مدونة د. منصور عمر الكيخيا * Dr. Mansour Omar El-Kikhia Blog

In the Arab East, the classification of government has become quite insignificant. It doesn’t really matter if countries refer to themselves as monarchies, sultanates, sheikdoms, republics, or in the case of Libya’s Daffy Duck a jamahiriya or state of the masses. The names are different, but they are almost all the same and are all ruled by individuals or their heirs who stay in power for a very long time. There is no such thing as democracy, popular participation, shared governance, serious national economy or any real sense of civil society.

In these societies, the intellectual progression of national political leaderships does not appear to have advanced beyond the era of the divine rights of kings, which characterized the formation of the nation state in 1648. And, even after independence, when opportunity presented the possibility of adopting concepts such as popular sovereignty and political participation, none did, and leaders fought vigorously to prevent the infection of their societies by these dangerous concepts. The result has been years of effete political institutions, dictatorial rule and political, social, cultural, and economic regression not witnessed in the region since the Mongols sacked Baghdad in

Like many young people throughout the world, America’s youth supported Barack Obama’s run for the presidency of the United States because they saw real potential for change in him.

There was nothing wrong with John McCain, and in another era he might have made a good president.

Today, he is the wrong choice, and had he been elected, America would have found its position as a global leader untenable.

There are a number of reasons for this state of affairs.

It’s important to understand that the world has undergone a profound change that necessitates 21st century responses to social, political and economic problems.

Unfortunately, Mr. McCain was unable to articulate that new and global vision.

Yet having said that, neither did Mr. Obama, but his ability to talk about the future intelligently led to the assumption that he has the answers to the problems plaguing the United States and the world.

There are no concrete, easy solutions to what Mr. Obama is confronting. He finds the U.S. economy in serious trouble, and in spite of his advocating for

In a historic election, Americans have selected a new president and succeeded in ending a sorry period in their history, characterized by bitter divisions fueled, in many instances, by ignorance and myopia.

Much has been written and spoken about Sen. Barack Obama's victory, so I will not regurgitate what has already been said.

I am elated by the choice, but I tend to take a cautious perspective on what is coming. First, contrary to the prevalent perception, I don't believe Obama will be a panacea for all of America's problems. His will be like no presidency since FDR, and America's political and economic future will hang in the balance. It will not be easy to rectify the political imbalances of the previous eight years and economic imbalances of the previous 40.

The new president will have no honeymoon, and he must hit the ground running. He cannot wait for the current administration to formally hand over the reins of power before he begins his preparation to implement his political or economic agenda. He must be ready on Jan. 21, 2009.

I see the negative impact of eight years of Republican rule manifesting itself in three layers. The top layer is political and here Obama will need to dismantle the many official and unofficial

This week the Republicans have again succeeded in angering Arabs and guaranteeing the loss of the Arab-American vote.

The latest American attack on Syria and the civilian casualties it has caused has infuriated Arab satellite television viewers across the world. I can say with a degree of certainty that the Bush administration has taken an important step in ensuring that America's stay in the Middle East is short-lived. There is a tremendous amount of anger at the United States.

The U.S. administration has caused a great deal of turmoil and damage to the fabric of Middle Eastern society, and to make matters worse it has openly told the inhabitants of the region that it doesn't care about them and will reserve the option of attacking them at will as it sees fit.

The problem with this line of thinking is that it ignores any costs associated with it. Even the Iraqis are seriously questioning the benefits of signing an agreement with the United States in light of so much internal opposition to America's policies in the region. The Syrians are hopping mad and might be pushed into the arms of Russia, something that they have been very reluctant to do. At the very least, Syria will move even closer to Iran.

But, more importantly,

It is remarkable that so many of those who rail against illegal immigration don’t really understand the terrain. This includes folks at Washington, D.C., think tanks who write about immigration without interacting with actual immigrants, TV commentators who remake themselves for higher ratings, and opportunistic politicians who spin anger and prejudice into votes.

At the other end of the spectrum are those who actually know what they’re talking about. They have logged long hours and done their homework, which might include interviewing real people — on both sides of the border.

They include Douglas Massey, a Princeton sociology professor and nationally acclaimed expert on immigration who for more than 20 years has monitored the U.S.-Mexico border, tracked immigration patterns, chronicled the Mexican migrant experience, and studied both the Mexican communities that cast off migrants and the U.S. communities that receive them.

Massey recently shared some of what he has learned in a lecture sponsored by the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California at San Diego. If there is one thing about which he is absolutely sure, it is that we’re not facing an invasion but rather what he calls “a crisis of our own making.”