Why did we create SCONE?
Scarcely a week goes by without some reference in media to conflicts in the Middle East. Unfortunately, only the most sensationalist images of the region are presented by the media without the benefit of insightful commentary. Many prominent newsmagazines go along with simplistic presentations of the problems that grip Iraq and other states in the Middle East. Some commentators go so far as to suggest that the solution to this multi-faceted problem lies solely in removing Saddam Hussein.

Is it possible that the character of the whole situation will change if one individual, Saddam Hussein, is deposed? Clearly the solution is not that simple. If a solution is to be implemented it must be far-reaching, intelligent, and adapted to the complex realities of the issue. With even college campuses unspared, shuttered views of the situation are prevalent throughout the United States.

It is this widespread lack of scholarship, knowledge, and objectivity that has prompted us to action. Our primary objective is to make the Middle East, Near East, and Global South at large, more intelligible without the distortions that result from oversimplification.