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my experience with ME and its study

Reader comment on item: [Middle East Studies:] Wasted Money

Submitted by Jeff R. (United States), Jul 3, 2003 at 02:16

I am an undergrad student at University of Hawaii. I am also a former Arab Linguist for the Air Force, trained at Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, CA.

You should know that the richest source of area expertise and language ability of Category 4 languages (Chinese, Korean, Arabic) is fostered and found at DLI. Please realize that all resources that can be directed for the promotion of Foreign Area expertise should be allocated toward DLI east and west, which serve all departments in our government, and other entities dedicated to ADVANCING our country's Foreign Area expertise in its own right, without politically countermanding the foreign policy of whatever Administration occupies the Whitehouse.

You heard testimony about bias in ME Studies programs around the country; I will just add this: last semester I went back to college after four years, and took 4 political science courses from 4 different instructors. One compared a picture of U.S. servicemen in Iraq to WWII nazi troops (similar "helmet" design), another stated that the U.S. foreign policy objective in the ME region has been to support oppressive regimes to keep the Arab people paralyzed (I respectfully offered that we may offer aid to those governments "in spite" of their records, or for actual anti-American sentiment encouraged by those same administrations).

I have enough experience with the ME region to be able to discern between legitimate course content and misinformation; those other young people in the class certainly don't have that ability, and I fear that those young undergrads, many of them, now have a basic knowledge of certain issues that is skewed against our national interest.

PLEASE ALLOCATE MORE RESOURCES TOWARD PROGRAMS THAT WILL PROVIDE OUR COUNTRY WITH PROFESSIONALS WHO WILL ENGAGE THE REST OF THE WORLD, NOT ENABLE THE REST OF THE WORLD, AT OUR EXPENSE.
Submitting....

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Reader comments (22) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Misgivings [209 words]Peter HerzApr 21, 2011 16:01184478
1Orientalism [604 words]Fred BaehrApr 19, 2011 03:14184414
2India's predicament is much worse [63 words]S.C,PandaJul 25, 2003 07:0610234
my experience with ME and its study [302 words]Jeff R.Jul 3, 2003 02:169856
International Studies? Funding for Whom? [302 words]Gary GoodeJul 2, 2003 10:479834
middle east studies:wasted money [10 words]barbara weinsteinJun 28, 2003 23:399765
Whom does Hoekstra represent? [25 words]Mark ChulskyJun 27, 2003 10:359756
Title VI [174 words]Jack SalemJun 26, 2003 22:339754
Academic departments of Middle East Studies [8 words]Henry E WellingtonJun 25, 2003 21:329746
I wrote to Hoekstra, you should too [176 words]John HadjiskyJun 25, 2003 14:569745
Useful article [25 words]Martin WeinsteinJun 25, 2003 13:039742
Title VI needs oversight [137 words]Dr. Laina Farhat-HolzmanJun 25, 2003 11:429741
Politicalization of middle eastern studies [82 words]Dr. Mark PinsonJun 25, 2003 10:329739
The Enemy Within [106 words]Jim O'BrienJun 25, 2003 09:359737
The Kevorkian Center at NYU [37 words]M. DunskyJun 25, 2003 08:089733
Near East Studies Program [38 words]Philip AlperJun 25, 2003 01:499730
Said's rabid hatred of America [174 words]Antonio ChavesJun 24, 2003 19:459723
An act of balance [71 words]Amin RiazApr 30, 2011 03:139723
Middle East Studies [8 words]James GreyJun 24, 2003 15:459720
Response to Kurtz [112 words]Peter G JonesJun 24, 2003 10:059710
The End of the US [58 words]Tom DundeeApr 23, 2011 15:389710
ME studies [43 words]Glenn KlotzJun 24, 2003 09:199707

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