Beyond the Storm, Book Review. Take 2. Sorry, this is the text of the paper that was missing before. My apologies. -AoE Note: Footnotes missing, Orig is an attachment.

Beyond the Storm, but Not Beyond the Typical Arab Hatred

Until the recent tragedy of September 11, and the full assault of the American military upon the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden, the most argued conflict still lingered in the minds of the world--particularly the Middle East. Desert Storm, the "American" answer to Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, was by no means as controversial as Vietnam was in the United States, but around the world, especially for the Arab World, it opened a can of worms and brought deep scars and emotions to the surface. In order to enlighten its readers, Beyond the Storm - A Gulf Crisis Reader, compiles assorted essays from over thirty writers--essays that were written during Desert Shield, the Storm, and the aftermath. Beyond is basically an attempt to show the 'other side' of the conflict, the views of the Arab Nations and the people of the Middle East; however, through thinly veiled contempt for America and an outright hatred for Israel, the majority of this book tends to anger anyone who loves America.

a map of the Arab World

Saddam Hussein detained several Westerners, with v...

Egyptian troops stand ready for review by King Fah...

In the end, it made me feel exactly how the Arab authors claimed all of America felt during the war--feelings I had never really experienced until after I read their senseless babble.

So, where do they stray? For starters, I honestly did not realize until after I read almost the first four essays that the majority of the authors appear to be of Arab descent, and further, claim they are Arab-Americans. If we are to follow their logic of how America sprung the "Desert Trap," that is, we goaded Hussein into starting a war we knew he couldn't win, just to remove him from power as Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad suggests in her essay (248), or if we are to believe...