The opportunities presented by the failed state
Ah those helpful young men of Hezbollah! See this.
For those of you without access to the NY Times, here’s the gist of the article:
Hezbollah’s reputation as an efficient grass-roots social service network ”” as opposed to the Lebanese government, regarded by many here as sleek men in suits doing well ”” was in evidence everywhere. Young men with walkie-talkies and clipboards were in the battered Shiite neighborhoods on the southern edge of Bint Jbail, taking notes on the extent of the damage.
“Hezbollah’s strength,” said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a professor at the Lebanese American University here, who has written extensively about the organization, in large part derives from “the gross vacuum left by the state.”
So Hezbollah starts the war, puts civilians in jeopardy, and then gets credit for cleaning up the mess. Sweet.
The most important part of the article is the quote by Saad-Ghorayeb: “the gross vacuum left by the state.” After decades of civil war and outside influence, Lebanon is now teetering on the brink of being a failed state. In fact, it may be a failed state already. And in a failed state, evil rushes in where angels fear to tread, and evil does it in the guise of good.
I’m reminded of how the Taliban got started in the yawning vacuum left by the withdrawal of the Soviets after their lengthy and destructive war there. The Taliban seemed like helpful young men at first, too, trying to create order out of chaos.
This, however, from the blog Lebanese Political Journal (via Pajamas Media), sounds a faint–very faint–note of hope.
Now I wonder where the article is about all the damage done in Israel from the Hezbollah rockets… oh yeah – they don’t count. I tend to gag on reading the NYT, I leave it to people who are stronger than I am to look at how perverted they are.
to Justa, above:
1. If the plan was to go to Tehran, their airplanes would be there now.
2. You mean if you pay for a school you can murder all the people you want? Like Castro?
3. Outcome? Same as before…a world full of imperialist Jihadis eager to kill or die for their god.
“You seem awfully certain that Hizbollah started the war despite most commentators now seeing it as a preplanned adventure on the road to Damascus and Tehran.
Right. Well, far be it for us to argue with both Fisk & Hersh, Im afraid Im going to have to anyway.
Neo must have a stronger stomach than me. I’ve given up on the NYTimes years ago when I found not articles pertaining to my interests. In the rare events they do publish one, it’s from a leftist and pro-Muslim viewpoint. It’s almost as if I know the meme by now:
…Third world culture…
…oppressed Muslims in Israel/Iraq/Thailand/India/Sweden/Ann Arbor/Manhattan/Mexico/Parguay/Your Basement…
…Bust stole the election…
…Veganism…
…Kyoto…
…Diversity…
Before I take my leave here, I’d like to site this post on the Caveman Voter.
What was the term that Patton used, “Go through them like crap through a goose.”? Works for me.
”I’m reminded of how the Taliban got started in the yawning vacuum left by the withdrawal of the Soviets after their lengthy and destructive war there. The Taliban seemed like helpful young men at first, too, trying to create order out of chaos.”
It’s a devil’s bargain; surviving in exchange for giving up what makes survival worthwhile. The freedom from destruction and chaos gets sold for compulsory religious belief, and worse yet, a literal physical slavery to radical militant islamicists wars, and a literal philosophical slavery to their beliefs.
I know such acts of order and rebuilding by groups like the Taliban appear as charity at first, but true charity is concerned with the benefit and uplifting of the recipient only. What we’re seeing in these cases is human agriculture. Growing fodder for future conflicts.
I don’t suppose this has anything to do with Israel flagrantly violating the sovreignty of the Lebanese state by deciding to escalate the conflict.
Yes, the Jews should have been more passive. Kidnapping a soldier or two then roughing up the rescue force was not grounds for Jews to become aggressive.
I don’t suppose this has anything to do with Israel flagrantly violating the sovereignty of the Lebanese state by deciding to escalate the conflict.
Lebanon has made a decision to support terrorism. Too bad. I hear it used to be a nice place to party.
I think HLVS is right on spot. Just look what the Jews did to beautiful Warsaw, Poland in 1943.
