The Foreigner's Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq

by Fouad Ajami

An incisive analysis of the roots and implications of the turmoil in the Middle East journeys behind the familiar facade of Iraq to argue that troubles in the Arab world can be linked to America's limited understanding of the region, thirst for oil, and need to deal with terrorism, as well as to the stranglehold that pan-Arabic thought has on the area. 50,000 first printing.

Genres: Middle East, History, Nonfiction, Politics

378 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 2 out of 5]

A frustrating and poorly edited/structured book whose argument is nevertheless basically correct. Ajami argues that the United States invaded Iraq because of decades of frustration with the violent stagnation of politics in the Arab world more broadly, which culminated in the 9/11 attacks. Ajami portrays Arab political culture as truly depraved: conspiracy theories abound, hatred of Israel and the Shia have surpassed all rational proportion, the violence of Arab regimes is excused or ignored, anger is projected onto the United States, and a vicious fundamentalism is on the rise. In other books, he traces this failure to the problems and pathologies of Arab nationalism in the mid-20th century. The book is called the Foreigner's Gift because Ajami believes that the US invasion gave the Iraqis, and maybe the region, the chance to break out of this cycle and put things on a better track. The book was written in 2005 during the elections when maybe this was a more plausible thing to think. He did make the very interesting observation that millions of Arabs, including Arab intellectuals and the media, who said hardly a peep about the Baathist tyranny reacted to Abu Ghraib with the utmost horror and anger. Ajami points out that Arab regimes are perfectly happy to deflect their people's anger onto the infidel Americans, Jews, and Shia even as they commit vastly worse crimes. The lament of Ajami's career is that Arab intellectuals let themselves be suckered into this game.

Ajami's a good writer, and he did go to IQ to scope things out for himself. He often provides interesting portraits of key figures in Iraqi and Arab politics and culture. However, the book has literally no structure: chapters go on covering whatever seems to pop into Ajami's head, and a lot of it is mere generalities. This book's central message could have been a New Yorker piece; instead it became a rambling 350 page monster that really only makes 1 or 2 big points. I can't believe his editors let him get away with this. Unless you are literally doing a dissertation on Arab intellectuals, do not bother with this one.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Foreigner is USA, the Gift is getting rid of Saddam Hussein, and by default allowing pluralism at the ballot box in Iraq. The book is insightful, and thoughtful and balanced. The author is a Professor at John Hopkins University, and a commentator in Wall Street Journal and CNN among others. The book covers the Arab experience to include its sects and sub groups. The book and its content could be used as a basis for a university course on Iraq and the Arab experience. It's a very small subplot, but it's unmistaken that America laid to waste its young and treasure in the Iraq adventure. Iraqis wanted us out of there as soon as Saddam was done away with.................. The main story here is Iraq, and Arab countries around it...............

[Yas · Rating 1 out of 5]

A transparently colonialist apologia. This book can be best described by the authors favorite word in the book; malignant. glowing account of the intentions and the doings of the occupying forces and their native accomplices and judgmental on whoever held a differing outlook on this whole tragedy.

[P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I respect Ajami both for his position at a fabulous graduate school and for the subtlety of his earlier work, especially "Dream Palace of the Arabs." However, this book, which could be titled "Imperial Life in the Emerald City is GREAT" --as a play on Rajiv Chandresekan's journalistic take on the first few years of the American occupation of Iraq. Ajami attempts to focus on the positive effects of the US occupation, but he is a much better historian/critic than journalist/salesman. This book his below him.

He discusses the sincerity and goodness of the US occupation force, yet he fails to point how how grievously wrong the Americans are. Innocence is not an excuse for incompetence. He quotes a soldier from the South who says that he does not understand why, since Iraq has been around since the Bible, Iraq can't be as great as America has made itself in a few hundred years. Ajami references Iraq's artificiality in passing, but he refuses to directly refute flawed assumptions with actual facts that he probably knows. Another example is his insistence on the use of the term "homicide bomber" which was invented by Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer in 2002 and not used anywhere outside of Bush's defenders.

He grossly overrates positive things, despite what really happened. For example he praises Ahmad Chalabi, a pathological liar who combines the blustering arrogance of Donald Trump with the business "savvy" of John Merriweather. In Ajami's telling, Chalabi is the victim of other actors' machinations. Ajami repeatedly references the importance of the tearing down of the Saddam statue in Fidros Square on April 9, 2003 as a crucial event. As we know, 8 years in Iraq later, the statue pull did not change much. In addition, every video of the event is an extremely narrow close-up because few Iraqis actually were at the event. Look online for photos contradicting the crowd there with the crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square who stood up against Hosni Mubarak. More people were in the crowd for Kanye West at Coachella than were in Fidros Square. More people watched Wiz Khalifa at Coachella than were in Fidros Square.

I am deeply disappointed in this book because I hold Ajami to high expectations. In one scene, he gives a Marine a copy of "The Quiet American" and remarks about how Graham Greene discusses American innocence in the book. Either Ajami does not understand Greene's masterpiece or (more likely) he refuses to engage the full text with the reality of the Iraq occupation because it would so strongly contradict his "American occupation! F*** yeah!" message. TQA is about how American innocence is dangerous. Everyone with an iota of interest in International Studies or US Foreign Policy should read TQA, so I'm not going to launch into a full analysis of the Iraq occupation through Greene's lens.

One scene from the novel does warrant immediate application. An American-supported attack kills a number of Vietnamese civilians. When accused of organizing a literal "homicide bombing" the titular American says, "In a way, they died for democracy." The narrator, a cynical British journalist says, "I wouldn't know how to translate that into Vietnamese." As reality in Iraq proves, despite what Ajami says, the American rationalization for death and destruction cannot be translated into Iraqi Arabic either.

[Abbas Hawazin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A fawning pro-war book that is hugely unconvincing, utilizing wordplay as leverage instead of facts; its labyrinthine attention to details in attempt to add color comes at the expense of focus and clarity, quickly wearing out patience, this is especially worrisome when you already know that the people he casts in the most sentimental and positive of garbs haven't really fulfilled any accomplishments to make them worthy of such lofty descriptions. Saddam's vestiges are seen everywhere to constantly reminds us that we're better off, even as we descend deeper and deeper into the abyss.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read...the author elegantly weaves 'history, literature, philosophy, politics and religion ' to explain the 'ongoing struggle for Iraq and the American encounter with that volatile land.' The author adds personal vignettes of meetings with some of the important people in the Iraqi drama...fascinating insights. We're way over our heads, I think, in trying to understand the Sunni/Shia conflict.

[Gina Trivelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reads like a history book, but there's a lot of information. I didn't finish this book.

[Rachel]

I'm reading about 5 books at the moment. One for every mood. My grandma recommended it.

[Ali Bader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont know, but I find som exageration, isnt it?

[Pat Dakhokhe · Rating 4 out of 5]

if u kno me u need not ask