Understanding conflicts in the Middle East

The Middle East is constantly in the news, and one professor at Northern Michigan University decided to share his research on two countries in the area.

Aura Syed spoke to students and the public about the current conflict in Afghanistan and how it threatens neighboring Pakistan’s stability.  With President Obama’s declaration of reducing troops in Afghanistan by the end of the year, Syed explained how that affects the region.

“There are serious implications of this decision,” Syed said.  “There about 60,000 or more U.S. forces there, and perhaps another 100,000 U.S. citizens in Afghanistan.  And then there are the Afghani people themselves, and there are 180 million people in Pakistan, all of these people are being directly affected by this conflict.”

He said due to globalization, it’s important for the public to understand current events like this.

“More and more because of globalization, our lives are being interconnected.  Our fates are being interconnected, our debts are being interconnected,” he said.  “It’s important to know what’s going on there, and as it affects us, both as a nation and individually.”

Syed also explained some consequences of the conflict:  there could be an increase of control of the Afghanistan Taliban, and the possibility of new ‘state’ in Afghanistan controlled by the Afghanistan and Pakistan Taliban regimes.