Not a single conversation thesedays about US policy in the region, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, and what have you–that does not end with the question, where are the Arab Americans, and why aren’t they as organized as the pro-Israel lobby. Issandr has blogged several postings about this subject before.
Anyways, Zazou posted some critical comments on Darell Issa, the US congressional representaive from Lebanese decent, who is no stranger for us here in Cairo, with his regional visits that usually include meetings with Hosni, Gamal, and the NDP posse…
Anyways, Zazou posted some critical comments on Darell Issa, the US congressional representaive from Lebanese decent, who is no stranger for us here in Cairo, with his regional visits that usually include meetings with Hosni, Gamal, and the NDP posse…
Worth checking out: Poor Lebanon…
Hi Hossam,
Glad you found it of interest. It’s not that insightful a post since I wrote it between bouts with mosquitos at about 4 am, but i was just incensed by his linking the situation in Lebanon with the US’s “quest” for democracy and his “our common enemy” statement really set me off…If you want to see something interesting, take a look at opensecrets.org and check out who his PAC contributors are- there should several familiar names…
I just wanted to leave a slight correction, Darrel Issa is a Representative to Congress here in the US, NOT a not a member of the US Senate.
A typical Congressional Representative has much less clout than a Senator does.
Thanks D, I corrected it.
Hey Zazou, Indeed I found it interesting, and I understand the posting was not some long \”analytical\” piece… but I still found it interesting. The guy\’s name keeps on popping up every now and then here in the local news, and sure I\’m interested in knowing more about his politics back home.
When you get the time, it would be nice if you can post something longer on the subject… would sure love to read it.
Hi Hossam,
Thanks and will do. While Deco suggests he has limited clout- this is not really the case. Issa is one of the few (if any) Arabic-speaking anything in the Congress and represents a very powerful Southern California district. It is not by chance that he was th Republican hatchet man- in my opinion 2 reasons: Davis was so bad in certain ways and Issa so earnest that he was able to galvanize people. reason 2: he had a snowball’s chance in hell of being elected governor of Califorina after 9/11. PLus has has a questionable past AND, more importantly, Califonia is seen as a potential stepping stone to the White House and if people think getting Kennedy, an Irish Catholic was tough, imagine getting a end generation Lebanese American elected, not matter what his last name (and nobody who doesn’t know know Arabic picks up on Issa). Personally, I wish they would send Hassif with Rice. I was in Morocco shortly after he was recalled and everyone loved him. They kept asking why the US government didn’t keep him in his post. And Moroccans, as you know, are notoriously hard to sincerely please.
Don;t know what is up with the keyboard at work!
The guy’s name is Thomas Nassif.
Just to clarify things for people wondering who Thomas Nassif is: he was the US ambassador to Morocco in the late 1980s. I don’t remember whether he was a political appointee (of Bush I) or a career diplomat, but I suspect the former. There are several other excellent ambassador-rank career diplomats in the US who are Arab-American (all Christians, I believe) or belong to a minority in the Arab world, such as Armenians.
On Issa: I’ve been following his career because not only is he a Republican tool, but always the first to stand up when it comes to defending Hosni Mubarak or the House of Saud. That’s his idea of being pro-Arab. He needs to be lynched by Arab-Americans next time he comes around for a fund-raiser.
I’m sure Darrell Issa and the other Lebanese-American Republicans are reactionary and opportunistic (Republicans of “diverse” ethnic backgrounds are usually still schmucks) but I dug up that article about his and other Leb-Americans’ efforts to get language in the Congressional resolution about Lebanon amended, and wanted to put it out there:
http://www.aaiusa.org/press-room/2321/mustread072606washpost
They still ended up voting for that Israel-must-defend-itself resolution…
All excpet Rahall who stood up against it.
As for Nassif, I can’t remember, either, but he left such a good impression, that there was a sense the US had finally got it right, for a very short time.