Tag: blowback
I Nodi di Netanyahu Vengono al Pettine
Di Kevin Carson. Originale pubblicato il 14 dicembre 2023 con il titolo Netanyahu’s Chickens Come Home to Roost. Traduzione di Enrico Sanna. Ovvero, Come gli stati si creano i nemici Probabilmente conoscete l’espressione “darsi la zappa ai piedi”. In un certo contesto significa che molte delle minacce esterne che gli stati nazionali si trovano ad…
Netanyahu’s Chickens Come Home to Roost
Or, How States Create Their Own Enemies You may or may not be familiar with the concept of “blowback.” Basically, it’s the idea that most foreign policy threats faced by nation-states are the unintended consequences of their own past foreign interventions and exercises of power. The October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel is a…
What Do Terrorists Want?
After the terrorist violence in Brussels many people, including Barack Obama, said we should not change our way of life and live in fear because that is what terrorists want. Maybe, but is that all they want? It seems that something important is left out of the story. In the classical model of terrorism, instilling fear…
The Unasked Question: Why are They Coming?
An article posted on LewRockwell.com (Jack Perry, “You’re Not Owed Asylum,” Jan. 9 2015) uses the recent tragedy in Cologne, Germany to rant about the evil inherent in non-Western immigrants. “They” are the non-blessed, uncivilized, un-Westernized people that dare live somewhere else in the world. Much is said about what happened in Cologne on New…
Hillary Clinton: Least Fit of All
Even considering that no one is fit to be president — in that no one should be able to command a state, which rules by threatening and committing violence against innocents — Hillary Clinton is especially unfit. No one who has done what she has done as a government official should be rewarded with power….
Il Complotto dei Terroristi Mediatici
Questo fine settimana la CNN ha mandato in onda come “Ultimissima” mozzafiato (tutto quello che manda in onda è una “Ultimissima” da mozzare il fiato) un nuovo sondaggio che dimostra come la gente sia sempre più spaventata dal terrorismo. La versione su internet dice: “Il terrorismo ha soppiantato l’economia quale problema nazionale più importante per…
A Conspiracy of Fear-Mongers
Over the weekend CNN breathlessly reported as “Breaking News” — it breathlessly reports everything as “Breaking News” — a new poll indicating that people are increasingly frightened about terrorism. The accompanying web story stated, “Terrorism has eclipsed the economy as voters’ top pick for the biggest issue facing America, a New York Times/CBS News poll…
Foreign Policy Comes Back to Haunt Us
From the start, opponents of the American empire warned that the government could not violate the rights of foreigners without eventually violating the rights of Americans. An excellent example is William Graham Sumner’s post-Spanish-American War classic The Conquest of the United States by Spain. The anti-imperialists were spot-on, and the evidence for their case keeps…
Come Rispondere agli Attacchi di Parigi
Guardate, neanche i regimi autoritari e totalitari possono evitare il terrorismo interno. Allora, che speranze può avere una società relativamente aperta? Una società aperta abbonda di “facili bersagli”, ovvero di persone inermi che ogni giorno vanno e vengono liberamente. Sono un bersaglio facile per chi vuole il male, specie se gli assalitori cercano la morte….
How to Respond to the Paris Attacks
Look, even authoritarian and totalitarian states can’t prevent domestic terrorism. What hope do relatively open societies have? Open societies abound with “soft targets”; that is, noncombatants going about their everyday lives. They are easy hits for those determined to inflict harm, especially if the assailants seek to die in the process. We also know, as…
Is Instability the Goal of U.S. Mideast Policy?
Donald Trump’s indictment of the Bush II administration for failing to prevent the 9/11 attacks presents an opportunity for more of a bird’s eye view of American foreign policy in the Middle East, a policy that has killed many hundreds of thousands, maimed countless more, and laid waste to entire societies. As Peter Beinart reminds…
11/09: Para o governo, o terrorismo não é problema, é solução
Todos os anos, os americanos têm que assistir a uma nova rodada de cerimônias enjoativas e bajuladoras cujo principal objetivo é reforçar a lealdade ao mesmo estado militarista que causou os ataques terroristas de 11 de setembro. É tudo parte de um ciclo perpétuo, repetido ad nauseam desde os anos 1970: 1) o estado americano…
#NeverForget911 For the State Blowback is a Feature, Not a Bug
Every year, we’re subjected to another round of mawkish, smarmy 9/11 memorial ceremonies whose main purpose is to maintain loyalty to the very national security state whose aggression brought the terror attacks of September 11 on us in the first place. It’s all part of an endless cycle, repeated over and over, dating back to…
The Tortured Logic Behind Using Torture on Feed 44
C4SS Feed 44 presents Nick Ford‘s “The Tortured Logic Behind Using Torture” read by Tony Dreher and edited by Nick Ford. A recent NDAA amendment passed in mid-June makes it a lot harder for the CIA to torture–a good step forward. But it’s also worth noting that torture isn’t “beneath us” as Oliver suggests. It’s…
Obama’s Legacy Will Not Be One of Peace
The Financial Times recently reported that Nobel Peace Prize recipient Barack Obama has conducted ten times more drone strikes than his predecessor George W. Bush. As far as we can tell, that number is somewhere in the ballpark of 500 strikes and spans a wide array of countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia…
From One Extreme to the Other
David Cameron said Britain was in for “something special” when his Conservative Party won an outright majority this May. One wonders how much this government is going to make us miss the Liberal Democrat component of the previous coalition. The “Extremism Bill” Cameron recently announced is making Nick Clegg look pretty good right now. In…
The Tortured Logic Behind Using Torture
If you watched Batman when you were growing up, chances are you saw him torture someone. If you watched Jack Bauer from the hit show 24, chances are even better that torture scenes were involved. And if you watched the Netflix show Daredevil, you probably saw it in almost every single episode. The problem with relying…
Per Obama, Qualunque Guerra È Meglio di Niente
Di recente, la Casa Bianca ha annunciato che Obama ha approvato un piano per mandare 450 nuovi soldati in Iraq per combattere Isis. Queste “truppe” non sono truppe operative. Al contrario, avranno un ruolo di consiglieri per assistere le forze armate irachene. Se credete a questa storia vuol dire che avete un minestrone al posto…
For Obama, Any War is Better than No War
The White House recently announced that Obama has approved a plan to send 450 new troops into Iraq to fight ISIS. These “troops” aren’t ground troops, but instead are going in an adviser role to assist the Iraqi military. Now, everyone who believes that please, go stand on your head. It’s been four years since…
The Weekly Libertarian Leftist Review 77
Binoy Kampmark discusses the atrocities of the Shia militias. Anand Gopal discusses the creation of an Afghan Blackwater. Laurence M. Vance discusses limiting the government’s carbon footprint. David S. D’Amato discusses decentralism and libertarianism. Kevin Schwartz discusses hyping a proxy war in Yemen. Laurence M. Vance discusses the drug war litmus test. Glenn Greenwald discusses…
Anarchy and Democracy
Fighting Fascism
Markets Not Capitalism
The Anatomy of Escape
Organization Theory