Middle East conflict

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.

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.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma talks about how the Gulf War has affected him as an individual and as a musician.

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 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.