(1) Can you tell ZNet, please, what your new book, Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism is trying to communicate?
My main point is that, in addition to the important moral and legal concerns about U.S. Middle East policy, current U.S. policy is contrary to even mainstream notions of the country’s security interests. There is now a convergence between those of us who have challenged U.S. foreign policy for ideological or ethical reasons and those who see things primarily in terms of national security interests since they can no longer be separated. The U.S. has done terrible things in its interventions in the past, but the Vietnamese and Nicaraguans never flew airplanes into buildings.
(2) Can you tell ZNet something about writing the book? Where does the content come from? What went into making thei book what it is?
I wrote it as a survey of U.S. policy in the Middle East for those who may not have much background on the topic, but — given the events of the past year and a half and what is likely to come — figure maybe they should. It is based in part on articles I have written for Z, The Progressive, In These Times and The Nation as well as for more mainstream policy journals. There is also a lot of new material regarding recent events up to early this fall.
(3) What are your hopes for Tinderbox? What do you hope it will contribute or achieve, politically?
On the one hand, it gives progressives a well-documented history that will provide ammunition for challenging Bush Administration policy. I’ve found that there are a fair number of activists who know a lot about Central America, South Africa and even East Timor, but know surprisingly little about the Middle East, so this can serve as something of a primer. On the other hand, it is the kind of book that can be given to moderate to conservative friends and relatives since it avoids being too strident, everything is thoroughly footnoted and it primarily addresses the question of how U.S. policy has been counter-productive to the country’s legitimate security interests. The final chapter, in fact, offers specific alternatives to the current policy that could bring real security.
Stephen Zunes Department of Politics University of San Francisco 2130 Fulton Street San Francisco, CA 94117
Stephen Zunes (born 1956) is an American international relations scholar specializing in the Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, and strategic nonviolent action. He is known internationally as a leading critic of United States policy in the Middle East, particularly under the George W. Bush administration, and an analyst of nonviolent civil insurrections against autocratic regimes. Stephen has been at the University of San Franscico since 1995, teaching courses on the politics of the Middle East and other regions, nonviolence, conflict resolution, U.S. foreign policy, and globalization. He served as the founder and first director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program. A prominent specialist on U.S. Middle East policy, Professor Zunes has presented hundreds of public lectures and conference papers in both the United States and over a dozen foreign countries. He has traveled frequently to the Middle East and other conflict regions, meeting with prominent government officials, scholars, and dissidents. He has served as a political analyst for local, national, and international radio and television and as a columnist for several print and online publications, and has published hundreds of articles in academic journals, anthologies, magazines, and elsewhere on such topics as U.S. foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics, Latin American politics, African politics, human rights, arms control, social movements, and nonviolent action. He has served as a writer and senior analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus, an associate editor for Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun.
ZNetwork is funded solely through the generosity of its readers.
Donate
