A talk at George Mason University
Who: Elan Journo, resident fellow focusing on foreign policy issues at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights
What: A talk arguing that the wars in the Middle East that America is engaged in can, in fact, be won, but only after properly identifying the fundamental enemy: the Islamist movement
Where: Student Union II, Room 5, 6 & 7; George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030
When: Friday, November 13, 2009, at 8:00 p.m.
Description: The regrouped Taliban and their Islamist allies are waging a fierce comeback in Afghanistan–the launching pad for 9/11–and are actively hatching plots against us. The Islamist regime in Iran–which began an anti-American holy war decades prior to 9/11–appears poised to acquire its own nuclear weapon. Pakistan struggles to fend off Islamist forces seeking to dominate the nuclear-armed state. Many now believe that America’s military operation in Afghanistan is unwinnable–even as new threats, from Iran and Pakistan, loom large.
Is there a way out of this seemingly hopeless and worsening mire?
Elan Journo of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights explains that a key problem in U.S. policy since 9/11 has been Washington’s failure to clearly identify the enemy. The Taliban, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranian regime are not separate problems to be dealt with piecemeal. They are part of the Islamist movement, the state-supported, ideological enemies whose members share the goal of imposing totalitarian Islamist rule worldwide, and they regard America as a prime enemy. To protect ourselves from the Islamist movement, Mr. Journo argues, requires a thorough understanding of this foe and the willingness to defeat its state supporters. Had we done that after 9/11, we could have ended the Islamist threat years ago–and we still could today. Q&A follows.
Admission: FREE. Open to students and the public.
Bio: Elan Journo is a resident fellow focusing on foreign policy issues at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. He is the editor of and chief contributor to “Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism.” His op-eds have appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Sun-Times, and the Orange County Register. Mr. Journo’s articles have also been published in major newspapers abroad, including Australia’s Herald Sun and the Canberra Times, and Canada’s Globe and Mail. Mr. Journo is also a contributing writer for “The Objective Standard,” a quarterly journal of culture and politics. Mr. Journo has lectured at college campuses and given numerous radio interviews on foreign policy and the threat of Islamic totalitarianism.
More information: Please e-mail Oleksandra Davydenko, president of the George Mason University Objectivist club, at odavyden@gmu.edu.
Please note: The above event is organized, hosted and sponsored by an individual campus club. Although ARI provides financial support, educational materials and speakers for eligible student clubs, campus clubs are organizations independent of ARI. ARI does not necessarily endorse the content of the lectures and sessions offered.
