What might have sounded like a conspiracy theory not too long ago now dawns upon us like an ugly truth.
Drone attacks and clandestine operations authorized by President Obama have so far contributed, albeit to varying degrees, to the destabilization of Pakistan, Yemen and Libya. The same effect has also been achieved in Syria and Iraq but mostly through inaction.
When Obama dismisses the notion that a moderate opposition force could be armed quickly because it’s made up mostly of “famers and dentists,” he shows the depths he is willing to do to avoid addressing his biggest foreign policy fuckup since he became president.
Mere disaffection with the status quo in the world, or one’s lot in it, is not enough to help chart a path beyond it. A guiding vision is needed, and in order to formulate the right vision, which needs be inclusive and fair, an open debate of the issues is a must. Otherwise, processes will be guided and outcomes determined by figures and parties armed with the narrowest of visions and the lowest of ethical standards, people like Putin and his obsession with the return of Greater Russia, and groups like Al-Qaeda and its determination to revive the obsolete Caliphate system. While neither Putin nor Al-Qaeda is in a position to directly threaten global peace and stability, the localized regional mayhem they create is more than sufficient to harm millions of people, making this world a more dangerous place than it needs to be and rendering hope in a better future irrelevant. Atavistic longings cannot pave the way to a better future.
Shhh. Don’t wake the Giant.
Let Osiris doze on. Sleep is good, and
decency irrelevant. Schemes are unfolding,
as planned: all borders will soon be
redrawn, as ISIS mounts her own Tet offensive.
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 