Abu Muqawama retains its autonomy and the views and beliefs expressed within the blog do not reflect those of CNAS.
I'm blogging from Terminal Three in Ben Gurion Airport, where I left myself plenty of time to get through all the security checkpoints. The first time I visited Israel, in December 2006 on another research trip, I was extensively interviewed both on arrival and departure. I was strip-searched on the way out, and on the way in I sat in that waiting room they have in front of passport control for a good four hours before someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with whom I had a meeting that morning called and intervened on my behalf. An excerpt from one of the security interviews that time around:
Her: Have you ever been to Iraq?
Me: Yes.
Her: What were you doing there?
Me: Overthrowing the government.
[She looks confused.]
Her: Have you even been to Afghanistan or Pakistan?
Me: Yes, to Afghanistan.
Her: Well... what were you doing there?
Me: Overthrowing the government.
My entire passport, really, might as well read "DO NOT ALLOW INTO ISRAEL. EVER." From this summer's travels alone, I have visas from Morocco, the UAE, Lebanon and Afghanistan. So it was a surprise when I waited only 15 minutes in the waiting room on the way into the country before they came back with a stamped piece of paper and told me to have a nice visit. Neither my friends nor I could figure out how I had passed through security so quickly. On the way out this afternoon, meanwhile, I left plenty of time to make my flight and was, sure enough, stopped by a very pleasant woman who proceded to interview me for a full 30 minutes. She had noticed a tag on my carry-on with my name written in both Roman and Arabic script. I cheerfully told her why I had been in Lebanon, how much I enjoy Beirut and why I learned Arabic. I told her all about the people I had interviewed here in Israel and how I had met them. I told her about my friends in Israel, how I know them, and where I traveled while I stayed in the country. We had a debate about whether or not Baka, where I was staying, was a neighborhood in East or West Jerusalem. I told her about my job in Washington, the kind of research I do, and the origins of my last name. But you could tell it just wasn't adding up for her. Who the hell is this guy? I could see her asking herself. So she took my passport away with her, and I sat on my bags for 10 minutes. When she came back, she had a big smile on her face.
"Did you know you have a Wikipedia page?" she asked.
Ah, that explains it. They Googled me. How this blog -- and its name -- wasn't a giant red flag I will never know, but it's nice to know the security staff here in Israel are masters of the interwebs. They didn't even feel the need, after confirming my internet fame, to run my bag through the scanner.
Such is the collective authority of Sergey Brin and Larry Page, I guess.
Try the land route between Jordan and Israel. Incompetence on the Jordanian side and suspicion on the Israeli side makes it fun for the whole family. Of course, if you have a pregnant wife, you can use haml wasta to get through some of the stupider delays.
Is the first picture that comes up on Google in the red shirt your Blue Steele.
"Ani es'ek gah-dol al ha-reshet"
I am a big deal [ lit. : business ] on the net.
Very funny story...
This story very much made my morning.
Have not actually been to the Middle East, but in the course of a TS investigation they gave me the third degree over visiting Serbia, which, by the time it reached my CO, became Syria. Which necessitated quite the tongue-lashing.
But, I don't have a Wikipedia page.
Thank you for confirming that you are in fact the master Zionist double agent.
Exum. Exum. Exum___what? Exumheimer? Exumstein? Exumout?
BTW is the Roman/Arabic script Andrew Exum or Abu Muqawama? Now try taking THAT moniker on your luggage through security ;-)
Very funny stuff.
By the way, Ex, if you're looking for a few laughs you might try reading this blog, which obviously has a bone to pick with you (if you haven't seen it, as it is an old post). Evidently, you are a moron. Oh, and a COMPLETE IDIOT.
http://opntalk.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-obama-combat-policy-helps-enemy....
Is it me or does the Lego insurgent look angrier this week?
Andrew, hasn't anybody told you that Uncle Sam will give a second passport to people with business in both Israel and Lebanon (or other Arab countries)? Or do you just enjoy waving red flags at bulls?
Ah yes. I am that that guy who wrote the story for The Surfers Journal about surfing in Lebanon--you did a post on my blog: www.bloggingthecasbah.com.
That being said, I had a hell of a time explaining to the girl working security that I was doing a trip about surfing in Lebanon--especially because I cut costs by doing one of those free Israeli Birthright trips to the Middle East. She said: "Look, I'm just trying to keep you alive and your not helping."
These people can be extreamly confused what people like us (journalists/researches) do. Not to mention a huge pain in the ass. I'm all for security or whatever, but these people are over the top and at times flat out rude. Try crossing out of the West Bank from Jenin. Huge security. I was stuck for 4 hours. And I already had a visa and a Birthright credit card. WTF?
