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America want s t o wage war on all of us

Level 3 | Advanced
1
1 Pre-reading | Key Terms
Mat ch t hese t erms wi t h t hei r meani ngs:
1. t o t ake t he pul se of a. a cruel and vi ol ent act
2. t he af t ermat h b. t o be t he best exampl e of somet hi ng
3. an at roci t y c. a vi ol ent at t ack
4. t o boi l down t o d. t o measure/ t o gauge
5. an assaul t e. wi t hout t he necessary resources
6. t o embody f. t he ef f ect s and resul t s of somet hi ng
7. i l l -equi pped g. very basi c
8. t o gi ve ri se t o h. t o cause
9. root and branch i . obvi ousl y and wi t hout shame
10. bl at ant l y j . t o be t he mai n reason f or somet hi ng
T
here is no bet t er place t o t ake t he
pulse of Arab and Muslim
sent iment t han Cairo, hub of t he
t wo great movement s t hat swept t he
region in recent t imes, t he pan-Arab
secular nat ionalism of which President
Nasser was t he champion, and t he
polit ical Islam t hat began wit h
Nasserisms failure and decline.
Today, from t he air-condit ioned
t hinkt anks on t he banks of t he Nile t o
t he swelt ering alleyways of t he splendid
but dilapidat ed medieval cit y, t he
preoccupat ion wit h t he t wo t hings t hat
seem most fat eful for t he fut ure - t he
Israeli-Palest inian st ruggle and US plans
for a possible war against Iraq - is
overwhelming.
Bin Laden may have lost a lot of his
appeal, says Dia Rashwan, an expert
on Islamist fundament alism, but t hat
doesn t mean t he US isn t hat ed. It is,
more t han ever, and more now from an
Arab t han an Islamic st andpoint . It is
much darker for most Arabs t han it
might have appeared in t he immediat e
aft ermat h of t hat apocalypt ic at rocit y in
New York and Washingt on. One year on,
it seems clearer t o t hem in it s
consequences.
As t hey see it , t he USs post -Sept ember
11 war on t error now boils down t o
an assault on t hem. For in t he Bush
universe of good versus evil, it is
essent ially t hey, wit h Iran t hrown in,
who are t he evil ones. In t he
collision t o come, t he Arabs risk furt her
blows t o all t hose aspirat ions -
independence, dignit y, t he unit y and
collect ive purpose of t he great er Arab
nat ion - which, aft er cent uries of
foreign conquest and cont rol, t he pan-
Arabism of Nasser so t riumphant ly, if
defect ively, embodied. Int ernally t hey are
ill-equipped t o meet t he ext ernal
challenge, racked as t hey are by all
manner of social, economic, cult ural and
inst it ut ional
sicknesses. These, t he US says, are t he
very condit ions t hat gave rise t o Bin
Ladenism. Few Arab opinion-makers
would disput e it , or doubt t heir
societ ies desperat e need of root -and-
branch reform, ushering in democracy,
human right s, account abilit y.
For us , says Muhammad Said, a
columnist at Egypt s leading newspaper,
al-Ahram, t he West always preferred
cont rol t o democracy. Now 90% of t he
problem flows from t he Arab-Israel
conflict , t hat cont inuous reminder of our
colonised past . Never before, in Arab
eyes, has t he US act ed so blat ant ly in
favour of Israel. So t he Arab world, says
America
wants to
wage war
on all of us
Arabs see regi me change not as
cure f or pol i t i cal backwardness
but as new t erm f or ol d enemy:
col oni sat i on
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America want s t o wage war on all of us
Level 3 | Advanced
2
Said, now risks being subject ed t o
direct or indirect colonialism . And t he
very backwardness of t he Arab order
makes t he pursuit of such imperial
designs possible . For Arab societ ies are
seen as incapable of modernising on
t heir own, t hus providing a nat ural
gat eway t o colonisat ion .
Such neo-colonialism involves regime
change by force for t hose t he US
deems beyond t he pale, and t he
imposit ion of reforms, from t he school
curriculum t o t heir posit ion on Palest ine,
on t hose who remain wit hin it . The idea,
says Said, is t o t erminat e t he
Palest inian quest ion by war at t he
expense of t he Arabs as a nat ional
group. Wit h t he overt hrow of Saddam,
t he US hopes t o make t his richly
endowed count ry t he linchpin of a
whole new pro-American geopolit ical
order. Wit nessing such a demonst rat ion
of US will and power ot her regimes
would have t o bend t o US purposes or
suffer t he same fat e, be t hey such
t radit ional, t errorist -sponsoring
opponent s such as Syria, or t radit ional
friends, such as Saudi Arabia, held t o
spawn t errorism t hrough t heir misrule or
a general cult ure of religious
ext remism.
If Arabs really believed t hat , in removing
Saddam, t he US were bent on
promot ing a democrat ic order in his
place, t hey would be readier t o join t he
Iraqi opposit ion in t olerat ing such a war
at least . But t hey don t .
The US may be preparing a big
surprise for t he region, warns Lebanese
comment at or Saad Mehio, but t he
Middle East may be preparing an
equally big one for t he Americans.
