Spring Break
Forum speaker discusses Iraq crisis
Islamic historian from University of Michigan explores administration's policy
Rob Hanson
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: News
"He was definitely biased," senior Renee Mallo said. "But it was interesting, a lot of the stuff you're not hearing on the news and it makes you wonder why you're not hearing it on the news."
Cole also touched on the ever-concerning dilemma of oil, delving into it even more so during the question and answer session after his presentation.
He likened the United State's petroleum situation to an unruly game of musical chairs, where waving adversaries into a corner with a pistol gets the United States. the chair it wants. That, he said, may have been a reason the Bush administration invaded Iraq - to eject Saddam Hussein out of power before he could pawn off oil to China for below-market prices.
"I learned a lot more about the specific groups in Iraq than I had known before," Mallo said. "And why some of them are more angry with the U.S. than others.
"(Cole) definitely had the resources to back up what he was saying and you could tell that he was credible. It does kind of reaffirm the fact that it's unsettling how things are going in Iraq. I think there are other things that the U.S. could be doing with our resources, our time and our military."
Ending on a serious note, Cole capped his speech with a dismal forecast for the United States and primarily the situation in Baghdad - which he called a "powder keg."
"The United States has created a failed state in Iraq," he said. "It has inadvertently caused the ethnic cleansing of Sunnis in Baghdad."
Cole also touched on the ever-concerning dilemma of oil, delving into it even more so during the question and answer session after his presentation.
He likened the United State's petroleum situation to an unruly game of musical chairs, where waving adversaries into a corner with a pistol gets the United States. the chair it wants. That, he said, may have been a reason the Bush administration invaded Iraq - to eject Saddam Hussein out of power before he could pawn off oil to China for below-market prices.
"I learned a lot more about the specific groups in Iraq than I had known before," Mallo said. "And why some of them are more angry with the U.S. than others.
"(Cole) definitely had the resources to back up what he was saying and you could tell that he was credible. It does kind of reaffirm the fact that it's unsettling how things are going in Iraq. I think there are other things that the U.S. could be doing with our resources, our time and our military."
Ending on a serious note, Cole capped his speech with a dismal forecast for the United States and primarily the situation in Baghdad - which he called a "powder keg."
"The United States has created a failed state in Iraq," he said. "It has inadvertently caused the ethnic cleansing of Sunnis in Baghdad."
Be the first to comment on this story