General

David Holdridge, who was awarded permission by the Syrian Government in 2008 to set up a Relief and Development office in Damascus, warns of the untoward outcomes of US intervention in the Syrian Civil War.

Stripped of the usual polemics and accompanying rhetoric, here, in the wake of Operation Pillar of Defense, an American humanitarian worker tries to give a citizen's perspective of the Palestinian issue within the context of the Arab world and its relations with the west.

The "Other"

Does it never strike you as puzzling that it is wicked to kill one person, but glorious to kill ten thousand?”

-Lewis Richardson, Historian

It is not hyperbolic to say it:

Public relations professionals now have an epic opportunity to serve the global society and thereby win new appreciation of our profession.

In fact, some are already well into that mission.

Let’s quickly examine the case for this admittedly bold assertion.

"Every complexity, we are told, is the process of evolution. Yet our development planners seem to think that they can do better...that they can create complex things at one throw by a process called planning."

There’s a reason why engineering companies build roads, why politicians govern, and why militaries run wars. It’s because these are complex, specialized, tasks, not to be undertaken lightly, requiring specialized training and skills in order to succeed.

Note: This article originally appeared as a blog post for the Foreign Policy Association