With Abbott’s opportunist, imperialist kowtowing march to war in the Middle East, legislative attacks on civil liberties to “balance” security needs, governmental hate-preaching racism, fear and McCarthyist terror-baiting the garrulous tenor of the day in Australia, Redgum’s classics resonate. Have you ever been a member of “Team Australia”? answer, quick, no obfuscations or context.
Aamer Rahman satirises Danny Nalliah and Australian bigotry against Muslim women:
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Fears escalate as more young Australians enlist in overseas terror campaign
As a Muslim, I condemn Ebola.
Tony Abbott apologises to Alan Jones for not acting on ‘hate preachers’ – Under this Grabbit Law, would the dogwhistling settler Grabbit himself have been admitted to Australia?
‘“By all means let Australians who want to say stupid things to say stupid things but there’s no point importing troublemakers from overseas to stir people up.”
Grabbit is also being disingenuous as under one part of his proposed new police state laws currrently before Parliament:
‘As well, a person would only have to be ‘reckless’ as to whether words could cause a person to engage in terrorism, which is far less than the requirement of ‘intends’ under the existing incitement law.
For example, statements supporting armed resistance to the Assad regime could be caught by the proposed law.’
Terrorists under the bed? TAB has the answer
JDL Australia & NZed #JSIL stalkers & promoters of violence now active again on FB
Orientalism and the ISIS spectacle.
‘The ISIS-led insurgency currently gripping the western and northern regions of Iraq is but a continuation of the imperialist-sponsored insurgency in neighboring Syria. The state actors responsible for arming and funding said insurgency hold the same principal objectives in Iraq as those pursued in Syria for the last three years, namely: the destruction of state sovereignty; weakening the allies of an independent Iran; the permanent division of Iraq and Syria along sectarian lines establishing antagonistic “mini-states” incapable of forming a unified front against US/Israeli imperial domination.’
ISIS: An expression of imperialism in Iraq
”How much death and destruction would American terror warriors have to cause before their ostensible opponents rejected their claims of noble intent? During the thirteen years of the “war on terror,” actions of the United States government have consistently and predictably strengthened anti-American terrorist groups. To chalk this all up to stupidity — rather than unstated imperial imperatives — is to choose ignorance.”
What is needed is a language to address this dilemma, that of the respective imperial uses of Islamophobia and religious ideologies, and in that sense takfiris, although sometimes derided as a sensationalistic term, is very much an exact term. What is not needed, what is downright pernicious, is a frightened language. A direct language must be fully prepared to address the awesome magnitude of the violence and cruelty and, it must be said, terrorism of this latest phase of imperialist repositioning in the region. A failure to do so will result in the victory of the Internet spectacle.
Always worth a reread at these times is Seymour Hersh’s Redirection article from 2007.
There are No Moderate Syrian Rebels
‘The Obama administration’s new plan hinges on Saudi Arabia’s support for the training effort, including an offer to host training camps on Saudi soil. The Saudis are in no way a reliable partner for the U.S. in the Syrian conflict. Even discounting the fact that Saudi-purchased anti-tank rockets somehow found their way into ISIS’s hands, the Saudis have a notorious history of supporting unsavory groups in the Syrian conflict, including Salafists in the Islamic Front. The greater Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the training program is, the greater pressure there will be for Islamic Front fighters to receive U.S. arms and training. After Congress balked at the Obama Administration’s request for $500 million, the Saudis offered to fund the training and arming of the Syrian rebels. This means that there is a large chance the U.S. will directly support groups who work closely with Jabhat al-Nusra.’
A Secret Betrayal — Kurdish Refugees in Iran
After Iran and Iraq signed a border agreement, Iranian support to Barzani stopped and the revolt collapsed. Barzani told the CIA that, “Complete destruction [is] hanging over our head…We appeal [to] you…[to] intervene according to your promises.” Despite this, “the U.S. refused to extend humanitarian assistance to the thousands of refugees created by the abrupt termination of military aid.” Kurds then fled en masse to Iran, where many applied for refugee status in the U.S.
However, few people at Embassy Tehran were aware that the U.S. government had made a commitment to the Kurdish people.