Friday, April 18, 2003

 

Saudi Arabia Map

Small map of Saudi Arabia. I found other maps with a bit more detail but this one suited for a general overview. Of interest to me;

• Mecca is towards the western coast
• The oil fields are along the eastern side (not shown on this map)

Saudi Arabia is pretty much the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. I imagine it's mostly desert. Starting in the 7th century, Islam became a major force in the region and helped expand Muslim influence out to Spain in the West and India in the East. I've been boning up on my Islam from the BBC's Website where they have a religion and ethics section describing the major world religions. Islam seems to share some aspects of Christianity and Judaism in that they all recognize the same characters found in the Old Testament. But Islam was revealed to Muslims through the last prophet, Muhammad (570-632 AD) who received the words of Allah and recorded them into the Holy Qu'ran, the Muslim scripture.

</Aurelius> <!--12:42 PM-->

 

Trying to understand differences between Muslims today. This seems like a good place to start, www.understanding-islam.org. Of pertinent interest, Overview of Muslim Differences. It goes into the difference between the Shiite (those who ascribe to the religious and political authority of Imams, leaders appointed by god) and Sunni (those who look only to the words of the prophet Mohammed as the religious and thus political authority) sects of Islam. I'm sure there's more types of Muslims out there but this has the appeal of applying towards Iraq. The fundamental difference seems to revolve around who to defer to as the ultimate authority on Islam, the Imams or the word of the prophet.

Actually, I feel out of my depth here because I really don't know anything about Islam itself.

</Aurelius> <!--9:24 AM-->

Thursday, April 17, 2003

 

Doing a little catch up on Saudi Arabia now. I started with FRONTLINE's "Saudi Time Bomb?" program but found it to be a little above where I'm at. So I retreated to the chronology of Saudi Arabia with additional reference from the U.S. State Department. Some things that I learned/of interest:

• Saudi Arabia is a monarchy.
• Saudi Arabia also seems to be a religious state, practicing a strict adherence to the principles of Islamic law (shiara). In fact, the constitution of Saudi Arabia is the Koran.
• The modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was only established in 1932. However, the Saudi "state" (I'm not sure of the connotations) was established way back around 1750.
• Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and Mecca (a major Islamic pilgrimage destination) is in Saudi Arabia.
• Oil was only discovered in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s (by U.S. geologists.) Since widescale production was begun after WWII, Saudi Arabia has become the world's largest producer and exporter of oil.
• The U.S. has shared a (formal) security relationship with Saudi Arabia since 1951.

I'm trying to understand the nature of the U.S.'s relationship with Saudi Arabia. They definitely appear to be one a historical ally of the U.S. despite an apparent incompatibility between religious beliefs and our role as foreigners. There's a complicated web surrounding how the Saudi government (the Saud royal family) has been able to negotiate those relations. I feel that is the key point for me to understand.

</Aurelius> <!--6:11 PM-->

 

Another PBS FRONTLINE program that I perused was "Blair's War," about British Prime Minister, Tony Blair and his trials trying to steer a course between the U.S. and Europe in the Iraq conflict. I gained respect for Blair listening to him in Parliamentary debates on NPR. After learning about the difficult political road he's chosen to walk, I'm even more impressed with what he's managed to pull off.

</Aurelius> <!--1:16 PM-->

 

So apparently there is a definition of terrorism that is (somewhat) quantified, "Terrorism: An Introduction" per the Council on Foreign Relations.

But as this article, "Terrorism or hate crime?" by Eric Boehlert for Salon.com describes, the actual application of the title is still inconsistent.

</Aurelius> <!--12:35 PM-->

Wednesday, April 16, 2003

 

I've been sifting through the PBS FRONTLINE archives starting yesterday with Kim's Nuclear Gamble, detailing the history of U.S./North Korean relations leading up to the current nuclear showdown and then "The War Behind Closed Doors," today, describing, "The inside story of the Bush administration's march to war with Iraq." Both programs (their Website's at least) have been very enlightening in walking me through the context of current events and I find the interview excerpts very revealing also. I dare say it's changed some of my thinking about how events are playing out.

I have a new respect for the complexity of international politics and I think I'm gaining more respect for the consideration that the current administration seems to have taken in how to address events.

</Aurelius> <!--5:28 PM-->

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

 

Since I'm fixating on Syria as much as the Bush Administration, "US condemnation of Syria: Simon Jeffery explains America's allegation that Syria aided Iraq in the current conflict" in the Guardian of Tuesday April 15, 2003.

</Aurelius> <!--3:59 PM-->

 

I've discovered a wonderful resource for information on topical issues. The FRONTLINE documentary series by PBS. I've referenced their Website before here but discovered that their archives cover a whole melange of different topics. I could spend hours browsing here.

</Aurelius> <!--2:42 PM-->