We speak with Vijay Prashad and Raed Jarrar about the politics of Saudi Arabia, its ties to the United States and its role in the Middle East. We also discuss the rise of ISIS and what steps to take to weaken it and end the war on Syria. Both Vijay and Raed will speak at the upcoming Summit on Saudi Arabia being organized by CODEPINK on March 5 and 6 in Washington, DC. A thread that ties this all together and that is not discussed enough is how the conflicts in this region reflect the U.S. foreign policy of hegemony, which is designed by and for the benefit of the wealthy. We ask: what would a foreign policy for the 99% look like?
Listen here:
Relevant articles and websites:
ISIS Oil by Vijay Prashad
We Shouldn’t Play into the Hands of ISIS, Vijay Prashad on Democracy Now
Carnage in Syria a Product of U.S. Empowerment of Saudi Arabia, an interview of Vijay Prashad by Paul Jay
How America’s Destruction of Iraqi Society Led to Today’s Chaos, an interview of Raed Jarrar by Joshua Holland
U.S. Military back to Iraq? That’s a Terrible Mistake by Raed Jarrar
Syrian Refugee Crisis in Context by AFSC with Raed Jarrar
The Syrian Center for Policy Research Report
Guests:
Vijay Prashad is a Professor of International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, and a journalist and commentator. He earned his B.A. in History, Pomona College, Claremont, CA, in 1989, M.A. in History, University of Chicago in 1990, and Ph.D. in History, University of Chicago, in 1994. Prashad is the author of fifteen books, of which five were published in 2012. These include: – Arab Spring, Libyan Winter (India’s The Hindu called it “a book that deserves to become essential reading, a canonical account of a world-historic chain of events”); – Uncle Swami: Being South Asian in America (Boston Globe called this book as “required reading for anyone who wants to understand race, assimilation and patriotism”.); – The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South (the former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called it “a contribution to the intellectual-cum-political emancipation of developing countries and their empowerment through greater self-reliance on their own intellectual and analytical resources.”). Other books of Prashad include: The Darker Nations. A People’s History of the Third World (2007), Keeping Up with the Dow Joneses: Debt, Prison, Workfare (2003), Fat Cats and Running Dogs: The Enron Stage of Capitalism (2002), Enron Blowout: Corporate Capitalism and the Theft of the Global Commons and Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Cultural Purity (2001). Prashad writes also regularly in the media: as a columnist for Frontline magazine (Chennai, India), as a contributing editor for Himal South Asia (Kathmandu, Nepal) and for Bol (Lahore, Pakistan), a fortnightly contributor to Asia Times, an occasional correspondent for al-Akhbar (Beirut, Lebanon) and a regular contributor to Counterpunch. In 2013-2014, Mr. Vijay Prashad was the Edward Said Chair at the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Raed Jarrar serves as AFSC’s Government Relations Manager at the Office of Public Policy and Advocacy in Washington, D.C. Since his immigration to the U.S. in 2005, he has worked on political and cultural issues pertaining to U.S. engagement in the Arab and Muslim worlds. He is widely recognized as an expert on political, social, and economic developments in the Middle East. He has testified in numerous Congressional hearings and briefings, and he is also a frequent guest on national and international media outlets in both Arabic and English.
Born in Baghdad to an Iraqi mother and a Palestinian father, Raed Jarrar grew up in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq. He received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Baghdad, and his master’s degree in architecture, with a specialty in post-war reconstruction in Iraq, from the University of Jordan.Raed has appeared in numerous media outlets, including MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, Foreign Policy in Focus, and Alternet. His opinion pieces have been published in the Chicago Tribune and Common Dreams.Follow Raed on twitter here.