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Back in the USA
November 20, 2008 | Posted by Abu Muqawama - 6:19pm | 59 Comments
Just arrived back in the USA after living abroad for four and a half years (minus a nine-month stay in DC). As I was getting off the plane in Charlotte -- where I am sitting in the airport, waiting on my connecting flight -- a guy ahead of me was talking loudly on the phone to a friend about his just-completed tour of Europe. Toward the end of the conversation, he said:
"Yeah, there's some of them on the plane ... Yeah, there are ... Well, hell, I dunno, but they look Muslim-looking."
Ah, America. (He was probably talking about me!)
Two things in the papers today worth high-lighting. One, I bought the Independent this morning in Gatwick because it came with a free bottle of water. (Rumor has it that the Indy will not make it through this financial crisis.) Robert Fisk is back in Afghanistan, and though my "love" for "Meester Robert" is well known, he unwittingly makes a pretty good case for the comprehensive approach to COIN in this dispatch.
Also in today's papers, Robert Worth (and his trusty photographer sidekick Bryan Denton) have been getting better-than-average access to Hizballah recently and have a long feature on Hizballah's youth organization in the New York Times. (Bryan's accompanying photo essay is here.) This is all part of Hizballah's efforts to create a "society of resistance." My worry is that the greatest danger in creating a society of resistance is that you might actually succeed. Bacevich may talk about American militarism, but I worry more about these non-state actors who build up armed conflict as their raison d'être. If peace in suddenly in your best interest a year or so down the road, for example, how are you going to tell these kids to stand down? Are they going to be happy working in a cell phone kiosk in Tyre?
Finally, there is a new website that claims to be able to analyze blogs and such and tell you their personalities. Here is how the site described the Abu Muqawama crew:
Update: More from the Charlotte airport. Two women were trying to remember what the capital of Alabama was. They asked me, and I replied "Montgomery." At this point some guy from, like, 15 seats over intervenes and says to the ladies, "No, it's Mobile." And then, looking right at me, says, "I am positive it is Mobile." I went back to reading Flash for Freedom and didn't bother picking a fight about it, but seriously, has America gotten dumber in the years I've been gone?
"Yeah, there's some of them on the plane ... Yeah, there are ... Well, hell, I dunno, but they look Muslim-looking."
Ah, America. (He was probably talking about me!)
Two things in the papers today worth high-lighting. One, I bought the Independent this morning in Gatwick because it came with a free bottle of water. (Rumor has it that the Indy will not make it through this financial crisis.) Robert Fisk is back in Afghanistan, and though my "love" for "Meester Robert" is well known, he unwittingly makes a pretty good case for the comprehensive approach to COIN in this dispatch.
Barack Obama wants to send 7,000 more American troops to this disaster zone. Does he have the slightest idea what is going on in Afghanistan? For if he did, he would send 7,000 doctors.Can't we send both?
Also in today's papers, Robert Worth (and his trusty photographer sidekick Bryan Denton) have been getting better-than-average access to Hizballah recently and have a long feature on Hizballah's youth organization in the New York Times. (Bryan's accompanying photo essay is here.) This is all part of Hizballah's efforts to create a "society of resistance." My worry is that the greatest danger in creating a society of resistance is that you might actually succeed. Bacevich may talk about American militarism, but I worry more about these non-state actors who build up armed conflict as their raison d'être. If peace in suddenly in your best interest a year or so down the road, for example, how are you going to tell these kids to stand down? Are they going to be happy working in a cell phone kiosk in Tyre?
Finally, there is a new website that claims to be able to analyze blogs and such and tell you their personalities. Here is how the site described the Abu Muqawama crew:
The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.Um, unless those conflicts are with Charlie Dunlap or Bing West.
Update: More from the Charlotte airport. Two women were trying to remember what the capital of Alabama was. They asked me, and I replied "Montgomery." At this point some guy from, like, 15 seats over intervenes and says to the ladies, "No, it's Mobile." And then, looking right at me, says, "I am positive it is Mobile." I went back to reading Flash for Freedom and didn't bother picking a fight about it, but seriously, has America gotten dumber in the years I've been gone?
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