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Micheline's Blog

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Tag Archives: retaliation

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16 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by michelinewalker in Terrorism, The Middle East

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Attacks on Britain, British General Election, European Migrant Crisis, ISIL, Islamophobia, retaliation, terrorism, The Middle East

TELEMMGLPICT000126935511-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqHLyhoXuNxRO5-T-ESAK5afzXV4JsWjjATZJLnGqC5UA

A member of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Raqqa. Isil has issued a new call to arms after the Manchester attack. CREDIT: REUTERS

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/04/london-attack-six-dead-van-rampage-stabbings-terrorists-killed/

My last post was published on 3 June 2017. I have not been able to work since. However, in the wake of the London Bridge attack and previous attacks on Britain, three in as many months, I reflected on terrorism, wondering if it could be stopped. (But not if the United States sells weapons to Saudi Arabia.)

Terrorism is extremely difficult to quell. The mind of a terrorist is inflexible. He or she has been radicalized through indoctrination.  A terrorist probably thinks his victims deserve to die. Moreover, ISIL terrorists kill in the name of Allah and are probably looked upon as martyrs by fellow terrorists.

Martyrdom may explain why ISIL claims responsibility for acts of terrorism perpetrated by a Muslim, even if the attack has little to do with promoting the Islamic State. ISIL claimed responsibility for the Orlando, Florida attack by Omar Mateen. Omar Mateen did not mention ISIL until he was about to be shot to death by the police. He had attacked innocent civilians enjoying a night out at an LGBT facility, the Pulse. He had been taught that his sexual orientation was not acceptable. 

It seems terrorism is permanent, but that movements such as ISIL aren’t. ISIL will probably be defeated in the not-too-distant future, but a new movement could replace the one that has been abolished and several of its members will justify killing on the basis of the destruction of ISIL. Human beings retaliate and so do terrorists. Attacks follow one another and new movements avenge the old. It’s a vicious circle.

ISIL, a movement created in 1999 and first known as Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, originally pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda (See Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Wikipedia.) ISIL beheaded American-Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. However, regular beheading incidents did not begin until 2014, three years after the death of Osama bin Laden, on 2 May 2011. ISIL is a Salafi jihadist movement. The beheadings were shown on videos and the United States seemed ISIL’s primary target. Although American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were the first to be beheaded, ISIL’s next victims were British aid workers David Cawthorne Haines and Alan Henning. Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was also beheaded.  The victims I have named were beheaded by British Arab Jihadi John, Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in 2015.

It is difficult to neutralize or defeat a group of terrorists. They are radicalized. Many ISIL terrorists are heroes without a cause who converted to Islam and travelled to the Middle East. Attackers often see their victims as deserving to die. They kill in the name of Allah and may be looked upon by other terrorists as martyrs.  I wonder to what extent ISIL militants realize that they harm moderate Muslims fleeing terrorism and war and who have lost everything. ISIL fuels Islamophobia and hurt Islam. The refugees started to walk towards Europe in 2015 and many drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea in fragile crafts. Migrants are Muslims for the most part, but they include minorities: Yazidis, Assyrians, Mandeans, etc.

With respect to the Migrant Crisis, I should note again that  William Lacy Swing, Head of the International Organization of Migration, reports that people smugglers make $35 bln a year on the Migrant Crisis. It’s an industry.

3072

Nearly 1,500 migrants in 12 boats were rescued from the Mediterranean by Médecins Sans Frontières in just 12 hours last month. This rescue ship has a capacity of 600 people. Photograph: Cesare Abbate/EPA

Islamophobia helped Donald J. Trump’s election to the Presidency of his country. He looked upon all Muslims as dangerous, which is a generalization, but atrocious crimes were being committed in the name of Allah. However, recently, President Trump allowed a large number of Muslims to enter the United States. The European Migrant Crisis also led to nativism. Many French citizens rallied behind Marine Le Pen‘s Front National.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/marine-le-pen-prepares-for-a-frexit

It could be that France’s National Front party influenced the Brexit vote. A little over half of Britons voted in favour of Brexit. However, support for Brexit may wane following a significant loss of seats for British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party.