I love this “terrorists supply social services” meme. It’s so very very reminiscent of the “mussolini made the trains run on time” meme.
However, I still don’t like the word “meme.” Why am I using it?!?!?
Another mangled quote I probably read on Neo-Neocon—
“There are some ideas so stupid that only an intellectual could believe them.”
Probably Mark Twain or Socrates or maybe Shakespeare. 😉
Wow, my winky turned into a real person! That’s like magic!
Promethea: yes, I seem to have left the emoticon function turned on, which means that smiley faces become–well, they become smiley faces.
Thank God the US or other Western powers would never think of creating a failed state and then move in to try to “help” stabilize it.Oh..wait a second..Iraq.But our motives are always pure and the Others are always evil.And if somebody grabs a couple of our soldiers, level the entire country till they are returned.Always an effective strategy. I guess we should have leveled Somalia and Iran.
Promethia:
“However, I still don’t like the word “meme.” Why am I using it?!?!?”
I still wondering what happened to ‘theme’.
troutsky:
“I guess we should have leveled Somalia and Iran.”
Good boy. I knew you’d come around.
Just for the record, there are NO oppressed Muslims in my basement – so far as I know, anyway.
Trousky is right, Iraq is a failed state, at the moment. Why? Precisely because people like Trousky not only made it the way it is, but is keeping it the way it is. THey’re preventing others from making Iraq better, it’s a stalling tactic.
So while Trousky might be right in his factual descriptions, his interpretation that it is the fault of “we” is the opposite of the truth. It is not “we” that caused Iraq, it is “they”, they being Trousky and Co.
Blaming others is so fun! I need to do it more.
THe meme has become a meme of a meme, a meme of itself.
Somalia lost a thousand or so to casualties for 19 lost on our side. That’s a lot for a lightly armed Ranger company, without JDAM, Marine, Tank, or Helicopter gunship support. If they’d have had the M60E, and loads of ammo, it would probably have been in the 10s of thousands in terms of casualties for the Somalians.
Like Jimbo said, some people forget all about how hurt the enemy is, all they do is look at their bodies in the mirror and complain and whine about what happened to their precious selves. Right.
Promethea: yes, I seem to have left the emoticon function turned on, which means that smiley faces become–well, they become smiley faces.
neo-neocon | Homepage | 08.17.06 – 12:38 pm | #
Personally I think they’re evil djinns from the plane of Cyber, so I prefer to use my own emoticons lest the evil spirits suck my soul away without me noticing.
Thank God the US or other Western powers would never think of creating a failed state and then move in to try to “help” stabilize it.Oh..wait a second..Iraq.But our motives are always pure and the Others are always evil.
Iraq was a belligerent and dangerous state – the whole idea was to make it a “failed state,” failed states being so much less dangerous than successfully belligerent states. I think also that it’s a good thing to hang around for awhile as a new regime is formed. It’s costly in terms of casualties and tax dollars but usually saves both in the long run, as well as being nice for those left behind to pick up the pieces – as a reading of the post-WW2 history of the former Axis powers will attest.
Civil war? Let it come as long as it’s a true civil war between elements native to Iraq. If Iran or Syria jump in they need to be severely chastened until they learn the error of their ways. Whatever regime(s) emerges in Iraq they need to know that they too can become a “failed state” should they try any Saddam-like antics.
“You mean if you pay for a school you can murder all the people you want? Like Castro?”
Now you’ve got it! Mussolini made the trains run on time. Hitler built the autobahns. Make a few gestures like that, and you’re entitled to commit genocide.
“I don’t suppose this has anything to do with Israel flagrantly violating the sovreignty of the Lebanese state by deciding to escalate the conflict.”
You are correct, it has nothing to do with that. That is because Israel didn’t violate Lebanese sovreignity. By failing to attempt to control Hez’bollah, Lebanon forfeited its own sovreignity in international law. Glad to see you getting the hang of this.
” Another mangled quote I probably read on Neo-Neocon—
” ‘ There are some ideas so stupid that only an intellectual could believe them.’ ”
Orwell, I believe.
” But our motives are always pure and the Others are always evil.”
Correct.