Two Favorite Parts of the Book

                One of my favorite parts of the book takes place on pages 212 and 213. In these pages we see our first glimpse of happiness since David, Tahir, and Asad were abducted. The guards, as hard as this is to believe, start to form a friendship with their captors. They start to enjoy each other’s presence, day in and day out. The guards start to allow David and his friends more freedom inside of the house, like exercising, volleyball, and listening to music. They all start to form a bond with each other, and after dinner they all tell jokes and laugh. I chose this part, because it shows that both sides have a softer side, and that they can get along, no matter how much they hate each other; that they can make a miserable situation into temporary happiness.

                My second favorite part is in the end (288-297) where David and Tahir are escaping; as they are leaving they decide to leave Asad behind, because they feel as though he is a traitor. They feel this way, because he has been seen carrying a gun and has also been granted special privileges by the guards. This is not the first time they have attempted to escape from their captors. This time though David is feeling liberated after standing up to Abu Tayyeb and he is ready to make a run for it; he is ready to come home. David and Tahir make a plan to parapet from the bathroom window down the fifteen foot wall. Then they argue over where they should go next, because there happens to be a Pakistani Militia Base nearby. There is a rumor that these officers have a cease fire agreement with the Taliban. There are two possible outcomes, either these officers will take David and Tahir in, or they will hand them back to the Taliban to be executed. David and Tahir decided that they have no choice but to go to the base. Once they arrive at the base, they must wait for a long period of time for the guards to be granted permission to bring them in. Eventually they are allowed inside and will later be sent home. I like this part, because it shows how strong David has become over the seven months he has been in captivity. He learned that being strong mentally is the most important thing; that with a rope, and a few prayers, he would be free.

Terrorism, Kidnapping, and Negotiating

A Rope and a Prayer, by David Rhode and Kristen Mulvihill is about how David was kidnapped by a group of the Taliban. He was held in captivity for seven months and although he was treated very nicely his stay with the Taliban was unpleasant. My topic is about whether or not governments should negotiate with terrorists for prisoners. The non-profit organization I have chosen is called The Nation. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/07-Jan-2012/ramifications-of-negotiating-with-taliban. The Nation, says that negotiating with the Taliban may just be a temporary cure, but it will not end kidnappings or any other sort of terrorism. Therefore governments must negotiate with the Taliban. I agree with them; governments cannot stop negotiating, they must do something to retrieve hostages. It would be inhumane of countries to not save as many lives as possible. Some people may think that we are giving into terrorists demands by negotiating with them. While this may be true it is our duty as humans to do everything in our power to preserve life.

A Rope and a Prayer

The book, A Rope and a Prayer, is about a journalist, David Rhode, who was held hostage by the Taliban. He is a New York Time’s journalist who was on assignment in Afghanistan when he was kidnapped.  Rhode experienced seven terrible months while being held captive. This book not only shows the perspective of the author, but it also tells us what his wife and family went through. Luckily Rhode is alive today. I chose this book because of the interesting and thrilling subject matter. I hope to learn more about the country of Afghanistan, the Taliban and its tribes, and the political climate of the country today. I look forward to reading this book and I think it will give me a good overall view of the problems the people in Afghanistan face.

Solutions to the Nile River Conflict

1. The first and best solution is figuring out an agreement on things to trade. Some things Egypt does not have, maybe some of the Upstream Nations have. This could benefit both countries, a poor country could use water from the Nile, while Egypt or Sudan could easily obtain a resource that they lack. A way to ensure that all countries receive water, people have to set up systems, where maybe you "donate" 10% or so of the crops, resources, animals, any necessity for that matter, and give it to Egypt or Sudan.
2. A second and also good option is to swear loyalty, by militias or army's, or alliances from these countries to Egypt and Sudan. This could obviously strengthen both sides. The Upstream Nations receive the water they need, while Egypt and Sudan both receive bigger and more spread out Army's.
3. The third and final decision is to force them to give portions of water. A way to start this could be by taking the problem to the UN; if that does not work the only option left is war. This would already add to a death toll that is very high in the area. The first two options are the best because they are saving lives although this may or may not be effective it is very possible that many of lives will be lost.

Application of the IR Paradigms

The two paradigms that I have chosen are realism and marxism. Realism can be seen all throughout this topic, because Egypt and Sudan have more power if they control the Nile River. Egypt and Sudan, do not gain a thing if they give some water resources to the Upstream Nations. The Upstream Nations are in a famine and are also very poor. Since they are poor, there are not a whole lot they can trade with for the water. So if a realist is in this situation he would not give them water, beacuse he could have more power. Marxism can also be seen in this topic as well. A seperation of upper and lower classes is what has been going on here for a long time. Egypt and Sudan would like to keep it that way, so keeping the water sources would keep an unbalance system of upper class and lower class.

Interview with Jason Knapp

Tonight I had an interview with Jason Knapp of Wadsworth High School, Mr. Knapp is an AP History teacher. When we talked over the phone, he gave me more point of views to look at that I had not thought about. We talked about the relationship between the US and Egypt, and how this would affect the US government trying to get involved with the conflict. Another topic was about how Sudan was a rogue nation. There is no stability, especially after the civil war that split Sudan into North and South. There are many paradigms that can be seen in this conflict, but if you are looking at it through realist point of views; what does Egypt receive? What do the Upstream nations have to offer Egypt and Sudan, what can they trade? He told me that I should take a bigger look at the smaller countries involved and what they have to offer. And also to see what Egypt does not have. Democratic Egypt? How would this affect everything? After all of the events that just took place with the revolution, can we expect to see a democratic Egypt? If so, will it affect the choices Egypt will make? Democratic Egypt, obviously will allow the people to think and if the Upstream Nations can sneak ideas into Egyptian minds, will there be changes in this conflict? Another question that came up in our conversation was how? How will these very poor nations, transfer the Nile's water to their city's? If they try to transfer it, then it will cost a lot of money, which most of these nations do not have. Mr. Knapp helped me so much with this project, not by proposing a solution, but by helping me see the bigger picture. By giving me more options to look at and possibly a better solution.

Nile River

This picture gives us a clear look at the Nile River and the countries surrounding it. Countries like Ethiopia, Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, and Tanzia are currently fighting for a share of the Nile River with Egypt and Sudan.