Joseph Sarkisian

Bio

Joseph graduated with a Master of Science in international relations from the University of Massachusetts Boston and was an intern at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, DC. He completed his BA at Arizona State University in political science as well as studied Arabic language, terrorism/counterterrorism, and religion. Joseph also lived in Egypt where he studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo in 2007. Joseph was the Secretary of the Executive Committee for the University of Massachusetts Graduate Student Government, a teaching assistant in his department, and teaches a class on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. His main areas of interest are the Af/Pak region, Iran, Syria, and other current foreign policy issues.
The Robot Race Is Here, and the U.S. Is Already in Danger of Losing
By Joseph Sarkisian
It's the future of war: killer mecha-birds, 13-foot tall robots with Gatling guns and missile launchers and even microdrones that look like pigeons, hunt in swarms and can silently fly through windows, blowing their tiny warheads up next to a…
Russia's State Media Thinks That Steven Seagal Is a Political Expert
By Joseph Sarkisian
RT, the Kremlin-funded mouthpiece of Vladimir Putin and quasi-official news organization from Russia, has a weird obsession with Steven Seagal. While I could fill a book with the shear amount of stupidity that has been said on RT in general since…
There's One Bizarre Thing Americans and Middle Easterners Have in Common
By Joseph Sarkisian
House of Cards, the all too enraging show from Netflix about the American political system that is likely more documentary than drama, has an unexpected and very large fan base: the Middle East. It may seem a natural jump to assume that Arab viewers…
Scarlett Johansson's Quotes About Israel-Palestine Went Viral. Here's Why People Are Angry.
By Joseph Sarkisian
Scarlett Johansson has managed to unwittingly embroil herself in an international conflict. The actress recently made headlines by becoming a brand ambassador for the Israeli-owned company, SodaStream. The problem? SodaStream sits directly on top of…
This One Paragraph in a Senate Bill Might Commit Us to War With Iran
By Joseph Sarkisian
Here we go again. Just as world powers start to close the gap of mistrust between themselves and their Iranian counterparts about Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. Senate decides to ramp up the pressure on Iran by trying to push through harmful…
5 Moments Show the Truth About Ariel Sharon the Mainstream Media Probably Won’t Tell You
By Joseph Sarkisian
Throughout his tenure in various positions, including Prime Minister, or as head of the conservative Likud party, Ariel Sharon was widely seen by many in the Middle East and elsewhere as hateful of Arabs, careless of their plight, and unflinching in…
11 Times Everyone Freaked Out Over Dumb Celebrity Comments This Year
By Joseph Sarkisian
As Americans, we love a good controversy. But sometimes we go overboard, getting angry at what irrelevant celebrities say and do, as though they have serious implications for where the country is headed. At the end of the day, these people only have…
Iran Sanctions Bill Could Be An Ingenious Exercise in Diplomacy
By Joseph Sarkisian
Season's greetings from Congress! This time of year our nation's lawmakers engage in their typical smuggery, like taking what should be illegal recesses and kissing your own ass on national television. But amidst all of Congress' asinine…
To Perform Jihad In English, Press 1
By Joseph Sarkisian
On July 21, 2012, the emir of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made an online announcement about the start of a new campaign, which he named "Breaking the Walls." The purpose of the campaign was to prove to the world that not only was…
Millennials Are Godless Heathens
By Joseph Sarkisian
God is dead. Trust me. Google it. Well, not really. But what is clear is that the majority of the nation, and millennials specifically, are dropping their religious affiliations in record numbers and lifestyle brands are filling the void.  In the…