Information key to change in Arab world, says expert Wednesday, 19 January 2011 02:03

DOHA: Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar hosted journalist and author, Seymour M Hersh, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha, yesterday.

Hersh delivered a lecture on, ‘The Obama/Bush foreign Policies; Why can’t America Change,’ as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by Georgetown’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS). The lecture was open to the public with an audience of more than 800 people.

Hersh argued that the Obama administration had continued many of his predecessor’s failed policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of the ‘global war on terror.’ He also discussed the changing political landscape of Israel’s government, arguing that more and more right-wing elements were currently replacing outgoing officials.

In addition, Hersh maintained that the recent uprising in Tunisia could spur change in many of the region’s other troubled economies.

Hersh wrote his first piece for The New Yorker in 1971 and has been a regular contributor to the magazine since 1993. His journalism and publishing awards include a Pulitzer Prize, five George Polk Awards, two National Magazine Awards, and more than a dozen other prizes for investigative reporting.

His 2005 reports on the US military’s mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison gained him much attention.

During his presentation, Hersh focused on the absence of change between the Bush and Obama presidencies.

“We are honoured to host Seymour Hersh as our distinguished lecturer this evening. In his long and illustrious career, he has worked towards revealing the truth and mistreatment by governments, and can offer a unique perspective on current affairs in the region,” said Mehran Kamrava, Interim Dean of SFS-Qatar.

“I believe that information is the key element that will change the Arab world,” said Hersh.

“I also believe that the future of the Middle East is going to see an increasingly better journalism; Al Jazeera is a good module for a lot of people and I am a big supporter of it and it is getting better and better,” he added.   THE PENINSULA

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