I went in to the office (because I can say that I go into 'the office' now) to talk to the director about my hours and duties earlier this week. I was assigned my first project which I am very excited about. I will be organizing a roundtable conference on the Hariri tribunal... in Lebanon. Will I be going to the conference? Yes I will. In addition to organizing the conference, I will be working on co-authoring a couple articles with the director. I am looking forward to picking out a couple topics to research and write on. I am also excited about being able to organize this conference (not to mention travel to Lebanon). After the initial meeting with the director, I was pretty sell assured that I had made the right decision regarding which internship to take.
In other world news, Osama bin Laden's death has had a few interesting effects on life here- nothing extreme. I have had people ask me about my feelings about OBL's demise. Some people have just wanted to express their opinions. One woman that I now work with came to my desk to ask about my feelings and then tell me that she didn't really think OBL died and that it was a ploy of the US government. Peter and Adam (both British) expressed their shock at the joyous response of Americans. The KAS director (a German) was surprised to hear that OBL's death would boost President Obama's public opinion. He said: "that would never happen in Europe."An additional repercussion was the cancellation of both regional Fulbright research conferences. One was to be held in Amman the other in Rabat. Both were summarily cancelled due to a fear of retaliatory attacks against Americans.
I have to admit that I have found my own feelings on the issue to be somewhat nonsensical. My immediate reaction to the news was surprise and, I am embarrassed to say, happiness. I think that my happiness stemmed from my all too human desire for revenge for the 9/11 attacks. Rationally, however, I know that OBL's end is not an end to terrorism, extremism or hatred towards the United States. Bin Laden's death marks a symbolic victory, a morale boost, for the US, more than a strategic win. As many analysts have noted, Al Qaeda is much larger than Osama bin Laden and was organized to survive the death of OBL. And so it will.
In other world news, Osama bin Laden's death has had a few interesting effects on life here- nothing extreme. I have had people ask me about my feelings about OBL's demise. Some people have just wanted to express their opinions. One woman that I now work with came to my desk to ask about my feelings and then tell me that she didn't really think OBL died and that it was a ploy of the US government. Peter and Adam (both British) expressed their shock at the joyous response of Americans. The KAS director (a German) was surprised to hear that OBL's death would boost President Obama's public opinion. He said: "that would never happen in Europe."An additional repercussion was the cancellation of both regional Fulbright research conferences. One was to be held in Amman the other in Rabat. Both were summarily cancelled due to a fear of retaliatory attacks against Americans.
I have to admit that I have found my own feelings on the issue to be somewhat nonsensical. My immediate reaction to the news was surprise and, I am embarrassed to say, happiness. I think that my happiness stemmed from my all too human desire for revenge for the 9/11 attacks. Rationally, however, I know that OBL's end is not an end to terrorism, extremism or hatred towards the United States. Bin Laden's death marks a symbolic victory, a morale boost, for the US, more than a strategic win. As many analysts have noted, Al Qaeda is much larger than Osama bin Laden and was organized to survive the death of OBL. And so it will.
i got several comments/questions around town that made me shudder a bit--
ReplyDeletewas i afraid of bin ladin? am i glad he's dead? etc. sometimes i really dislike being the unofficial spokesperson of the u.s. to my town, especially when people seriously dislike the u.s.