Eric Margolis
:
This is an article about Eric Margolis, the journalist. For information on Eric Margolis, the philosopher and cognitive scientist, see Holistic science.Eric Margolis is an American journalist. He is a contributing editor to the
Toronto Sun chain of newspapers, writing mainly about the
Middle East,
South Asia, and
Islam, and appears frequently on Canadian television broadcasts, as well as on
CNN.
Margolis was born in
New York City to a
Jewish father and
Albanian
Muslim mother. He holds degrees from the
International School of Geneva, the
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at
Georgetown University, the
University of Geneva, and
New York University. During the
Vietnam War he served as a
US Army infantryman.
Journalism
In addition to being a contributing editor at the
Toronto Sun newspaper, Margolis writes for
Dawn,
Pakistan's leading newspaper, the
Gulf Times in
Qatar, the
Khaleej Times in
Dubai, and
The American Conservative. He appears regularly on such television outlets as
CNN,
Fox,
CBC, Britain's News,
NPR, and
CTV National. He was a regular guest on the
TVOntario shows
Studio 2 and
Diplomatic Immunity.
He is affiliated with several organizations including
International Institute of Strategic Studies in
London and the
Institute of Regional Studies based in
Islamabad,
Pakistan.
Political views
Margolis identifies his politics as "
Eisenhower Republican". Though his domestic political persuasion is moderately
conservative (he is a staunch
anti-communist and a supporter of
capitalism), Margolis' views on the
Middle East are sharply at odds with the
neoconservatives.
Margolis is best known from his coverage of
Palestine and
Kashmir. Margolis' mother,
Nexhemie Naimi, was also a journalist who spent a long time in the Middle East documenting the plight of the Palestinians during the 1950s[
1]. Her influence, plus Margolis's role as a
foreign correspondent in the Mideast and travelling with the
mujahideen during the
Soviet-Afghan War, has given Margolis a strong interest in the Muslim World. He strongly supported
NATO's intervention in the Kosovo war and also supports the rebels in
Chechnya.
Margolis's views often arouse derision in India, which regards his comments on the Indo-Pak conflict on Kashmir as biased and simplistic. His articles and works on the topic are usually literred with pejoratives, directed at India or its actions, whereas Pakistan in contrast, is treated with kid gloves.For instance, Margolis's book "War on top of the world" describing the Indo-Pak standoff over the Siachen Glacier has been severely criticized in India for both the "clean chit" given to Islamic fundamentalism as prevalent in the Pakistani Army, its glorification of this radical idealogy, and finally incorrect geographical claims, which lead more experienced analysts to believe that Margolis's knowledge of the terrain was as spotty as his knowledge of the conflict. Margolis is also pointed out for his links with assorted Islamic militant groups and the Musharraf junta in Pakistan. [
2]
Business interests
Margolis is the former proprietor and chairman of
Jamieson Laboratories, a leading manufacturer of vitamins and herbal supplements.[
3]
*
War at the Top of the World: The The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet (ISBN 0415930626) Routledge 1999/2003
*
Eric Margolis home page*
Eric Margolis: Apologist for Terror - Anti-Margolis article at the
neoconservative FrontPageMag.com*
Did Russia Win D-Day? - commentary on one of Margolis's articles at North Star Compass, a Canadian
neo-Stalinist website
*
Eric S Margolis A critique of Margolis and the errors that appear in his work]
