Rock critic Ken Tucker reflects on some recent songs that have come out in favor of or against U.S. involvement in Iraq, including those by Sean Lennon, Hank Williams, Jr., Andrew Tippin, and Randy Newman.
Fresh Air producer Amy Salit talks with Patrick Seale, author of "Asad: The Struggle for The Middle East." They'll discuss Syria's role in the current war, and the country's recent political history.
Terry Gross talks with the military historian about the conflict in the Middle East. They discuss when war is warranted, and acknowledge the suspicions many citizens may have about those motives. Howard teaches at Yale University.
After seeing a performance the night the Gulf War began, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tells us about how music can be a poignant response to war.
Terry talks with Dr. Saeb Erakat, a university professor, about life in the occupied territories during the Gulf War. Moshe Fogel from the Israeli Defense Department responds to his concerns.
Comic strip artist Bill Griffith talks about the impact of the war on his daily strip, Zippy. Griffith is surprised that other comics like Beetle Bailey haven't also addressed the conflict.
Ed Dorn, a senior staff member of the Brookings Institution, considers the question, "Does the US military really provide equal opportunities for African Americans?" Dorn points to the fact that blacks make up a disproportionately large percentage of the Armed Forces, in part because many African American recruits have fewer economic opportunities in the civilian world.
Terry speaks with three guests about how African Americans are engaged with the Gulf War. Diane Pinderhughes is a professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois and the author of a new report for the National Urban League on the role of blacks in the Gulf War. Damu Smith, the founder of the peace group, the African-American Network Against US Intervention in the Gulf, talks about the social forces that lead many African American to military service. Muhamad Abdul-Aleem is resident Imam of a Philadelphia Mosque.
Journalist Randy Shilts wrote the controversial book on the handling of the AIDS crisis, "And the Band Played On." He joins Fresh Air to discuss the legal troubles gays and lesbians in the military face. Shilts says the provision against gays serving in the military has been ignored now that the U.S. is engaged in war, and that these service members potentially face court martial when they return.
Journalist Robert Cullen covers the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He joins Fresh Air to talk about recent crackdowns on rights in the U.S.S.R. and advances in the Baltic Republics. Cullen is currently working on a book about the Soviet empire.
Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg comments on the way English speakers use the suffix "e" and "i" to lump together most nationalities in the Middle East (Kuwati, Iraqi...). He says the practice has its roots in the 19th and 20th century colonial period, and says a lot about how we view people in that region.
Journalist Vernon Loeb of the Philadelphia Inquirer gives us a first hand report of the latest missile attack on Israel. Next, editor Michael Lerner of "Tikkun," the leading magazine of American-Jewish intellectuals, discusses the thinking of the liberal Jewish community on the Gulf War.
The Professor of English at Columbia University was born in Palestine and raised in Egypt. He discusses the West's often simplistic misconceptions about Islam and Arab world, and how the war looks from the Arab point of view.
Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton talks about the psychological effects of the current war in the Middle East. Despite the risk of what he calls "psychic numbing," he thinks citizens should stay engaged with the conflict and follow coverage of it in the news.
Chris Flavin, the Vice President for research at the WorldWatch Institute in Washington, talks to Terry Gross about the environmental risks of the Gulf War -- Saddam Hussein has threatened to blow up oil facilities. Next, Amy Salit speaks with Alfred Rubin, a professor of international law at Tufts University, about war and international law.
Terry asks three people about how the war is affecting their creative work: Arab poet Zabyah Khamis, American poet Galway Kinnell, and political cartoonist Dan Wasserman.
Rashid Khalidi, the Associate Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, talks about the recent bombing of Tel Aviv by Iraq -- an attack intended to force Israel to establish a Palestinian state. Khalid discusses why many Palestinian Arabs have aligned themselves with Saddam Hussein.
Critic John Leonard talks to Terry Gross about how television news shows are covering the war in Iraq. They conclude that networks are framing the conflict as a kind of entertainment program -- a strategy which may actually bring the war closer to home for many viewers.
Charles Tripp, a Middle East scholar at the University of London, joins Fresh Air to talk about Iraq's leader, how he survived the Iran-Iraq War, and how he maintains political power.
