A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Juan Cole on "God's Way of Teaching Americans Geography"

Citing Ambrose Bierce's quip that "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography," Juan Cole notes that a majority of Americans, despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the confrontation with Iran, still can't locate those countries on a map:


And he has a modest proposal:
I suggest a new regulation on war. If a majority of your country cannot find the enemy country on the map, they aren’t interested enough to justify making war against it.

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