Recent headlines throughout the month of September have included several university bomb threats, the murder of the American ambassador to Libya on the anniversary of Sept. 11 and the escalation of Middle Eastern conflicts.
Based on statements at a United Nations meeting on Monday, it is evident the conflict between Iran and Israel is coming to a head.
“We don’t even count them as any part of any equation for Iran,” said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UN general assembly. “During a historical phase, (the Israelis) represent minimal disturbances that come into the picture and are then eliminated.”
Conflict between the Middle East and the West dates back to year 711 A.D. Most recently, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi warned the U.S. in interviews on Monday “that its promotion of Israeli interests ahead of Palestinian independence has fostered deep anti-American sentiment across the Arab World.”
After the murder of the American ambassador in Libya, several commentators, including journalist Victor Davis Hanson, have said that the attacks were purposefully anti-American – a celebration of the anniversary of 9/11.
In an August news cast from the Middle East, an Egyptian professor of political science spoke to a TV news anchor from Al-Alam TV in Iran about the Middle Eastern conflict. His views mirrored those of Ahmadinejad.
He said Israel will be wiped off the map by next year. Both Obama and Romney have indicated that the U.S. will stay aligned with Israel.
News from the Middle East was interrupted throughout the month with university bomb threats in Nebraska, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and Arkansas. At University of Texas at Austin, the caller that issued the bomb threat was said to have spoken in a Middle Eastern accent.
Jeremi Suri, University of Texas professor and Distinguished Chair of Leadership in Global Affairs, said in an interview with Austin news station KVUE that the threats were probably not tied to militant Islamic organizations. Instead, Suri said that the person who issued the threat “was in some ways motivated by what happened there and that the threat was taken more seriously because of what was happening over there.”
Harding Public Safety recently released a document that detailed response plans to emergencies such as bomb threats. The document also has a bomb threat check-list and evacuation procedures for specific areas of campus. Later this semester, the Emergency Management Committee hopes to begin an on-line training program for faculty and staff.
Professor of Business Steve Williams said he keeps up with world news and tries to inform his students of current events and encourage them to think deeply about the implications of the events.
“I would encourage everyone to remember that one leg of Harding’s mission statement is to promote citizenship within a global perspective,” Williams said. “That includes an understanding of and a respect for other cultures. … I have a responsibility as a professor here to help students to understand world conditions.”
