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America's Changing Image in the Middle East

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Middle Easterners are used to seeing the US as the invincible Superpower, but events in Iraq are changing America's image. Is the Great Satan incompetent after all?  What does that mean for governments that depend on US support and for America's own objectives? Also, stock prices continue to drop—in the US, Europe and Asia and, on Reporter's Notebook, gay rights and Democratic candidates last night in Los Angeles.

Making News

Stock Markets React to Problems in Sub-Prime Lending Market ()

Stock prices dropped again on Wall Street today—following markets in Europe and Asia—which, in turn, were responding to America's sub-prime lending problems. It's the dark side of what has been a stabilizing factor. That's according to Daniel Gross who writes the Contrary Indicator column for Newsweek and Moneybox for Slate.com.

Guests:

Main Topic

Is the Great Satan a Big Blunderer? ()

Polls show that vast numbers of Middle Easterners believe the US wants to divide their region, take over their oil and replace Islam with Christianity. Al Jazeera TV, newspapers and magazines promote the idea of a grand conspiracy by an invincible Superpower. Conspiracy theories about western imperialism have a rich history in the Middle East.  While recently, it's the United States that gets the blame—or the credit—for events that might otherwise be inexplicable, the chaos of the Iraq occupation appears to be changing public opinion. Is America incompetent after all? Can it be defeated? With public opinion changing, where does that leave the governments supported by the US? What will it mean for American interests in a volatile region?

Guests:
  • Richard Bulliet: Professor of History at Columbia University
  • Rami Khouri: editor-at-large of the Daily Star
  • Danielle Pletka: Vice President for Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
  • Gregory Gause: Director of the Middle East Studies Program at the University of Vermont
  • Fawaz Gerges: Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence College
Links:

Reporter's Notebook

Democratic Candidates Come Out for Gay Rights Forum ()

Gays and lesbians are active in Democratic politics and constitute one of the party's more reliable voting blocs, but the nation is divided on some of the issues they care about most. Last night in Los Angeles, six candidates for president answered questions from a very interested audience. Gravel and Kucinich said they were in favor of same-sex marriage; Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Richardson all were opposed—saying the rights of gay and lesbian couples could be guaranteed by civil unions. None of the candidates changed their positions, but they offered a contrast to what their Republican counterparts have been saying. Matt Foreman is executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Guests:
  • Matt Foreman: Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Links:

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