The fact of the matter is that you got a "6" in the security checkpoint. What you should have done is wait for them to specifically ask if you had been to any Arab/whatever countries. That is the trick, cuz they normally don't. Oh, but you only had one passport. Got to get two buddy. They hassle anyone who shows any kind of sympathy or the "other side."
It is just the reality. Anyone who does not believe me is someone who has never done it.
This guy has no idea who he is dealing with. Rumor has it CNAS controls Google and we all know how powerful they are.
http://opntalk.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-obama-combat-policy-helps-enemy....
My last stay in Israel I met a professional cyclist from Brazil who was vacationing in Tel Aviv after a cycling tour through just about every country in the Muslim world. And he went through the Jordanian border. Worst customs experience I've ever heard in my life.
Great story! I can only hope that I am so lucky next time I go through Ben Gurion. Google Wikipedia solves everything.
Ever thought about a second passport? Standard Operational Procedure here in Europe for researchers working on both sides.
OK I went to that link, just to see if you do control google...and found something even crazier...
""We are not in Afghanistan to make sure that fewer Americans die," said Andrew Exum of the Washington think tank Center for a New American Security. "We are in Afghanistan to make sure fewer Afghan civilians die."
You.Are.Barking.Mad. Unless you were somehow misquoted....we are in Afghanistan precisely because a lot of Americans died rather suddenly (the American civilians should take priority for Americans). That's exactly how we ended up there, and the actual reason we are staying. You yourself I believe mentioned this in - "This Man's Army".
OK this is a cult now (COIN). Good grief.
BTW you think you're going to help them? Really? Do what? Grow opium in a more secure, business friendly Afghan social democracy? Chad may have a better chance. Bush may have been right not to go all in. Maybe economy of force was the way to go...
Ask yourself please what we are risking here...we already lost what came to a small city in itself (total space at WTC) and 3K dead. Real fast. That's before they got closer to those sweaty Pak nukes...which is of course one scenario....of many if they regroup.
I may well be working with a distorted version of the ROE, and the plan. Yes the basic COIN idea is valid (sometimes). But lets remember who were supposed to protect - Americans.
And although ROE are not supposed to be public domain, now that ROE is becoming a household word you might as well get out in front of the story. Repubs are vulnerable to charges of being the warmongering party of the rich, but Dems are vulnerable to being called soft on crime - and now terrorism. Doesn't mean it's true or fair. But the perception is real.
Since I don't want it to fail, let's have the conversation. The country has begun to anyway. And sadly the Pope is right in the cross hairs as the poster villain for PC warfare. Don't be the next Bush. Defend yourselves.
Still behind Triage, BTW.
""We are not in Afghanistan to make sure that fewer Americans die," said Andrew Exum of the Washington think tank Center for a New American Security. "We are in Afghanistan to make sure fewer Afghan civilians die."
Yeah, that quote (and GEN McChrystal made similar statements in the 60 minutes interview, too) always confuses me a bit, Elf. I always wondered if the quotation was truncated, as in "by protecting Afghan civilians we are protecting American interests," didn' t make it into the full quote?
Because, if the above cannot be put together with promoting national American interests (keeping us free, prosperous and safe) no one, right, left, up or down, is gonna support the mission with much enthusiasm. We have other avenues for humanitarian endeavor than wars. I think your point gets to some of the general public's confusion about ROE vs. protecting civilians......they are confused as to why we are there if it is not about protecting the US, ultimately. Well, that's my bloggy take on it, and as usual, I have to add that I get a lot of things wrong, so, blast away if I got things wrong and please do correct me.....
It's like the maddening aspect of the debate where you can read a newspaper article about GEN McChrystal and COIN and it never gets to why, exactly, he things CT as such won't work. Okay, but tie that to national goals, reporters or interviewers or interviewed, okay? Gotta put the pieces together, you know?
Oh, wait, take the interviewed out of the above, I'm just frustrated with the public debate. It's always arguing past each other, it seems....
Her: Have you even been to Afghanistan or Pakistan?
Me: Yes, to Afghanistan.
Her: Well... what were you doing there?
Me: Overthrowing the government.
So then who are the insurgents and one who are the Counter-Insurgents in Afghanistan? Wouldn't the Americans and Karzai be the Insurgents?
Well if they did cut off AM's quote then I am glad I adjusted with "unless you were misquoted". That only makes it him a bit mad instead of barking.
Visitor on insurgent semantics - who cares? We are defending ourselves. Not certain the place has any govt worth surging for or insurging against anyway.
I just care about Americans first. Stone age opium growers way way down on the list.
@Madhu - no you quite nailed it. My point for some time has been even though I think I understand and hence lend qualified support to the Afghan surge, Humanae Triage or whatever....it's not selling. And the beating the ROE drum will beat this effort to death right out the starting gate.
