It took decades for Palestinian to finally win overt support in some mainstream international media outlets. But, and as is often the case with modern-day Arabs, the victory is Pyrrhic in nature and will not translate into any substantive support for the Palestinians’ goal of establishing their own independent state.
It was not only an airliner that was shut down in Ukraine, but the last vestige of the post-Cold War global order, and the popular myth regarding the containability of “local” conflicts. In today’s hyper-connected world, conflict anywhere is a conflict everywhere, for spillovers are unavoidable and containability a myth.
U.N. Council, in Unanimous Vote, Backs Aid Delivery to Syrians in Rebel Areas – NYTimes.com.
All Syria watchers know well that this decision is meant to target ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria, Al-Nusra Front, rather than the Assad regime, seeing that most border checkpoints are controlled by the these two groups. In fact, the decision calls for a measure of coordination with the Assad regime as well. In a sense, then, the Resolution re-legitimizes the Assad regime. This is why the Russians did not veto it, and ended up endorsing it. A deal over Syria seems to have been reached between the Americans, Iranians and Russians, and it’s one of those usual cynical deals that harken back on the darkest days of the Cold War, and comes as a further expression of how fucked up our sense of humanity continues to be.
One of the main problems confronting the U.S. and other Western powers in connection with the newly appointed Caliph, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, is that by assuming this title and showcasing that he has some charisma, the savvy leader of the Islamic State bestowed upon himself a certain holiness that would resonate with Jihadis across the globe.
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 