Iraq, Islam and Terrorism: RIT Talk Presents Both Sides of the Story

Leaders of the United States, Iraq and many Islamist groups each see the other side as "evil," a classic mirror image.

Dr. Karla Cunningham will present "The Axis of Evil and Mirror Images: Competing Views Regarding the United States, Iraq, Islamism and Terrorism" at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in the Allen Chapel of RIT’s Interfaith Center. Cunningham is an assistant professor in the political science department at State University of New York at Geneseo.

"These value-laden and imprecise views foster misperception, which in turn may result in poor and misguided policy choices and more significantly in self-fulfilling prophecies. The potential implications of this dilemma on the potential war in Iraq and the current war on terrorism are profound," Cunningham says.

Cunningham joined the SUNY Geneseo faculty in 1999 after leaving the United States Department of Defense. She has an upcoming article in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism entitled "Cross-Regional Trends in Female Terrorism" and a book under contract with the University Press of Florida on that subject. She has published on the Middle East in The Middle East Journal and World Affairs, and has two chapters forthcoming in a multi-author volume about weapons of mass destruction and poverty. She has also consulted for law enforcement on terrorism, security and related topics for five years.

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