"The Iraq Crisis as a Global Crisis"
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rising potential of war with Iran, events in the Middle East are in no way isolated to a single region. World markets are buffeted by skyrocketing oil prices, world leaders are allocating more and more of their budgets to weapons and the military rather than domestic priorities, and more countries face the potential for terrorist acts on their own soil.Yet, many people continue to see events in the Middle East as 'foreign affairs' that have little to no impact on their own countries or communities.
Middle East expert and renowned author Professor Juan Cole knows better, and Democrats Abroad Japan (DAJ) is sponsoring a brunch at Fujimamas Restaurant between 1 and 3 on November 3, 2007, for a discussion on how the Iraq crisis is indeed a global crisis. The event is in English, and open to anyone, regardless of nationality, who is interested in Middle Eastern affairs. Reservations required @ japan-chair@dems-abroad.com.
Juan Cole is a professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan in the United States. He has lived in the Middle East, speaks Arabic, Persian and Urdu, and has spent the last 30 years putting the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context through books, speeches, a regular column at salon.com and his award-winning blog Informed Comment ( www.juancole.com), a daily must-see for an alternative view of the Iraq war and American foreign policy in that region, often from the perspective of the Arab press.
Cole will be available to sign his most recent book, Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East,* which will be for sale before and after the brunch. In his book, Cole uses diaries and letters of Egyptian and French contemporaries to tell the story of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1789, the first modern attempt to invade the Arab world to "liberate" Arabs from their oppressors.
Cost for the event is 4000 yen (2000 yen for students with a valid ID), which includes the brunch and discussion, a donation to an organization supporting peaceful conflict resolution in the Middle East and a donation to DAJs Get Out the Vote effort in preparation for Democrats Abroad's first international Global Primary.
Fujimamas is located at 6-3-2 Jingumae Shibuya, Tokyo (03-5485-2262). For a map and directions, visit www.fujimamas.com.
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