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During the lead up to the Iraq War of 2003 I was very active in raising concerns about why this would be a bad decision.  I was interviewed scores of times and spoke scores more to civic groups, churches, and anyone who wanted to listen to me.  I also delivered two major talks.  One was in 2002 as Congress prepared to vote on the "authorization to use force" resolution.  I feared the invasion would be a catastrophe and explained why the first Bush administration had been cautious.  The second talk was four years later when I explained why it had turned out to be the catastrophe I feared.   

This is the first of those talks.  I will post the second talk in a few weeks. 

These are period pieces from a time at least two decades ago.  You may find them boring.  But you may also find them very interesting.  They do address some ongoing issues. 

Glitch:  Once when I was discussing our difficult relations with Israel I said that there was a danger that Iraq would get involved in the war.  Blah!  Obviously I meant to say there was a danger that Israel might get involved.  I think that is obvious from the context, but I wanted to mention it to you. 

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Several top American leaders wrote their memoirs about this war.  Ordinarily we assume that our leaders, those giants who hold the top positions in the country and shape the destiny of the world,  are smarter than a student who had just completed my class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.  We assume they will have some basic knowledge of the region and will have enough sense to avoid obvious dangers.  

I read several of those memoirs and typed up their discussions of what they did and why.   Those were circulated to my students for supplementary reading.   This is the type of thing that serious students taking a serious university-level course would learn.   With 144,000 lebanese killed during that period of terrible violence,  they would know enough not to make obvious blunders. 

Note that there are other podcasts on this war.  One is called The Lebanon War of 1982;  one is on Sabra and Chatilla massacres and the Kahan Commission Report. 

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Kennedy School Rejects HRW Head over Apartheid Report. 

 When Kenneth Roth retired as head of Human Rights Watch he was invited to join the Kennedy School as a senior fellow for a year.  The appointment would be with the Carr Center for Human Rights one of the 12 centers affiliated with the Kennedy School.  He agreed to the nomination but when he had his interview with Douglas Elmendorf, Dean of the School (who has to approve all appointments),  he got odd questions.  One was “Do you have any enemies.”  Roth, who is Jewish, recognized that as code for Israel.  As he said later -- Make Enemies.  That is what I do for a living.  I issue reports and I make enemies. 

The supporters of Israel have consistently accused HRW of having a bias against Israel and singling it out.  They were particularly incensed about a report last year on apartheid and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.  In fact, HRW has issued reports on over 100 countries (including the US).  In the past two decades they have issued 1700 reports about the Middle East, few of which focused on Israel, and one of which was a very harsh criticism of the Palestinian Authority.  

Roth was informed that he would not receive the appointment.  (Note that the Kennedy School has 750 visiting fellows, many of whom are there to write a book. As a rule, they do not teach classes).  He accepted an appointment with the University of Pennsylvania human rights group (although after an explosion of criticisms Elmendorf reversed course and offered him an appointment in the Kennedy School.  I am not sure if he has reconsidered the Penn appointment in favor of Harvard). 

Last year I presented a podcast on the concept of apartheid, and whether it applied to Israel when compared with South Africa under apartheid.  Note that the HRW report was primarily concerned with the occupied territories rather than Israel itself.  

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Ron Rosenbaum published a book in 1998 discussing how 13 major scholars (and a score of lesser scholars) explained Hitler.  Who was Hitler?  Was he a charlatan just using Jew-hatred to rise to power?  Was he the personification of Evil?  Was he a Christian saint avenging the crucifixion of Christ?  Was he just a victim of German culture?  Did he slide into mass murder as events evolved, or had he planned the Holocaust as early as 1918?  And should we even discuss these issues? 

This book captured my imagination.  Each of these scholars was uniquely interesting.  

I think it will capture your imagination also.  

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Now that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has passed on, it is time for me to post the story of the time I ran for pope.  The Vatican and I have very different stories about what happened but this is my version.  

There is also the story of Pope Joan, the female pope. 

And of Spotlight, the Best Film of the year. 

Enjoy

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An impeachment is not the same as a criminal trial, which may be what Donald Trump is facing,  given that the January 6 Committee has referred four possible crimes to the Justice Department.  

Trump had TWO impeachment trials, the first for holding up congressionally approved arms shipments to Ukraine until they opened an investigation of his opponent, the second for the insurrection on January 6.  This podcast addresses the second trial. 

There is also an earlier podcast on The Logic of Impeachment, focusing on that earlier situation.  

If you don't remember that  event this may help clarify some of the issues. 

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This is an unusual podcast.  It is s summary of a lecture delivered some years ago by the head, i.e., editor, of the Anchor Bible Project.  This is an effort to translate and ofer exegesis on 66 books.  47 were done at the time of the talk.  

The editor says that we need to remember that the books of the Old Testament were not books.  They were scrolls that were organized into a single "book" by an editor or some editors.  And as editors, they organized those scrolls into a structure to create a narrative. 

These are  fascinating insights. 

But what happened to the Tenth Commandment?  

Interesting that you should ask. 

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In late December,  Jane and I will celebrate our 60th Wedding Anniversary.  Ten years ago, we celebrated our 50th anniversary by taking our whole family of ten on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Kenya.  We visited all the places that Jane and I knew from our time in that wonderful country.  

Whenever an anniversary rolls around I always think back to when I first met this amazing and beautiful woman, and how I had to persuade her that this dorky guy was worth her time.  

 Back a decade ago, in honor of that earlier anniversary, I wrote up the story of our courtship.  That was long before the days of online dating when guys actually had to approach young women in their live forms.  I'll tell you, guys, that was not easy, especially for someone like me who did not have the slightest idea of what to do.  We meant well but  I suspect several of our techniques would today sound strange.   

Anyway, here is the story, with all of its embarassing moments.  

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A year ago, I made a list of books on religion that I found very engaging when I read then.  I wanted to share those with you, but it took me a year to get the podcast ready. 

 These are not books on religion in a conventional sense, the kind of thing that might remind you of your religion class when you were 12.  These are serious books by scholars and intellectuals.  They are intellectually provocative.   They are the kind of books I might have mentioned during my class on Religion and Politics.  

There are twelve of these.  Three deal with Islam, two are by Garry Wills, one of my favorite writers, and six focus upon Christianity in one way or another.  

And as I say in the podcast, please remember that I am a political scientist, not a theologian or a minister. 

I hope you consider reading one or more of these.  You will be glad you did. 

And my wife thinks this is the best podcast I have ever done.  

But she is my Number One Fan.  

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Podcast Zoom Chat

Would anyone out there like to have a Chat?  My friend and my wife thought this might be a good idea.  After all, I have 37,000 downloads in 124 different countries and I never get to interact with any of you.  

Well, on Saturday, December 3 from 12:00 - 1:00 (Eastern Standard Time), I am going to be available if anyone wants to chat.  Do you want to follow up on some podcast?  Do you want to tell me how you found the series?  Do you just want to talk?  Whatever, I am available and interested. 

If you will send me an email I will send you a link. 

[email protected]

See you then.  

ps.  I just realized I am not allowed to make a text announcement on this site.  I  have to have a podcast. I am going  to attach my Six Month Report.  You can listen to that if you wish.  Or not.