Dr. James Zogby

Viewpoint with James Zogby: June 18th Episode

Posted on Thursday June 18, 2009

On Thursday’s edition of “Viewpoint with James Zogby”, Dr. Zogby and guests Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations; Bahey El Din Hassan, Director of Cairo Insitute for Human Rights Studies; and Imran Khan, leader of Pakistan’s Movement for Justice Party, discussed the Iranian elections, human rights in the Middle East, as well as the conflict in Northwestern Pakistan.

First guest, Richard Hass discussed the Iranian elections and Obama’s response. Referring to Iran’s government being more “open” Haass said, “It’s not a question of what we want, we all want the same thing”. Haas believes that with regards to the protests in Iran, “change has already happened…there’s no going back to where we were.” He also discussed opposition leader Mousavi, saying that “we shouldn’t think that [Mousavi] would necessarily bring revolutionary change.”

Haass also discussed his recent book War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars.

Bahey El Din Hassan discussed human rights and democracy in the Middle East, with a focus on the Bush administration. Hassan said the U.S. sent a mixed message to the Middle East about democracy and human rights, citing Abu Gharib, Guantanamo Bay, and a lack of “consistent strategy”.

Imran Khan, former captain of Pakistan’s cricket team, and current leader of Pakistan’s Movement for Justice Party, was the final guest. Khan discussed the side effects Pakistan has incurred due to U.S. military action in Afghanistan. He discussed an increase in pressure from the U.S. to take military action in the tribal regions, noting that there was “no militant Taliban presence” in Pakistan before U.S. invaded Afghanistan. Khan said Pakistan is “crumbling” under the pressure being imposed by the United States.

He also assessed the often cited fear that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons will fall into the hands of militants. Khan said that with the strength and size of Pakistan’s army, it was not a possibility, and that the main concern of the people of Pakistan was economic collapse.