Ayad Rahim
Encyclopedia
Ayad Rahim is an Iraq
i-American
journalist. He has written extensively on Middle Eastern affairs, including a series of articles on the Operation Iraqi Freedom Documents
with co-author Laurie Mylroie
. In addition, he hosts a radio show on station WJCU
in Cleveland. His show features scholars and guests from the Middle East and discusses the war, terrorism and Iraq. The radio station is run by John Carroll University
.
's presidential campaign. From 1989-1991, Rahim worked for 18 months as a journalist in Jerusalem. While many Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein
, Rahim did not. When Saddam invaded Kuwait, Rahim hoped only that Palestinians would benefit from the invasion and that as many American soldiers would die as possible. Rahim describes this as a very confusing time for him.
While in Jerusalem in October, 1990, Rahim met Kanan Makiya
, the author of Republic of Fear, an important book on Baathist Iraq, published under a pseudonym in 1989. Rahim and Makiya would later work together. Rahim returned home to Cleveland in January, 1991, at the start of U.S. hostilities to remove Iraq from Kuwait.
In March, 1991, uprisings in Iraq against Saddam changed the political landscape. Iraqis around the world became less afraid to speak out against Saddam. In June, 1991, Rahim began working with Kanan Makiya. Rahim and Makiya later worked in association with the Iraq Research and Documentation Project, when it was launched, at Harvard in 1993. That project later grew into the Iraq Memory Foundation, a Baghdad-based project that seeks to develop a learning center similar to the Holocaust museum.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist. He has written extensively on Middle Eastern affairs, including a series of articles on the Operation Iraqi Freedom Documents
Operation Iraqi Freedom documents
Operation Iraqi Freedom documents are some 48,000 boxes of documents, audiotapes and videotapes that were discovered by the U.S. military during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The documents date from the 1980s through the post-Saddam period. The U.S...
with co-author Laurie Mylroie
Laurie Mylroie
Laurie Mylroie is a U.S. author who has written several controversial and heavily criticized books on the subject of Iraq and the War on Terror. Notably, Mylroie contends that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein sponsored the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and many subsequent terrorist...
. In addition, he hosts a radio show on station WJCU
WJCU
WJCU is a non-commercial FM radio station at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, United States, broadcasting at 88.7 MHz. WJCU broadcasts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the Cleveland area and online...
in Cleveland. His show features scholars and guests from the Middle East and discusses the war, terrorism and Iraq. The radio station is run by John Carroll University
John Carroll University
John Carroll University is a private, co-educational Jesuit Catholic university in University Heights, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland. The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus as Saint Ignatius College.The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus, as...
.
Early life
Rahim was born in London on February 16, 1962. He lived in Baghdad with his family from 1965-1971. His father was a doctor who immigrated to the United States in 1970. In 1971, his family joined his father in Cleveland, Ohio. In college, Rahim studied history, political science and journalism.Career
In 1983-84, Rahim worked on Gary HartGary Hart
Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
's presidential campaign. From 1989-1991, Rahim worked for 18 months as a journalist in Jerusalem. While many Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, Rahim did not. When Saddam invaded Kuwait, Rahim hoped only that Palestinians would benefit from the invasion and that as many American soldiers would die as possible. Rahim describes this as a very confusing time for him.
While in Jerusalem in October, 1990, Rahim met Kanan Makiya
Kanan Makiya
Kanan Makiya is an Iraqi academic, who gained British nationality in 1982. He is the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University...
, the author of Republic of Fear, an important book on Baathist Iraq, published under a pseudonym in 1989. Rahim and Makiya would later work together. Rahim returned home to Cleveland in January, 1991, at the start of U.S. hostilities to remove Iraq from Kuwait.
In March, 1991, uprisings in Iraq against Saddam changed the political landscape. Iraqis around the world became less afraid to speak out against Saddam. In June, 1991, Rahim began working with Kanan Makiya. Rahim and Makiya later worked in association with the Iraq Research and Documentation Project, when it was launched, at Harvard in 1993. That project later grew into the Iraq Memory Foundation, a Baghdad-based project that seeks to develop a learning center similar to the Holocaust museum.
Blogging in Baghdad
From April - July 2004, Rahim studied events in Iraq and wrote a daily blog from the Baghdad office of the Iraq Foundationhttp://www.iraqfoundation.org/ Rahim also visited his family and wrote about their observations and outlook.http://ayadrahimtriptoiraq.blogspot.com/Interviews
Rahim has interviewed a number of interesting guests on his radio program about the War on Terror, the Arab world, Islam, terrorism and Iraq.http://www.wjcu.org/media/ Guests have included:- • Dr. Fouad AjamiFouad AjamiFouad A. Ajami , is a MacArthur Fellowship winning, Lebanese-born American university professor and writer on Middle Eastern issues. He is currently a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution....
– Lebanese American scholar and writer discussed the historical, political, cultural and psychological background of the Arab world.
- • Christopher HitchensChristopher HitchensChristopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
– discussed the left, today’s “anti-war” camps, anti-Semitism and other topics.
- • Adeed Dawisha – native of Iraq and professor of political science at Miami UniversityMiami UniversityMiami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
discussed the identify of Iraq, its status and chances for survival. He also discussed Iraq's democratic experience under the monarchy, the recent Iraqi elections and the forming of the new government.
- • Michael Scharf – professor of law at Case Western Reserve University Law School who formerly worked for the UN and trained members of the Iraqi Special Court discussed Saddam’s trial, the fairness and independence of the tribunal and misreporting on the tribunal.
- • Dr. Laurie MylroieLaurie MylroieLaurie Mylroie is a U.S. author who has written several controversial and heavily criticized books on the subject of Iraq and the War on Terror. Notably, Mylroie contends that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein sponsored the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and many subsequent terrorist...
– discussed the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993.
- • George WillGeorge WillGeorge Frederick Will is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics...
– discussed the doctrine of preemption.