Talking Narcoterror with Dominican University Students

RHM · #1 05-26-2009, 07:40 PM

I gave a lecture on 21st Century Terrorism this morning at the prestigious Universidad IberoAmericana (UNIBE). To date this was one of the larger and more enthusiastic university audiences I have had the pleasure to talk to. Special thanks to all who made my visit possible, especially my former student Vanessa who knows how to get things done in a place where it can be difficult to get things done. No further explanation should be necessary for anyone who has spent time in Santo Domingo. Things work at a different pace down here.

Since today was my only opportunity to address these history students (from various majors) and their professors, I decided to roll 3 or 4 of my presentations into one. The result was an overview of why I started studying terrorism informally 20 years ago; a comparison of Al Qaeda and Hezbollah; why and how terrorist organizations turned to the global drug trade to raise funds (the topic of narcotrafficking is obviously very hot right now in the DR); and an overview of the motivations that drive suicide bombing. Needless to say it was a lot to digest in one hour, but I was very happy with the number and quality of questions I was asked during the final Q and A period. UNIBE has some impressive folks studying there.

You can read about the lecture and see some pics here.

Special thanks to Mr. Lu of DR1 for lending his Spielberg talents to the production. There should be a decent highlight video available soon.

RHM

Lambada · #2 05-30-2009, 02:49 PM

Most interesting and...surprising no-one has responded in the 4 days since you posted. So, let's see if we can get the ball rolling. Could I ask how aware your students were that a country which allows narcotrafficking could potentially be at risk of involvement in narcoterrorism?

RHM · #3 05-30-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lambada

Most interesting and...surprising no-one has responded in the 4 days since you posted. So, let's see if we can get the ball rolling. Could I ask how aware your students were that a country which allows narcotrafficking could potentially be at risk of involvement in narcoterrorism?

I spent the majority of my time comparing Al Qaeda to Hezbollah (illustrating that not all terrorist organizations are the same) and gave an overview of suicide bombing (tactics, motivations, etc.) But when it came to narcoterrorism (and terrorists raising funds through drug sales) it got very interesting. It probably has to do with recent events in the DR (from the Bani Massacres to the recent "hits" on known traffickers).

They paid close attention, asked good questions, and offered intelligent answers. I even decided to go out on a limb and discuss drug legalization (perhaps a first - or close to it - at UNIBE). Opinions were mixed and I decided to tread lightly for obvious reasons. I didn't want any problems trying to leave the country the next day

Mr. Lu is just about finished with about an 8 minute highlight reel from the lecture. So far it looks pretty good.

Sidenote: In the interests of time, Lu decided to include only the first question from the Q and A. Can anyone predict what it was without getting too far off topic???

Video to follow. Any other comments or questions are welcome.

PS: I'll be back in the DR at the end of June and we're already planning a follow-up program - more than likely open to the public.

RHM

RHM · #4 05-30-2009, 06:26 PM

Comments and criticism are welcome.

(Click Here for Original Post)

RHM

Lambada · #5 05-31-2009, 03:06 AM

I have to wait until this hour to experience less buffering issues.

Good to hear an acknowledgement that 'they're not crazy'

. I'm presuming RHM that all the students were fluent English speakers? Your volume is great but if I might be permitted.......speed of delivery for an audience whose first language might not be English, was a bit fast IMHO. I tend to do the same which is why I'm probably more attuned to it.

I appreciate this was edited highlights & I think Lu did a great job but the one question only section seemed to end somewhat abruptly. It appeared to go
Question: 'what do you think of 9/11 conspiracy theories?'
Answer: 'I've looked at everything written and they have nothing'
End of session. Now in the film I think this could give a misleading impression, like 'Next?'

. Maybe if a couple of more questions were added in to show that this isn't the way it happened and that it was more discursive than that? I think what I'm saying is that I would have liked to have seen more of the student input in this session - you said earlier how impressive they were, so I was looking for that, but those weren't the bits shown in the film, by & large. I think if people will watch an 8 min film they will watch a 15 min film. Thanks for sharing, very interesting.

RHM · #6 05-31-2009, 03:10 AM

True.

The Q and A itself was longer and the lecture itself was much more interactive.

The challenge is taking one hour and making 8 good minutes out of it.

I thank Lu for doing such a great job.

Next time we can play around a bit more.

Thanks for paying such close attention.

RHM