The Guardian Weekly 12-9-2002, page 7
2 Comprehension
Choose t he best answer f or each of t hese quest i ons:
Why is Cairo t he best place t o t est t he mood of Arab and M uslim public opinion?
because i t i s a pan-Arab ci t y
because i t embodi es bot h pan-Arab nat i onal i sm and pol i t i cal Isl am
because i t i s t he cent re of t he Arab worl d
For people in Cairo t he I sraeli-Palest inian st ruggle and t he possible war against I raq are
not real l y i mport ant
a t opi c of conversat i on
an everyday concern
The USA is
hat ed l ess t han bef ore Sept ember 11t h
hat ed t o t he same degree as bef ore Sept ember 11t h
hat ed even more t han i t was bef ore Sept ember 11t h
For many Arabs, t he war on t error is:
a war agai nst Osama bi n Laden
a war agai nst Egypt
a war on al l Arabs
America want s t o wage war on all of us
Level 3 | Advanced
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2
Fi l l t he gaps usi ng words or phrases f rom t he t ext . They are i n chronol ogi cal order.
A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i s a group of peopl e worki ng t oget her t o produce i deas.
Very hot and humi d weat her can be descri bed as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
If somet hi ng i s _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , i t i s very ol d and i n a very bad condi t i on.
An _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ f eel i ng i s a very, very st rong one.
If somet hi ng i s descri bed as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , i t suggest s t hat t he worl d wi l l be dest royed.
Hopes f or t he f ut ure and t hi ngs you wi sh t o achi eve are known as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
If someone i s regarded as bei ng out si de ci vi l i sed soci et y, t hey can be descri bed as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
The ____________ is t he person or t hing t hat is absolut ely essent ial t o a group, organisat ion, syst em or plan.
3 Vocabulary Work
Why are t hey ill-equipped t o meet t he ext ernal challenge?
because t hey have a range of soci al , economi c and cul t ural probl ems
because t hey l ack uni t y and col l ect i ve purpose
because t hey support Bi n Ladeni sm
What , according t o t he Egypt ian journalist , M uhammed Said, is t he main cause of t he
problem?
t he col oni al past
West ern cont rol
t he Arab-Israel i conf l i ct
Why, according t o Said, is t he Arab world at risk of colonialism?
because t he US act s i n f avour of Israel
because Arab soci et i es are regarded as backward
because Arab soci et i es are regarded as i ncapabl e of moderni si ng on t hei r own
What , according t o Said, is t he main goal of American policy in t he region?
t o make Iraq t he cent re of a new geopol i t i cal order
t o overt hrow ot her Arab regi mes
t o i mpose ref orms
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America want s t o wage war on all of us
Level 3 | Advanced
4
Whi ch of t he 3 words does NOT col l ocat e wi t h t he verbs or adj ect i ves f rom t he t ext :
t o meet
a a f i ght b a deadl i ne c a chal l enge
racked by
a probl ems b di sease c i l l ness
t o usher in
a ref orms b new l aws c probl ems
t o impose
a ref orms b a posi t i on c a new regi me
t o overt hrow
a a government b a di ct at or c a count ry
t o promot e
a democracy b ef f i ci ency c opposi t i on
4 Collocat ions
Fi l l t he gaps usi ng an appropri at e preposi t i on:
Nasser was t he champi on _ _ _ _ _ _ pan-Arab nat i onal i sm.
Peopl e are preoccupi ed _ _ _ _ _ _ t he Israel i -Pal est i ni an quest i on.
_ _ _ _ _ _ an Arab st andpoi nt , t he US i s hat ed.
Many Arabs regard t he war on t error as an at t ack _ _ _ _ _ _ t hem.
A number of condi t i ons gave ri se _ _ _ _ _ _ Bi n Ladeni sm.
The West i s sai d t o pref er cont rol _ _ _ _ _ _ democracy.
Arab soci et i es are sai d t o be i ncapabl e _ _ _ _ _ _ moderni si ng.
The US may i mpose ref orms _ _ _ _ _ _ ot her nat i ons.
5 Preposit ions
Do you agree wi t h t he opi ni on expressed i n t he art i cl e t hat t he Israel i -Pal est i ni an conf l i ct i s t he root cause
of resent ment i n t he Arab worl d?
What are t he sol ut i ons t o t he many probl ems of t he Mi ddl e East ?
6 Discussion Point
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America want s t o wage war on all of us
Level 3 | Advanced
5
1 Key Terms
1.d; 2. f ; 3. a; 4. j ; 5. c; 6. b; 7. e;
8. h; 9. g; 10. i
2 Comprehension
1.b; 2.c; 3.c; 4.c; 5.a; 6.c; 7.c; 8.a
3 Vocabulary Work
1 a t hi nk-t ank
2 wel t eri ng
3 di l api dat ed
4 overwhel mi ng
5 apocal ypt i c
6 aspi rat i ons
7 beyond t he pal e
8 l i nchpi n
4 Collocat ions
1.a; 2.a; 3.c; 4.b; 5.c; 6.c
5 Preposit ions
1 of
2 wi t h
3 f rom
4 on
5 t o
6 t o
7 of
8 on
6 Key