Middle East experts enlighten OCC students

Deirdre Newman

OCC CAMPUS -- While the Sept. 11 attacks resulted in tragic losses,

they also leave room for the nation to reexamine some of its policy,

Middle East experts told students Thursday.

More than 1,000 students packed the auditorium to hear the discussion.

While some said it seemed like a rehash of information and analysis they

had already heard, others said they gained new insight.”It was worthwhile

because it was a new perspective of what’s going on in the Middle East

and the oil crisis,” freshman Travis Laub said.

The “teach-in,” sponsored by the Academic Senate, aimed to introduce

students to international issues surrounding the attacks. The need for

understanding and tolerance toward others on campus became increased

after a political science professor was put on paid administrative leave

in September for allegedly calling a Muslim student a terrorist.

Richard Matthew, an assistant professor at UC Irvine, said the attacks

surprised the United States, which still is unsure how to address

terrorism. Instead, it falls back on two traditional, but opposing

paradigms -- taking drastic measures that infringe on basic freedoms or

keeping a free and open society. He said a third paradigm should be taken

into account: Consider the agenda of foreign countries from their

perspective.

Lina Haddad Kreidie, a political science lecturer at UCI, discussed

the nature of Islamic fundamentalism, stressing that Islam is a peaceful

religion.

“The challenge is to distinguish between the beliefs of the Islamic

majority and the small faction of extremists,” Kreidie said.

Extremists won’t talk to the United States because they believe it has

a distorted view of Islam, Kreidie added. To diffuse extremism, Kreidie

suggested the U.S. change its foreign policy to better consider the

people of foreign countries, as well as their governments.

Marc Cooper, a USC lecturer, discussed how the fallout from the

attacks is affecting both sides of the political spectrum. The

Republicans will have to deal with a sustained economic recession and the

Democrats will have to continue to support the use of military force to

root out the terrorists and their camps.

“The entire political agenda of the U.S. has been turned on its head,”

Cooper said. “We stand poised to return to a military spending binge that

has little reality to the threats that we face.”

George Basile, a scientist from an international nonprofit dealing

with sustainability, addressed how positive results can come out of such

a tragedy. He called for people to think outside the box to create a new

paradigm for the future. Rethinking dependence on foreign oil is a good

first step, he suggested.

“We are all on shaky ground now, which could be an enormous

opportunity for new thinking,” Basile said. “Revolutionary thinking is in

our bones.”

Basile’s theme resonated with sophomore Mandy Mignault, who agreed

that it is important to have a different perspective after the attacks.

“I agree we shouldn’t try to destroy our planet so much,” Mignault

said.