Tom Fudge: The focus of American foreign policy changes with the times. But since the end of the Cold War, our primary concern has been the emerging power and anti-Americanism of the Islamic world. The hundreds of millions of people who follow Islam dominate the politics of dozens of countries, stretching from North Africa to the East Indies. Not all of these countries are hostile to the U.S. Those political factions that are anti-American comprise a potent force, very often appealing to the poor and the oppressed. The U.S., for its part, has developed a reputation responding to these tense relations in a fairly clumsy way. The best example of that, of course, is our invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq.
The list of Americans who really understand the politics of the Islamic world is pretty small, and that list definitely includes the man who joins us this hour. He is a San Diego resident named Vali Nasr. Nasr, in fact, has been in great demand as a person who can help us understand events in Islamic world. He frequently writes op-ed articles for The Washington Post and The Christian Science Monitor , to name a couple.
Guest
- Vali Nasr , professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He's author of the book The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will shape the Future .
