.
T’S UGLY OUT THERE
I don’t trust you or any Arab in this country anymore. You are not out for America, you are out to turn this country into a Muslim country and we will not let this happen. Just remember that the Arabs are terrorists…they are monsters and talking peace will not do it.”
POLITICS AND POLICY
Arab Americans, especially those who were leaning towards supporting John Kerry’s bid to become President of the United States, were deeply troubled by his running mate’s response to the question about the Arab-Israeli conflict in last week’s Vice Presidential debate.
AFTER THE DEBATE: THE RACE BEGINS
The Presidential debate season began last week with John Kerry winning the first round
US SENATE: 2004
While all eyes are focused on the race for the White House, it is important to note, as well, that 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are also being contested in this election year.
CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE
Arab Americans are John Kerry’s “canaries in the coal mine.” In days gone by, coalminers brought canaries into the mines in which they were working.
THREE YEARS LATER: MUCH TO BE DONE
The terrorist attacks of 9/11, didn’t create the civilizational divide, they exposed it. Further, the attacks and their aftermath tragically provided an opportunity for extremists whose intent it has been to widen the gap between East and West and transform it into an unbridgeable chasm.
THE ARMAGEDDON ELECTION
For many months now, my brother, John Zogby, has been calling this year’s presidential contest the “Armageddon election.”
THE AUGUST SURPRISE
Democrats expected that their presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry, would have a very different August.
A BOOK WORTH READING
I am sometimes asked to recommend books that provide useful insights into American politics. Over the years I’ve had my favorites. Some have been biographies like Robert Caro’s remarkable but still unfinished series on the extraordinary political life of Lyndon Johnson, or two moving and instructive books on Martin Luther King, Jr.
DON’T BLAME ARAB MEDIA
While US public diplomacy efforts in the Arab world continue to focus on ventures like Al Hurra TV and Radio Sawa, a new study shows that media in any form only plays a limited role in shaping Arab attitudes toward the US.