[News] American (jihadi) Idol

Thu Aug 9 12:41:12 EDT 2012

*American (jihadi) Idol*
By Pepe Escobar

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NH10Ak04.html

    /I don't want a holiday in the sun
    I wanna go to the new Belsen
    I wanna see some history
    Cause now I got a reasonable economy/ - *The Sex Pistols*, /Holidays
    in the Sun /

Jihadis of the world, unite; you have nothing to lose but your stage 
fright. After Bosnia, Chechnya and Afghanistan, the West has fallen in 
love with you all over again - big time.

As if any extra proof was needed, here it is - straight from the mouth 
of the US establishment, as personified by the Council of Foreign 
Relations (CFR). [1]

How lovely to learn that "Free Syrian Army (FSA) batallions are tired, 
divided, chaotic, an ineffective. Feeling abandoned by the West, rebel 
forces are increasingly demoralized ... Al-Qaeda fighters, however, may 
help improve morale. The influx of jihadis brings discipline, religious 
fervor, battle experience from Iraq, funding from Sunni sympathizers in 
the Gulf, and most importantly, deadly results. In short, the FSA needs 
al-Qaeda now".

Now let's rewrite the above and set it in the mid-2000s in Mesopotamia. 
"The Sunni Iraqi resistance is tired, divided, chaotic, and ineffective. 
Feeling abandoned by the Arab world, rebel forces are increasingly 
demoralized as they fight the most powerful military in history. 
Al-Qaeda fighters, however, may improve morale. The influx of jihadis 
brings discipline, religious fervor, battle experience from all corners 
of the Muslim world, funding from Sunni sympathizers in the Gulf, and 
most importantly, deadly results. In short, the Sunni Iraqi resistance 
against the US occupation needs al-Qaeda now".

Imagine the Munch-like shrieks of horror all across the West if someone 
had proposed that a few years ago. How is it humanly possible to support 
"terrists"?

That's easy; as long as the "terrists" are "our bastards".

The messenger of "terra" in this CFR case is one Ed Husain, described as 
"a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies" at the CFR. Before he set 
up the first-counter terrorism think tank in Britain, he was "an 
activist of Jamat-e-Islami, Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), and Muslim Brotherhood 
front organizations in the United Kingdom". But thanks Allah he 
repented, and became "a strong critic of extremism and Islamism".

Syria proves once again that the West loves defectors. Still, our 
Islamist defector is careful to cover all bases, adding, "the unspoken 
political calculation among policymakers is to get rid of Assad first - 
weakening Iran's position in the region - and then deal with al-Qaeda 
later".

Obviously our defector - who speaks Arabic and is "familiar" with Urdu - 
must believe "blowback" is a porno flick (as a matter of fact, it also 
is). Even infants know that after the 1980s Afghan jihad the US, Saudi 
Arabia and Pakistan did get their regime change in Kabul. They also got 
the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and global "terra".

Now I've got a reason to be waiting.

Syria is now the ultimate Sex Pistol-inspired Holiday in the Sun (the 
jihadi remix); a magnet to Libyans, Jordanians, Saudis, Algerians, 
Chechens, Af-Pakis, and even Brits with thick London accents. [2]

They are fighting alongside Syrian Islamists such as this one, named Abu 
Bakr, who has just got his 15 minutes of fame on Reuters. [3]

Asked about his future plans, Abu Bakr admitted, "I don't want to 
immediately impose Sharia law and start cutting off people's hands for 
stealing. I believe in Sharia. But if we force it on people, we will 
create fear. We have to assure minorities we will treat them well".

The operative word here is of course "immediately". First we get rid of 
the bloody dictator and his evil regime. We save the hand cutting and 
the beheading of infidel Alawites, Christians, Druzes and Kurds for later.

Compounding the farce of an FSA totally infiltrated by jihadis, and in 
the case of many gangs/brigades, actually dominating the whole thing, 
Western corporate media is taking no prisoners selling the notion that 
the CIA is on the ground just performing the innocent job of separating 
the FSA wheat from the jihadi chaff, arbitrating who gets suitcases full 
of US dollars.

Believers take note; Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) 
are now on sale on Ebay.

Apparently no one told US Secretary of State Hillary "We came, we saw, 
he died" Clinton about this jihadi monkey business. [4]

She is adamant she will have none of this "disciplined, religious 
fervor, experience from Iraq" al-Qaeda eulogies. But then again, she 
will; Iran, after all, remains the Supreme Evil beyond any possible 
Axis; moreover, Washington needs a dependable someone to blame in the 
never-ending charade of the "war on terra".

So forget about the upcoming Kathryn Bigelow-directed flick glorifying 
the Osama bin Laden raid in Abbottabad. "We're spending billions of 
dollars. We are still no closer to defeating our enemy". [5]

You don't defeat your enemy; you seduce and co-opt him. Think of a 
remake of Billy Wilder's iconic /Sunset Boulevard/, with Norma Desmond 
played by Osama bin Laden. "I used to be big. It's the pictures that 
became small".

Jihadis of the world, you have nothing to lose but your collection of 
al-Zawahiri speeches on scratchy DVD. The time has come for you to go on 
a Hollywood pilgrimage, and finally crack the immortal line; "I'm ready 
for my close-up, Mr bin Laden". Get ready to be swamped by rave reviews.

/*Notes:*/
1. See Council of Foreign Relations 
<http://www.cfr.org/syria/al-qaedas-specter-syria/p28782>.
2. See report here 
<http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/06/254692/none-of-insurgents-were-syrian/>. 

3. See here 
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/us-syria-crisis-insight-idUSBRE8770BK20120808>. 

4. See Reuters report here 
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/us-clinton-syria-idUSBRE8760PF20120807>. 

5. See here 
<http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1768185620001?bckey=AQ%7E%7E,AAAAAA0Xi_s%7E,r1xMuE8k5Nx_eS7E1dGyEx8iYmsyCWlR&bctid=1772729492001>. 

/*Pepe Escobar* is the author of/ Globalistan: How the Globalized World 
is Dissolving into Liquid War 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0978813820/simpleproduction/ref=nosim> 
(Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during 
the surge 
<http://www.amazon.com/Red-Zone-Blues-snapshot-Baghdad/dp/0978813898>. 
His most recent book is Obama does Globalistan 
<http://www.amazon.com/Obama-Does-Globalistan-Pepe-Escobar/dp/1934840831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233698286&sr=8-1> 
(Nimble Books, 2009).

/He may be reached at/ pepeasia at yahoo.com
-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863-9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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