From a colleague who does not want to be identified:
"I read Max Rodenback's piece in the NY Review of books at first with interest, then astonishment. If you haven't seen it yet, it's here:
"I read Max Rodenback's piece in the NY Review of books at first with interest, then astonishment. If you haven't seen it yet, it's here:
He bizarrely conflates the late French Mandate regime with the Asad (pere
et fil) and paints the situation in Syria as being entirely sectarian, through
and through with stark black and white lines between Alawis and Sunnis. He also
claims the mantle of authority in reporting on the conflict for having spoken to
the likes of "Umm Sara" in a poor neighborhood and "Abu Tony" in Bab Touma. No
joke. It's exactly like your excellent criticism of Western reporting that
relies on "eyewitness" reports from "Abu Muhammad" looking out his kitchen
window in Qamishle at alleged shabiha killings in Midan or Douma in Sham. It's
a pretty egregious piece.""
