On Aug 19, 12:24 am, frank wrote:
On Aug 18, 12:37 pm, "William Black"
wrote:



"frank" wrote in message

...

, but as far as
tribes, yeah, same as when he was there last time.

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They're not tribes. They function as complex clans but with an inclusive
sept system and extended families.

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At least there is literature out there. 30 years ago there was
nothing, except if you were a linguist, but as far as how to deal with
the culture, the only thing was propaganda from the Saudis about how
much His Royal Highness was loved and he was upset again that somebody
in the US said something bad about him.

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Utter rubbish. there's a huge literature relating to Afghanistan and the
NWF.

--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

But in the United States, there was nothing as far as Middle East
Studies. Tons of Latin American Studies, which has pretty much died on
the vine. Still a lot of European Studies. But 30 years ago, outside
of possibly Harvard, nobody knew about it. Its not like in the UK
where you slogged through the Kyber Pass. Hell, Mandalay is probably a
musical instrument for all most Americans know.

We had a professor who was quoted as a national expert, his take was
to concrete over the Middle East as a solution. F%cking brilliant.
That pretty much was the state of what was taught on the Middle East
except if you were studying the language.

Over here, tea is something you toss in the harbor or get in bags.

At least now there is a fair amount of literature at least available
in the bookstores.

Whether anybody on the street in the Middle East thinks its anywhere
near truthful is another story.

The reverse guy was George Lenczowski, Polish officer served in the
Middle East in WWII, did academic work and worked for Aramco and the
United States as well the University of California. Only the accident
that he was in the Political Science department at Berkeley kept me
from getting a degree under him. Brilliant man and very useful to the
powers that be.
http://www.universityofcalifornia.ed...Lenczowski.htm