The “West ” as Villain

The West has made mistakes. Colonialism was a mistake and so was the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. The creation of protectorates by the League of Nations was also a mistake.   The Arab-Israeli Conflict began when Mandatory Palestine was partitioned and Israel created. Israel declared its independence on 14 May 1948, the day the British Mandate for Palestine ended. (See Israeli Declaration of Independence, Wikipedia.) At the moment, matters are sensitive and Israel is making a mistake. Israel has yet to return the territory it conquered during the Six-Day War, in 1967. Israelis are settling outside the territory Israel was apportioned in 1948, often deporting Palestinians. Israel has been granted protection from the United States, but the United States did not veto United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 adopted on 23 December 2016. (See United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, Wikipedia.)

http://www.merip.org/primer-palestine-israel-arab-israeli-conflict-new

The Present

However, we need to focus on the present.  On 14 May 2017, the French elected centrist Emmanuel Macron to the leadership of their country and British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to obtain the clear majority she was seeking in the British general election held on 9 June 2017, three days after the London Bridge attack. Consequently, a shift to the extreme right, in France particularly, has been averted. As for Britain, the Brexit vote did not show convincingly that Britons wanted to leave the European Union. It showed division and division is what the general election has confirmed.  Jeremy Corbyn‘s Labour Party secured 30 more seats in Parliament, a substantial increase, while Prime Minister Theresa May lost 12 seats.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-the-british-right-went-so-very-wrong/2017/06/11/3f51fac2-4d5d-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.8f27c0ab859d
E. J. Dionne Jr

For a while, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was managing the daunting European Migrant Crisis almost unassisted, but she is supported by France. Jeremy Corbyn is expected to smoothen the Brexit negotiations, if indeed Britain leaves the European Union.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/manuel-cortes/brexit-jeremy-corbyn_b_17124182.html

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/09/jeremy-corbyn-west-nato-russia-215242

Retaliation and “all-out war”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/26/islamic-state-calls-all-out-war-west-start-ramadan-manchester/

ISIL claims that the London Bridge attack was retaliation against American airstrikes in the Middle East. It has declared an “all-out war” on the West, in the name of Allah, and did so during Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims, which this year began on 26 May and will end on 24 June 2017.  The Atlantic reports “staggering loss of life” in the fight against ISIL.

https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/06/the-staggering-loss-of-life-in-the-fight-against-isis/530292/

As it happens, ISIL’s first target was Iran, a twin attack on Tehran. It was not the West.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Tehran_attacks

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/rare-double-attacks-hits-irans-capital/2017/06/07/d9f101c2-4b50-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.f8a8cfb3650c

220px-Roollah-khomeini

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Terrorists attacked the Parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the nation’s Islamic revolution.  According to the Washington Post, approximately 12 people were reported killed and 42 wounded.

Conclusion

Allow me to express my condolences to the family and friends of the victims. These are the saddest of times. Many countries are accepting refugees, but attacks such as the three attacks on Britain scare host countries. Canada passed anti-Islamophobia legislation, which may not have been necessary, but Canada’s Muslim community had to be protected officially.  However, I cannot imagine Canada accepting sharia law. Immigrants to Canada and refugees have to abide by Canadian laws. Canada respects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The War in Iraq was a mistake. It was, I hope, the last instance of Manifest Destiny. It is my conviction that the countries of the Middle East are capable of looking after themselves. But, following the Arab Spring, certain autocrats would not democratize their nation and heads started to fall. Muath Al-Kasasbeh was burned alive. Human beings were locked in cages that were lowered into the water. The genocide of the Yazidis began, and an American-led coalition started to strike. Drones were used, so attacks were targeted and civilians spared. Targeting is almost impossible. The villain was ISIL.

By 2016, thirteen million Syrians had fled their country to seek refuge in the safer West. But the West was divided. The European Migrant Crisis was a calamity. Were migrants friends or foe?  Fear led to Brexit. In France, Marine Le Pen thought she had found the road to power. She ran a populist campaign, à la Trump, and she was defeated. But suddenly, terrorists were attacking Britain. The attacks occurred after Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, Mr Trump’s travel bans were blocked by the courts.

I believe we are nearing the end of this ordeal, but many have died and more could die.

All of us are human beings. We can hate, but we can love. We can love far more than we can hate. The planet is ours to save and the world is ours to shape and to share.

Love to everyone ♥

Tchaikovsky – Hymn of the Cherubim – USSR Ministry Of Culture Chamber Choir
(extraordinary music!)

Mandate_for_Palestine_(legal_instrument)

© Micheline Walker
16 June 2017, updated
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The Middle East: Inferno

01 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by michelinewalker in Terrorism, The Middle East, United States

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

credibility of Congress, Dante's Inferno, Gustave Doré, James Foley, John Boehner, Obama, retaliation, the astronomical cost, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, the lawsuit against the President

President Obama

President Obama

On Friday, I wrote a post that I did not publish. It was about the systematic obstructionism and scapegoating Barack Obama has faced from the moment he was elected to the presidency of the United States. The word systematic is my keyword. Extremists Republicans seem to have gathered to plan President Obama’s demise. The post I wrote will no be published because we know that whatever goes wrong, it’s always the President’s fault or the fault of his administration.

