At a dialogue yesterday evening, an Arab reporter asserted that Iraq was "the most legitimate government" in the world, while a Lebanese documentary filmmaker argued that Americans must get past the question of "why they hate us" if the United States wants to succeed in the Middle East.
Penn students and community members gathered last night in Jon Huntsman Hall to hear the views of four panelists.
"You all have a lot of experience in the world, and we can't wait to hear it," began College senior Shannon Madden as she introduced the speakers.
The panelists included a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, a Washington-based Arab newspaper reporter, a Middle Eastern documentary director and Penn Political Science professor Anne Norton.
Al-Hayat International Arab Daily reporter Salameh Nematt began the discussion, which was organized by Americans for Informed Democracy, on an optimistic note.
He said the "Iraqi government is more legitimate than any other government," as their elections had a greater turn-out than those in the United States and more legitimacy than those in Egypt.
"An overwhelming amount of Iraqis want to have a peaceful transition; this is not something reflected in the American media."
Columnist Trudy Rubin took a more pessimistic view on current events.
She said that after traveling around the region, she is "not sure Humpty Dumpty can be put together again" and fears relations in the Middle East are going downhill.
Norton reflected Rubin's sentiment, saying she is in complete agreement "that the United States did just about everything wrong," citing the use of torture that ensued in the region.
"This is the road to Abu Ghraib," she said, referring to the former U.S. prison in Iraq. "This is the road that we have set our feet upon."
Filmmaker Bassam Haddad -- originally from Lebanon -- shed a different light on the situation. He said that the United States is the only place where the question about the Middle East is,"Why do they hate us? Elsewhere it is a matter of policy."
He said that unless the U.S. sheds the image of a "self-righteous god," it will not get anywhere.
Though many people trickled out during the course of the discussion, which followed the individual speeches, organizers were pleased with the event.
"I was really happy with it," Madden said. "I loved the fact that the panelists all had different view points and got into some lively discussion about those views."
College and Wharton senior Vanesa Sanchez, who organized the event and moderated the discussion, was delighted that "the subtleties of the issues came up and that the audience was very engaged in a lively discussion."
