Oak Ridge Today

Roane State lectures to address differences between Islam, Islamic State (ISIS)

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Rihab Sawah

Rihab Sawah

Scholar Rihab Sawah from St. Louis Community College will discuss differences between Islam and the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, on Thursday, March 31, at Roane State Community College’s Roane and Oak Ridge campuses.

The Roane County lecture will be held at 11:30 a.m. in room 101 in the O’Brien Humanities Building on the main campus in Harriman, 276 Patton Lane. The Oak Ridge lecture will be held at 3 p.m. in the City Room at the Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Ave.

The lectures, presented by Roane State’s International Education Department and the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, or ORICL, are free and open to the public.

The presentations will define Islam and the Islamic State and will contrast 12 main points that highlight the diverging point of view of ISIS in relation to Islam. Sawah will also present the historical roots of a movement such as ISIS and explain why the movement misuses Islamic ideology and how it serves ISIS leaders’ aim to establish their influence in the region. [Read more…]

Retired CIA officer to discuss Middle East foreign policy

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Tony Jordan

Tony Jordan

Tony Jordan, retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service officer, will discuss what he sees as failures in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East during Lunch with the League on Tuesday, a press release said.

Jordan has extensive experience as an operations manager in the Middle East and South Asia, a press release said.

The Tuesday, October 7, program will start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s new location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Fleischmann urges caution on U.S. response to Iraq

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann on Friday urged caution in responding to the rapid advance of militants who have taken control of a wide swath of Iraq and are pressing on toward Baghdad.

Fleischmann was in Oak Ridge during the annual two-day Secret City Festival.

The militants are known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The Sunni organization was once part of Al Qaeda, and it has effectively gained control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria during the past year, including Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. There have been battles in Baquba, less than 40 miles north of Baghdad.

Now, the United States and other countries are struggling with how to respond. Among the options that have been proposed are airstrikes and working with Iran to repel the rebels. [Read more…]

Sen. Corker completes Middle East trip with visits to Oman, Bahrain

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Sen. Bob Corker Meets with Tennessee Sailors and Marines

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, meets with Tennessee sailors and marines deployed to Bahrain with the U.S. Fifth Fleet. (Submitted photos)

Submitted

MANAMA, Bahrain—U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican and ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, completed a three-nation trip to the Middle East on Dec. 5 in Bahrain, where he continued to assess U.S. diplomatic and security relations in the Gulf region, a press release said.

After a visit with U.S. Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski, he met with Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa to discuss the state of U.S.-Bahrain relations and the Crown Prince’s ongoing efforts for political reform and stability amidst continued unrest.

“Bahrain is an important and longstanding U.S. ally, hosting the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which plays a significant role in regional stability and protecting the global flow of energy,” Corker said in a press release. “It is in our national interest to continue our strong military partnership, ensure the country remains stable, and encourage nonviolent reformers on both sides to continue to work together to achieve a political solution to Bahrain’s own internal problems.” [Read more…]

Alexander concerned about consequences of striking Syria

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Saturday said he is concerned about the possible long-term consequences of an American military attack on Syria in retaliation for the Assad’s regime suspected use of chemical weapons.

The senator, a Tennessee Republican, was responding to President Barack Obama’s announcement that he would seek congressional authorization before launching a military strike on Syria.

A press release from Alexander’s office said the senator participated in a briefing by telephone with Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper immediately after the president’s announcement. [Read more…]

Corker returns from Middle East, visits East Tennessee on Tuesday

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Bob Corker Meets Nouri Al-Maliki

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, left, a Tennessee Republican, meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, second from right. (Submitted photos)

After a week-long trip to the Middle East that ended Saturday, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said the recent expansion of violence there threatened the region’s security and America’s national interest.

Corker is a Tennessee Republican and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From Aug. 10-17, he visited with U.S. and foreign officials in Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan. The trip focused on regional political and security issues important to the United States, including the violence in Egypt, the conflict in Syria, and the threat of sectarian violence and terrorism in the region, a press release said.

Corker will be in East Tennessee on Tuesday, with stops in Knoxville and Maryville. He spent the first week of the Senate’s August recess in Middle Tennessee and will be making stops throughout Tennessee this coming week. [Read more…]

UT professor discusses Arab Spring in Tuesday Lunch with the League

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Robert B. Cunningham

Robert B. Cunningham

A retired University of Tennessee professor who has taught in Syria and Jordan will discuss the Arab Spring and its impact on the Middle East and the United States during a Tuesday lecture in Oak Ridge.

The talk by Robert Cunningham, UT political science professor emeritus, starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

Cunningham’s research and teaching interests have focused on issues related to public administration and the politics of the Middle East. From 1959 to 1962, he taught at Aleppo College in Aleppo, Syria. He returned to the Middle East in 1986 through a faculty exchange program at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and again in 1992 as a Fulbright Teacher and Scholar at Yarmouk University.

He has also conducted research in Marrakech, Morocco, and in Jordan.

Cunningham has a master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. He joined the UT faculty in 1972 and retired from full-time service at the end of the 2008-09 academic year.

[Read more…]