Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Two experts ridicule the Empire's policies and actions in the Middle East and Afghanistan

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Two experts ridicule the Empire's policies and actions in the Middle East and Afghanistan

By Ron Horn

I regard two similar articles by experts on the US Empire's wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan as important. I am referring "Iran and Hezbollah are ready to face any challenge: but are Israel and the US ready?" by Elijah J. Magnier, an independent Kuwaiti journalist (if my memory serves me correctly) and widely quoted source of information by other experts, and "Blowback From U.S. Policy in the Greater Middle East" (you may want to skip Tom Engelhardt's introduction by scrolling down to the article) by Major Danny Sjursen of West Point.

Both ridicule the declining influence of the US Empire and its "partners in crime" due to blowback of its imperialist policies and actions to control this region over the past nearly four decades.

Elijah Magnier:

With every war or tough western policy to defeat this “axis” using Saudi Arabian money and western intelligence services in the Levant and Iraq, this “axis” becomes stronger and increases the number of its supporters. Can the western warmongers finally learn that such a policy is, in fact, drastically weakening the West in the Middle East? I doubt it.

Major Danny Sjursen:

Short-term thinking, expedience, and a lack of strategic caution (or direction) has led Washington to train, fund, and support group after group that, soon enough, turned its guns on American soldiers and civilians. It’s a long, sordid tale that stretches back decades -- and one that, unlike the individual instances of treachery that kill or maim American servicemen, receives next to no attention.