It is hard to believe when one reads some of the op-eds and articles that have been written about him in the 24 hours following his passing that beyond the façades of decency, kindness and intelligence that Dr. Fouad Ajami always projected lay an actually decent, kind and intelligent man. For, unfortunately, the truth can often be hidden under a ton of ideological nonsense.
What a loss. I was just in touch with Fouad through his assistant, Megan, a couple of days ago. I had sent him a copy of my upcoming book, The Irreverent Activist, for review, and he had written a wonderful testimonial. I was reaching out to thank him. I cannot believe that one of the last things that this great man did in his life was to give me a push forward, just as he had done more than two decades ago through his honest and thought-provoking writings. Thank you very much Fouad, I will carry as much of your flame as I can throughout what is left of my own haphazard existence on this earth. But no one can fill the void you leave behind.
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.
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 