While claiming that the critics of the Iran Deal are “overstretching the specter of Iran’s imperialism,” Paul Pillar more than underplays the reality of it even as it unfolds under our watchful eyes in places like Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.
Month: April 2015
السياق الغائب: خليط ضروري من الذكريات والملاحظات
إذا أخفقتَ كناشط مدني في إقناع الطرف أو الأطراف المعنية، سواء عن طريق الحوار أو الضغط أو كليهما، بضرورة تبنّي السياسة التي تريد، أو أخفقتَ في منعها من تبنّي السياسة التي تعترض عليها، فإن أولويتك الجديدة في كلتا الحالتين تتطلّب منك العمل لتخفيف وطئ هذا الإخفاق على الناس. ولايتأتى هذا الأمر في أغلب الأحيان إلا من خلال الاستمرار في “التعامل” مع ذات الأطراف ووفقاً لذات الأدوات، أي الحوار والضغط، مع بعض الإضافة والتعديل.
Continue reading “السياق الغائب: خليط ضروري من الذكريات والملاحظات”
The Ruse of Civility, Or, Ruse Awakening
“When nonviolence begins halfway through the war with the aggressor calling time out, it exposes itself as a ruse.” (The Atlantic, Nonviolence as Compliance)
Similarly, when calls emerge from certain quarters addressing “both sides” of a conflict and appealing for calm, even when one side has been using overwhelming violence from the get-go while the other remained committed to nonviolent tactics with few exceptions, we can all be sure that a ruse is in the work.
Baltimore and Ferguson: my two Syrian cents on an all-American issue
The problem highlighted by the current riots in Baltimore and the earlier riots in Ferguson cannot be reduced to the casual observation that mostly black neighborhoods cannot be effectively policed by a mostly white police force. Due to its more intimate knowledge of the local communities, a mostly black police force can be as equally oppressive in its tactics if not more so, unless the real problems are addressed.
Continue reading “Baltimore and Ferguson: my two Syrian cents on an all-American issue”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 