Oddly, it's the same arguments that were so popular in Iraq after the surge worked....but 1) Not seeing the media I.O surge here, and frankly 2) the Repubs are now gonna - if they can - beat BHO over the head over PC ROE. It's the same general arguments they supported in Iraq.
[before people go nuts, I am not saying they cut and pasted the "surge" and Iraq COIN from Iraq to AF/PAK. I know diligence has been done].
Note in General there are many Right wing and Conservative Defense types supporting MC call for 40K more. Although Peters and McCarthy (hardly Doves) want to go back to CT and limited footprint. Bacevich...is himself. Buchannan is stuck on Republic not an Empire (well that would have been great if we'd done it post USSR over the next 10 years. We didn't).
Jeesh, Elf. I interpreted the quote as that the priority wasn't necessarily an emphasis on decreasing American troop deaths, but on decreasing Afghan causalities in order to better secure the country, because it would lessen Taliban influence which would, in turn, help protect American interests.
Hey, who added the douchey postscript to the Wikipedia page? C'mon, who was it?
"Security always comes at a cost to performance." Vincent Rijmen
Madhu: "The national interest" is not served by ignoring the cost to those outside of the nation's/'your' affiliation.
Elf: What is the fountain of justice? Is it that the unproductive deserve more and the productive deserve to be made to pay for it? J. Pournelle
Do the unproductive serve any purpose in such a perspective?
AM: Dude, "overthrowing the government" l o l
747
"My entire life, the life of my neighbors, and the life of many gadgets that inhabit the world was suspended in a variety of ways by a power outage that lasted hours. However, the recognition that an entire constellation of processes depends on electricity is very different from the reduction of the entities belonging to this network to electricity."
Sitting in a car, waiting for a train to pass - worrying about the kids, about being late, about 'the market'; sitting in an airport waiting to be cleared by security /or not; sitting outside a bodega, waiting for the night or dawn to come - suspended in the midst of process.
Time is not static; objects are not solid; people are not of one class.
The perceptions of monolithic being/understanding all are of one's mind - shared, but unilocal.
Focusing on one difference, and making it the most important difference, is a human tendency that can be overcome. One starts by understanding that humans are not at the center of being.
That Wikipedia page of yours presently reads, probably thanks to Google Translate:
Abu Muqawama (Arabic, الأب للمقاومة, for "father or expert of the Resistance").
Mazel Tov, Mabrouk!
"Thank you for confirming that you are in fact the master Zionist double agent. "
It is a little "convenient" isn't it. Posting about "oh how baffling it is" there's no way he should be allowed into the country but was against all common sense. Looks a lot like he is trying to get out in front of the hard questions about how he continues to enjoy safe passage while discussing strategy with both sides with more personal interest than a completely uninvolved person would have. I doubt we will ever know which side he is truly an agent for, but hard questions need to be asked.
Either way, he has a beard. This much is indisputable.
"Thank you for confirming that you are in fact the master Zionist double agent. "
It is a little "convenient" isn't it. Posting about "oh how baffling it is" there's no way he should be allowed into the country but was against all common sense. Looks a lot like he is trying to get out in front of the hard questions about how he continues to enjoy safe passage while discussing strategy with both sides with more personal interest than a completely uninvolved person would have. I doubt we will ever know which side he is truly an agent for, but hard questions need to be asked.
Either way, he has a beard. This much is indisputable.
Did they search the beard?
Oy this goyem Andrew and his COIN is mishegas.
Did they have the opportunity to search the beard or did it travel separately to avoid such complications.
If our customs officials/immigration agents were as vigilant as the I$raelis, Mohamed Atta and friends would never have gained entry to our country.
I think when AM says we're there to protect Afghani's not protect Americans, he's talking about military casualties, not American civilians. The reference is to needing to protect Afghani civilians even if it means higher US military deaths/casualties. At least that's the way I took the quote...
never the twain shall meet ... ?
http://www.quattozone.com/2009/10/watchmen-seeking-daylight.html
(h/t Greyhawk)
-----------
http://zenhuber.blogspot.com/2009/10/mcchrystal-problem.html
(man barks snark)
-----------
completely unrelated:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_fixation
http://www.sportrider.com/ride/146_0612_controlling_panic/index.html
. . .but are you big in Japan ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDSfYqEGoE
BOC NYC 1980 (warning - includes drum solo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiHRm2DioMA
Exum, Kilcullen, the Kagans and others in NYT today on "10 Steps to Victory in Afghanistan":
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/opinion/04afghanistan.html?_r=1&adxnnl...
Wow, you are a real loser. The Israelis searched you? Happens all the time. You have a Wikipedia page? Big deal, but I bet you wrote it yourself, as you also wrote your own book review. How did you manage to pass Ranger school? Friends in high places most likely.
