Senate The Middle East Discussion Thread

While I'm no fan of Bush's invasion, you can't blame the entire Arab Spring (and how that turned out) on it. Neither does the article, which says you can't really blame any one thing for it, but that it does seem to have its roots in how stagnant and authoritarian the governments there have been for decades, as well as how the Europeans employed a "divide and conquer" strategy when forming the states & how members of a minority group were often given power of the majority demographic of a nation.

 

Great read, PG.

Ghost, the single biggest catalyst for the fractured lives and upheaval is absolutely the Bush invasion. It's folly to argue otherwise.

 

Ender Sai: you are a fool if you think leaving Saddam and his sons in power would have been any better. More left wing bitterness i sense.

 

You do realize, of course, that Ender could not possibly be described as "left wing," right?

 

I about died laughing when I read that. Ender is such a bleeding heart.

 

Yes, I know most of us have visited his bust in the left-wing hall of fame (where he sometimes gives side-eye to the one next to him).

 

First Ender was an Islamist. Now he's left wing.

 

He's a stereotype for all seasons.

 

The left call me right. The right call me left.

I'd say as a measure of centrist success it's pretty compelling.

And, no, Ellen Joan Sparling, I'm simply educated about the Middle East. I understand why this confuses and scares you though.

 

I really enjoy this kind of journalism. It's the personal stories which hold the greatest key to understanding the problems in the ME as it becomes plain to see how alike we really all are and how utterly mind ****ingly deplorable it is to lay the blame for terrorism at the feet of this monolothic beehive entity known as "Islam". I generally hold human life to be precious but people like Trump seriously make me want to abandon the ideal of human rights and just line up in a firing squad for the betterment of humankind.

 

educated about the Middle East. I hope so. It's nice to know you think that the Palestinians won't lie.

 

What...?

 

OK but what has that to do with Saddam?

 

She called them Palestinians, that's progress.

 

Postcard From My Past: Crossing Into Syria
There's really not anything to discuss about this article. But it's a nice, cozy read; a nostalgic reminiscence of a simpler time, not only before the civil war, but before the spectre of 9/11, so I wanted to share it.

Excerpts:

 

Iraqi forces have done a great job pushing back Daesh; the Kurds, in the North, have probably been the biggest asset in this fight but, sadly, will not be rewarded with independence.

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/paralle...ign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170222

I had no idea where to post this article but I saw the "...and other extremist groups" part of the title of this thread and thought it'd be an interesting read for you guys. It's one of the most ridiculous articles I've ever read from this website and it really has to do with the tone and the things that they blatantly exclude regarding the Muslim Brotherhood as an organization. That last part, especially.

 

Your objection to the article is?

 

DanielUK My objection to this article is the fact that they're treating the Brotherhood as something other than theocratic and authoritarian. Not to mention the idea that regarding them as such is somehow a declaration of war on Islam.

 

Theocratic and authoritarian? Yes, perhaps. But a terrorist organization? That's just an over-the-top smear by the Egyptian government that wants to eliminate its political rivals. The same is true of many of the Gulf states that want to keep their monopoly on power. The Muslim Brotherhood does have many issues, and many of its positions don't look like they're compatible with liberal democracy...but it is true that they're peaceful, and so the general consensus is that they can be tolerated. Banning or labeling them as "terrorists" is serious overkill and not justified.

 

Could you point to the part in the article that treats them as something other than theocratic and authoritarian?

 

Aperture | The Syrian refugees coming home to Armenia

 

So, Assad just used chemical weapons in Idlib province in Syria.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/syria-chemical-attack-idlib-province?CMP=fb_gu