Tagged: militarism Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Lawrence of Arabia
-
thabet
-
Lawrence of Arabia
America “worried” by planned cuts in UK military spending.
When even your friends are getting sick of your continuous militarism and its associated costs, it isn’t them you should be worried about. NATO accounts for 70% of the world’s military spending, with the US accounting for well over half of that.
-
Lawrence of Arabia
“We looked for a time of Peace, but no good came; for a time of health, but, behold, Terror.”
NPR asks whether or not the Emperor has lived up to his Peace Prize. Of course, giving the Peace Prize to commander-and-chief of the United States is not the only silly thing the committee for the Peace Prize has ever done, but it ranks right up there. Mind you, if you are going to give the U.S. C-in-C a Peace Prize, I suppose it is best to do it before he has had a chance to become well-practiced in militarism.
-
thabet
A Taliban gun locker was found to contain guns which have outlasted two of the biggest empires of the last two centuries.
(Via War in Context.)
-
johnpi
The west African nation of Guinea, 85 percent Muslim, saw a savage attack on an opposition demonstration at a stadium where nearly 50,000 had gathered to protest the military government. Rape by groups of soldiers figured prominently in the violence.
157 were reported slain by the military,
But even more than the shootings, the attacks on women — horrific anywhere, but viewed with particular revulsion in Muslim countries like this one — appear to have traumatized the citizenry and hardened the opposition’s determination to force out the leader of the military junta, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara.
….Rape is a fairly common tool of military repression in Africa, but large-scale violence against women has not been a previous government tactic here. “This time, a new stage has been reached,” said Sidya Touré, a former prime minister who was also beaten at the stadium and said he had witnessed brutalities there. “Women as battlefield targets. We could never have imagined that.”
“Where could people get the idea to start raping women in broad daylight?” Mr. Touré asked, in an interview at his home here. “It’s so contrary to our culture.”
Opposition leaders are asking for a “force of intervention to protect us from the ferocity of the Guinean Army.”
I personally remain distracted by the idea of a Muslim group like Hizb ut-Tahrir seeking to bring military governments into power in Muslims nations when these kinds of governments have a long track record of coercive debauch.
-
abunoor
I won’t repeat myself a fourth time as to how you are wrong about what HT is calling for (okay maybe I just did).
I must say, however, that I find it sleazy and low for you to try to use the killing of scores of people and the rape of Muslim women as an excuse to try to score political points in your own personal debate with HT, which is completely unrelated to the issue you are reporting.
-
johnpi
Did you notice “fairly common tool of military repression”?
The Guinea situation illustrates exactly my problem with military governments – and I’ve always been focused on the military government aspect of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s program. If HT wants to accomplish their goal some other way that doesn’t involve sinking Muslim-majority nations into a swamp of military misconduct, then fine. Elsewise, I think I’m on the side of the greater good in advocating against them and their program as currently conceived.
-
Shams al-Nahar
Rape is not just a tool of military juntas.
It part of the standard bag of evolved warfighting strategies that got handed down from the tribal conflicts of the EEA.
-
-
-
abunoor
John, I’ve tried to explain to you before my understanding of this aspect of HT’s methodology. Sure, I could be wrong, but my understanding is based on years of experience interacting with people who belong to and/or support the group..I am not sure what your understanding is based on — some internet links?
I think your point that military governments or non-democratic governments are ‘dangerous’ and can easily become corrupt is a good one…and as I stated previously I for one agree and favor a methodology of focusing on changing the hearts of people.
I think HT’s question for you (and for me!) is what are the methods available to change governments in non-democratic societies first and foremost and even in democratic societies how does one bring about revolutionary change since they are advocating an entirely different system which is not something you can accomplish through electoral processes even in a ‘democracy.’
There are many Muslim societies where the elite group that holds the string of power (ahl al -halli wal ‘aqd in classical fiqh terminology) are thought to be the military leadership, so that example has been used.
I know you embrace democracy and I guess the electoral process. I, as I’ve said before am more interested in changing hearts, including making the regimes illegitimate in the hearts of the Muslims, as to the mechanism through which the change will actually come, don’t know yet.
Allaah knows best.
-
-
thabet
Transcript of BBC Radio 4 discussion on whether Pakistan could really turn into a “Sunni militant fascist state” (as Hizb ut-Tahrir pray it will).
-
thabet
The response from American liberals: “[D]o not fuck with the Jews.”
-
razib
fyi, marty peretz is not a typical liberal. he’s an israel-firster likudnik who is a moderate liberal in domestic american politics. the more typical liberal jewish response.
-
thabet
Yeah, I know about Peretz.
Although, very early Yglesias was not much different to Peretz.
-
thabet
Plus, I have just read J Street’s response and as is usual for many liberal commentators (American or British), their memories began ticking about a week or so before such incidents and almost inline with the “retaliation” argument.
-
razib
Although, very early Yglesias was not much different to Peretz.
uh, ok. so? (i mean, it would be notable if he pretended like he wasn’t a hawk at one point, but kind of irrelevant if a guy goes to the trouble of writing a disavowing his early retarded views)
-
Ikram
Very early Yglesias was, I think, about 19. We all made a lot of mistakes when we were young; Razib was a warblogger; I was a moron. Let’s forgive and move on.
-
razib
Razib was a warblogger;
no, that was godless. you can check the archives.
-
thabet
We all made a lot of mistakes when we were young
And some of us (me included) continue to make stupid mistakes.
-
abunoor, 
Shams al-Nahar, and 
johnpi are discussing. 
thabet, 
razib, and 
Ikram are discussing. 
this is really quite an amazing article. lots of people might miss it – but i am really glad I clicked thru. amazing.