Quoted in Gainesville Sun: Civil war, 29 nov 06 [and letter 2007]

1]
The Gainesville Sun
Gainesville, Florida

http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20071203/NEWS/712030306/1002/NEWS

3 dec 2007

I am happy to see the focus on UF's Study Abroad programs. It was a privilege to be involved as program director for the Fez, Morocco program this past summer. The dollar goes farther there, but the value of the experience surpasses even the economics. Students had real live everyday communications with Moroccans: each one was touched by their experience in an unforgettable way. Having a child help you find your way in the labyrinthine old city, or sleeping in a desert encampment under a canopy of incredible stars - study abroad itself is the star in this picture.
Thanks for highlighting it, and I look forward to more student stories!
Annie C. Higgins
formerly of African and Asian Languages and Literatures, UF

2]
The Gainesville Sun
Gainesville, Florida

UF experts: Civil war is a matter of perspective
By NATHAN CRABBE
Sun staff writer

Published: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 6:01 a.m.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060127/LOCAL/201270326

Some members of the U.S. media are debating whether the term "civil war" should be used to describe the conflict in Iraq.But Annie Higgins said Middle Eastern reporters have used the Arabic term for civil war, "harb ahliya," to describe the violence in Iraq for at least a month."I don't think it's much of a debate there," said Higgins, a visiting assistant professor in Arabic languages and literature at the University of Florida. "People don't really care about the term - the fact is you have this dreadful violence that is out of control."NBC News announced this week that it will start characterizing the bloodshed between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq as a civil war. The Los Angeles Times last month was the first major media outlet to officially adopt the term, but other media outlets have been reluctant. Members of the Bush administration prefer the term "sectarian violence," portraying the conflict as a struggle against terrorists.One scholarly definition of civil war has two criteria: First, warring groups must be from the same country and fighting for power, land or policy changes. Second, at least 1,000 people must have been killed including 100 or more from each side.By that definition Iraq is clearly involved in a civil war, said Ido Oren, an associate professor of political science at UF. The Bush administration has resisted using the word because of the public perception it creates, he said. "It makes the situation in Iraq look like a failure for them," he said.For many Americans, the fighting between the Union and Confederacy from 1861-1865 serves as a point of reference for a civil war. But the U.S. Civil War has more differences than similarities with the current fighting in Iraq, said Matthew Gallman, a history professor at UF who is an expert on the American conflict.The U.S. Civil War was easier to define as such because it involved huge battles and clearly defined divisions and goals, he said. While that doesn't preclude the term from being used in Iraq, he views the current debate as a distraction."It's kind of a rhetorical red herring," he said.Debates over the language used to describe war are nothing new. The New York Times had for years shied away from using the term genocide to describe the Ottoman Empire's mass evacuation and killing of Armenians from 1915 to 1917. It reversed the policy in 2004.Oren said reporters differ from political scientists in what to call the fight between Peru and Ecuador over land in 1995. Some media reports called it a war, but he said political scientists refrain from using the term because there were fewer than 1,000 deaths.He said the current debate echoes the White House's initial reluctance to describe the enemy in Iraq as an insurgency. The administration only relented when the reality on the ground forced it to accept the term, he said.Such terms are in the eye of the beholder, he said."For the purpose of politics and political debates, a war is what people call a war," he said.


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[old post 2b repositioned]


Quoted in WM News: Kennedy in WB, 8 sep 2005
William & Mary News

Against the wall: Kennedy (’08) finds little hope in the West Bank
Author: David Williard, Source: W&M News
Date: Sep 08, 2005

http://web.wm.edu/news/archive/index.php?id=5145

As he set off for the West Bank this summer, Judd Kennedy (’08) seemed to be the only one without concerns. Friends just looked at him wide-eyed when he announced his destination. His parents were frightened. A few people called him crazy. Even Annie Higgins, visiting professor of modern languages and literatures, who was instrumental in his decision to go, warned him, “If you have any hesitation whatsoever, you should not be doing this. It is not a laughing matter, and there are people who have either been harmed or killed.”