We also know that the main motivation on the part of Congress is avoidance of taxation. Taxes are the “the freedom we surrender” to live in safety. (The Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes, 1651) and safety includes the creation of social programmes. Responsible citizens do not invite a government shutdown costing billions simply to ensure they get tax cuts, which is unlikely to be the case if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act survives constant attacks. I believe it’s there to stay.

Dante is lost in Canto 1 of the Inferno. Gustave Doré

Dante is lost in Canto 1 of the Inferno.
Gustave Doré

The President Hesitated

First, yes the President Obama hesitated.

Having said the above, let’s look at inferno: the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis). 

http://dailycaller.com/2014/08/29/senior-pentagon-officials-say-obama-hesitated-on-james-foley-rescue-mission/

Yes, there was an attempt to save journalist James Foley, but President Obama hesitated before entering Syria and he did so for good reasons. He was attempting to rescue Jim Foley, but entering a sovereign nation can be interpreted as an act of war and invite retaliation. I realize that there are air strikes as I write and that the U.S. is protecting agencies dropping food to victims of Isil, but, unfortunately, intervention can be perceived as interference.

It would appear James Foley was executed on 19 August 2014, in the Syro-Arabian desert, by a terrorist who has been identified as a Londoner. But there may have been two executioners.

In other words, no sooner was Osama bin Laden found and killed, that terrorists regrouped and named themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), or Is, which is extremely alarming. One thinks terrorism is over, just as the war is over, but a new breed of terrorists emerges and, although there are no boots on the ground, “[a]fter a strike, one can expect anything.” Our new terrorists are rebels without a cause who are accepted by Isil, as though flesh alone a terrorist made.

Dante's Inferno, Plate 22 Hoarders and Wasters, Gustave Doré

Dante’s Inferno, Plate 22
Hoarders and Wasters,
Gustave Doré

“We don’t have a strategy yet”

Second, the President said: “We don’t have a strategy yet.” I watched CNN and happened to hear high-ranking military personnel comment on President Obama’s so-called “gaffe.” They explained that devising a strategy can take a very long time, but also said that the U.S. is prepared to face attackers. After the horrific attacks of 9/11, the U.S. has got tougher. In short, the Pentagon is ready.

However, because of its current debt, the U.S. cannot afford to spend $7.5 m a day on its operation in the Middle East. There have been 100 strikes and the Republicans in Congress would like the United States to adopt a more “aggressive strategy.”

“Republicans in Congress have led calls for a more aggressive strategy against Isis, beyond the strikes which the Obama administration has confined to the north of Iraq, around the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Irbil and the Mosul dam.” (The Guardian)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/30/john-kerry-global-coalition-isis-iraq-syria-nato

Suing the President

Given that Mr Boehner, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is suing the President, can advice on his part or on the part of extremist Republicans in Congress be taken seriously. The lawsuit will cost taxpayers $500 an hour. Barack Obama is the duly elected President of the United States of America. That does not confer upon him “divine rights,”[i] but it has earned him a degree of respect that he also fully deserves. Suing the President has seriously jeopardized Mr. Boehner’s credibility as well as the credibility of like-minded members of the Republican Party. Mr. Boehner has provided little, if any, evidence that he is a statesman.

http://time.com/3222601/iraq-cost-us-pentagon/

I realize that the U.S. is not acting as a single nation and I am aware that agencies dropping food, water and other supplies to a beleaguered people require protection. However, if the conflict escalates I fully expect Mr. Boehner to blame the President. Moreover, if the U.S. adopts a more aggressive strategy, more money will be spent and the Republicans in Congress will also blame President Obama.

London Counts on Safe-Haven Appeal…

http://www.thenational.ae/business/property/london-counts-on-safe-haven-appeal-for-middle-east-real-estate-investors

If matters degenerate, there may be a few happy individuals, people such as CIT in London, England. They are building or have built a perfect safe-haven for the very rich who may need to escape turmoil.

Given the amount of money these refugees are willing to pay and can pay for a safe-haven, not only are London “developers” hoping to rescue enormously wealthy customers from the Middle East, but apartments have already been sold to wealthy customers in Vancouver and Toronto at prices only royalty can pay. Besides, two save-havens are better than one.

Releasing the Prisoners

I would like the prisoners Isis has captured to be released and for all endangered Americans or foreigners to be pulled out of inferno as soon as possible, if it is possible. However, Isil terrorists are asking for exorbitant ransoms the United States will not pay.

