Special to The Daily Star
The Syrian regime did not have to find itself in the precarious position it is in today, maligned by all for its behavior. It did not have to find itself facing sanctions imposed by the United States. It did not have to face United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559, calling for a Syrian pullout from Lebanon. And it did not have to face the outrage expressed after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The main source of income, after oil, for our “leaders,” the cash flow that fill their coffers, is, as many people should know by now, drugs: hasheesh and opium to be specific. Since the main center of production for these “crops” is located in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, how can this regime ever be expected to pull out of that beleaguered country? Continue reading “Heretical Ramblings!”
The debate on the potential Islamic roots or parallels for the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11 and before, launched and/or coordinated by groups with Islamic affiliations, is making me wonder now, despite my having taken part in it, whether we are not putting too much emphasis on the issue of supposed roots or parallels in Islamic history. Modern terrorism, when you think about it, seems to have a more western origin than anything else.
The tendency itself seems to have begun with the French Revolution but was launched at earnest with the development of anarchist and fascist groups in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Continue reading “A Brief Note on the Roots of Modern Terrorism”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 