Kennedy remained determined. His primary reason for going was to learn Arabic—“the kind spoken on the streets,” he explained. Toward that end, he attended classes at Birzeit University during the day and spent many of his evenings and weekends traveling to the region’s holy sites, cafes and other public places, where he struck up what he called “non-touristy” conversations with residents. He quickly discovered that the encroaching Israeli security wall—dubbed the “apartheid wall” by many Palestinians—generated the deepest political exchanges. The wall, 20-meters tall and made of concrete, cuts apart communities as it sometimes follows the internationally recognized Israeli-Palestinian border called the “Green Line” and sometimes does not. In retrospect, it was the sheer impact of that structure that turned Kennedy’s sympathies toward the citizens of the West Bank. “There is a hopelessness among the Palestinians because they believe that the wall is going to segregate the West Bank,” Kennedy said.

“Yes, I have grown sympathetic toward them because I have seen the human side of the average, everyday person. You ask them, ‘What is your hope for the future? What can be done?’ Many of them will say, ‘We’re going to be Indians on a reservation.’”

Kennedy’s interest in the Middle East and in the Arabic language began when he came to William and Mary. Although friends of his family who were working with the government suggested it would be a smart course of study, in his small hometown in southwestern Pennsylvania, he had virtually no contact with Islam or with Arabic culture. He took an Arabic language course at the College, even though he did not need the credit, partially from a self-serving motive. “I thought it might lead to a nice career,” he admitted. Quickly enamored with the rich textures of Arabic phrasings, he subsequently enrolled in Middle Eastern history classes and was intrigued by the region’s “multiple layers of civilizations.” Within three months, he knew he would be a Middle Eastern studies major. Almost as quickly, he realized that his understanding could advance only so far in the United States. At the suggestion of Higgins—and with the help of a grant from the College’s Charles Center, he committed to study at Birzeit. The trip reinforced his determination.

Kennedy’s trip to the West Bank was funded, in part, by a grant from the Roy R. Charles Center. For information, see the center’s Web site.

During his stay, Kennedy maintained an on-line record of his experiences. If he did not post daily, he had to call home to reassure his parents, he recalled. The postings (see sidebar) included accounts of having a peanut-butter feast interrupted by apparent gunshots, of witnessing a hail of rock-throwing and of venturing toward the wall.

Noticeably absent from his accounts was any conversation about the Israeli withdrawal in Gaza—the subject that dominated U.S. media reports during the period Kennedy was in the Middle East. He said that the Palestinians seemed to downplay the withdrawal. Although people in the West Bank will not suggest that the process of the Israeli removal of settlements from Gaza was not a positive gesture, they fear that the international attention will prevent the Israeli government from feeling any pressure to remove itself from the West Bank. Beyond that, they recognize the danger if the Palestinian government stumbles in its efforts to generate order in Gaza.

“Many feel that the Israeli government is saying, ‘Here, Palestinians, is your chance to govern,’’’ Kennedy explained. “And the government will have one chance to control Hamas and stop terrorist activities and make a functioning government. If they don’t make it, that test run will be used against them for the next 20 years. Israelis will say, ‘We don’t have a partner to make peace.’”

Back at William and Mary, Kennedy realizes that his understanding of politics in the region will remain limited until he has had a chance to live among Israelis, an opportunity he may attempt to secure in the future. His trip-related research, conducted to fulfill the grant requirements of the Charles Center, focuses on ways the West Bank can benefit from globalization. An understanding of Israel, he knows, is enmeshed in whatever positive effects it will generate. Palestinian officials conceded that they were leaning toward tourism as a key economic engine. Yet, as one political leader told him, “Any effort to effect a liberalization of the market would have to put in context of the wall.” Meanwhile, Kennedy will pursue opportunities to make positive changes. This year, he is serving as resident assistant in the Arabic House. He also is continuing the International Justice Mission on campus, a group he started last year, which is “dedicated to publicity, advocacy and prayer” to bring greater justice into the world. He will also, no doubt, continue to speak about his experiences in the West Bank.

“I feel as if I have a duty to talk to people about the territories,” he wrote at one point in his journals. Back on campus, he explained that before he left the West Bank, he asked a high-ranking Palestinian official what would be the most-effective thing he could do after he returned to the United States to help bring justice to the region.

The man just said, “Tell people what you saw,” Kennedy recalled.