Strikes are very dangerous and one cannot defeat sectarianism. Inferno!

My kindest regards to all of you.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Suing President Obama: Related Posts (4 August 2014)
  • Suing President Obama! (3 August 2014)
  • “After a strike, one can expect anything” (15 September 2013)
  • Syria on my Mind (9 September 2013)
  • Taxes: the “freedom we surrender” (15 October 2012)
  • The Social Contract: Hobbes, Locke & Rousseau (13 October 2012)
  • Mutiny in Congress: Ship them to Guantanamo (21 December 2011)
  • The US: Obstructionism and Scapegoating (7 November 2011)
  • “It is the fate of princes to be ill-spoken of for well-doing” (15 September 2011)

____________________

[i] “divine right of kings.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 31 Aug. 2014.<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/166626/divine-right-of-kings>.

—ooo—

GF Händel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759)
Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia
Suite No. 9 in G Minor
Sviatoslav Richter (20 March 1915 – 1 August 1997)
 
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement from Martha's Vineyard
 
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August 31, 2014
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The Syrian Crisis & the United Nations

19 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in The Middle East

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Ban Ki-moon, diplomatic solution, exceptional nations, John Kerry, Lex Talionis, retaliation, Syria, The Middle East, United Nations, Vlaldimir Putin

1379449220988.cached 

Vladimir Putin

(Photo credit: Valeriy Melnikov/Host Photo Agency via Getty)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/17/mckeon-responds-to-putin-in-the-moscow-times.html
 

Retaliation or the Lex Talionis 

Life teaches us not to let ourselves be provoked.  Indignation has its place, but if someone gets angry, it is best to leave the room and let that person simmer down.  Whether or not he or she is right or wrong, the first response to anger may well be to get out of harm’s way.

Retaliation, the lex talionis, an eye for an eye, is at times applicable.  For instance, Assad may have to compensate the Syrian citizens who have left the country and the families of those who have been killed.  However, in all likelihood, retaliation, i.e. a strike on the part of the US, would, at the moment, make matters worse.

When George W Bush entered Iraq, he entered a sovereign nation.  This was a transgression.  We may therefore be witnessing an instance of retaliation (lex talionis).

Using Chemical Weapons: “war Crime”

However, forces under Bashar al-Assad’s command now stand accused of a “war crime.”  The use of chemical weapons, weapons of mass destruction, is a criminal violation of international law.  Given that Assad’s forces killed indiscriminately 1,429 Syrian citizens using a chemical weapon, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have to face the International Court of Justice, at The Hague, as may Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Matters have changed

In other words, on 16 September 2013, when the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, reported that sarin gas had been used, matters changed.  It is now for a united world to act.  A strike on the part of the United States may no longer be the appropriate course of action.

http://webtv.un.org/watch/ban-ki-moon-syria-security-council-media-stakeout-16-september-2013/2676128008001/

US Secretary of State John Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry pared the problem down to the use of a chemical weapon, the “war crime.”  In an “off-the-cuff” remark, John Kerry stated that if Syria put its chemical weapons under international control and destroyed them, there would not be a strike on the part of the United States.  The world welcomed this idea, including Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Deal of a lifetime

In the meantime, as mentioned above, it has been determined by the United Nations that Bashar al-Assad’s forces used sarin, a chemical weapon, to kill 1,429 Syrian citizens.  On 16 September 2013, Ban Ki-moon, reported that a “war crime” had been committed.  If it is acceptable to the international community, Mr Kerry’s deal may be the deal of a lifetime for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  At any rate, President Assad has accepted to put his chemical weapons under international control.  They will be destroyed.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/19/syria-chemical-weapons-bashar-al-assad-tv-interview

The US viewed as “exceptional”

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Fundamentally-Freund-Yes-Mr-Putin-America-is-exceptional-326415

According to Michael Freund of the Jerusalem Post, “America is truly different, both because of its principles and its performance on the world stage.”  The United States has been and remains a superpower, but should the world entertain the notion that certain states are exceptional?  This concept warrants serious analysis.

For one thing, the US’ status as “superpower” has been a burden on US President Barack Obama and his nation.

::

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Syria
  • Syria, cont’d
  • Syria on my Mind
  • “After a strike, one can expect anything.”
  • The Agreement and the Criminal Element
Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 –  4 November 1847)
Song without Words, opus 109
Jacqueline du Pré (cello)
 
449px-Mendelssohn_BartholdyPortrait of Felix Mendelssohn by the English miniaturist James Warren Childe (1778–1862), 1839
Photo credit: Wikipedia
(Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
 
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