Maybe they searched you because you carry the water for Hizballah, you traitor.
I already amended my misunderstanding of his quote...which I had thought might have been cut and pasted out of context.
Although there is a broader mindset (if not his, I don't read minds) I wish to correct or point out...why we are in Afghanistan. Curiously Tom Friedman had a cogent and coherent answer to this today in the NYT...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/opinion/04friedman.html?_r=5&ref=opini...
Really. He didn't wander off point once.
@747,
The Fountain of Justice? There seem to be many of them, my favorite is the one in the Philippines. Which is the only one you'll find in a war zone (by my Google). I really wouldn't search for them in war. Unless you desire disappointment. Productive vs Unproductive - other than Heroin what do they produce? That's not why we're there...it just isn't.
@Kilo - the beard? He gave the beard the clean second passport. That's how it slipped through...without being searched. That's where he hides the microfilm....and how, BTW UBL's messages keep getting through.
AM (Beard version) is in fact the International Courier of OBL. The beard uses this name when in Arab countries..
ابن شعر اللحية
And this one for Israel...
בן זקן שעיר
They only comment section that Andrew hasn't been called a bearded, Jew hating, Zionist, who hates America, wants American soldiers and Marines to be killed to save filthy Arabs, who also carries water for and pals around with terrorists, was never a real soldier and is a filthy social scientist is the softball comments section. Was everyone watching FOX when that was posted?
"Abu Muqawama (Arabic, الأب للمقاومة, for "father or expert of the Resistance"
yes, it was google translate. at one time in the old format he AE or AM used to sign off in Arabic. But I couldn't find it in the current blog. Google translate reads like Ab instead of Abu, or is that done with a '. I don't know, If you know better & you are a registered * neutral editor, go in there and edit it. Also, the wiki article was a hit piece. There have been a lot of broad strategy pieces in here lately, and it needed balance.
If there is a public domain photo of AM around, point me to it & I"ll stick it in.
Resistance/Insurgency?
what do you think?
TLV security interviews are often quite amusing, although I was rather disappointed with the one on my last visit:
HER: (Looking at Iranian visa, with a page full of Lebanese entry stamps on the opposite page). What were you doing in Iran?
ME: Lecturing.
HER: Oh, OK. Welcome to Israel.
Sheesh.
Another time they forgot to restamp my visa when I returned from a trip to Gaza via Erez, thus leading to suspicions I had somehow climbed under the wire.
My all-time favourite, however, was when I was connecting through Tel Aviv on a flight from Cyprus to London in the old terminal, and they had accidentally locked the transit passage and couldn't find the key--thus requiring me to formally enter and exit Israel to make the connection. The exit interview went something like this:
HER: What was the purpose of your visit to Israel?
ME: To leave again. (I explain what happened.)
HER: Who did you meet with while in Israel?
ME: Just you.
HER: How long have you been in Israel?
ME: Two minutes.
HER: Did anyone give you anything?
ME: No, you're the only person I've met.
HER: Who did you meet in Israel?
ME: Just you.
HER: What was the purpose of your visit?
ME: To leave (I explain it all again).
HER: How long was your visit to Israel?
ME: Three minutes...
She finally let me through after about ten rounds of the same.
"Security always comes at a cost to performance."
Those who promise 'total security' don't have the ability to provide for what they advertise, and appear not to care about "unintended" consequences. They charge a very high price for what they advertise, and the buyer doesn't know exactly what they've purchased - in terms of software, that often includes hidden programs.
747
hey, Exum, if you got friends in Israeli government, might want to put in a word for Mohammad Othman
http://freemohammadothman.wordpress.com/
Revision as of 21:28, 27 August 2009 (edit) (undo)
216.185.11.254 (talk)
(→Books)
"In August 2009, Exum conceded on his blog: "Many critics of this blog – and, indeed, some of the readership – have contended that it is at best irresponsible and at worst immoral to be talking about operations and tactics independent of the larger strategic issues. Point taken."
"Negative criticism towards Exum's stance of focusing on "counterinsurgency operations and tactics without getting involved too much in either policy or strategy" took a substantial hit to his reputation within policy circles, as debate about the war in Afghanistan began to scrutinize strategy, goals, and America's national interest."
Hostname: 216-185-11-254.i95.net
ISP: Allied Telecom Group, LLC.
Organization: Cato Institute
Proxy: None detected
Type: Corporate
WILL
The comments section of this blog has become unreadable. It may be time for a time out for a few weeks
Enjoy yr blog, but if you are going to draw attention to your wiki page, you should make sure the Arabic in it (الأب للمقاومة) is correct. It is not.
Cheers.
Add your comment