I probably should have put this at the beginning of my blog but I have a number of purposes for constructing this blog, other than the normal digital  self indulgence.

Number one is that this will eventually be integrated into a family history for my grandkids. They need to know their origins and how much the world has changed in a scant half-century. They need to know about this part of the world which has always fascinated their grandfather.

Number two.  I am writing a very politically incorrect image of the Middle East. One that I saw and know to be true, not as distorted by the neo-Arabists of today who in the centers of Middle East studies are taught more what to think than how to think. They know only the history of the region as depicted in the mostly politically  correct versions taught in the seminars and endlessly regurgitated by the “experts” that abound in the academic and journalistic world. It is pack and group thinking in which  an academic gate of credibility has been erected through which no one    may pass without demonstrating a”correct” view of events and trends. There are exceptions  of course, but too few and often ignored as ” not scholarly enough.”

I am writing  about events and trends as I remember them and in some cases that was over 40 years ago but  where my memory is fuzzy I will admit it. In some cases I will omit names because I have no desire to  embarrass anyone.

If folks have a different opinion or an observation well thought out I happily will put it on the blog. And I am happy to get corrections.   However, If  it is just some  left-wing Edward Said/Juan Cole bullshit, Islamist hate rhetoric, or Ba’athist rant about how  Saddam was  the new Saladin, my  response will be  boos teezie.

my grand daughters and me

grandson and me