28 July 2017

Hezbollah’s ‘narco-jihad’: Propaganda on drugs

Middle East Eye

On 8 June 2017, the United States government hosted one of its regular gatherings to discuss the enduring threat posed by that alleged narco-terrorist menace known as Hezbollah - Lebanon’s Party of God.

This particular House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing was titled "Attacking Hezbollah’s Financial Network: Policy Options" and was chaired by Republican congressman Ed Royce, who proceeded to enlighten the audience as to the organisation’s “broad criminal network involved in a range of illegal activities, from drug trafficking to cigarette smuggling to money laundering to counterfeiting”.
Recapping one of the highlights of the previous year, Royce recalled that the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had “implicated Hezbollah in a multi-million dollar drug trafficking and money laundering network that spanned four continents and put cocaine ultimately on the streets of the United States”.
Of course, anyone with a vague grasp of history might find such accusations pretty rich coming from a US government that has literally put cocaine on its own streets by, for example, helping right-wing Nicaraguan Contras profit from the drug trade in the 1980s. READ MORE AT MIDDLE EAST EYE.

18 July 2017

Holiday in style at Israel’s ‘anti-terror fantasy camps’

Middle East Eye

Just when you thought the Israelis couldn’t possibly cram any more items into an already overflowing repertoire of preposterous behaviour, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper recently ran a piece titled “Anti-terror Fantasy Camps Are Popping Up Throughout Israel and the West Bank - and Tourists Are Eating It Up”.
(And if that’s not enough preposterousness for you, Haaretz suggests you also read “Israeli army shows fake amputated limbs, paints wounds on kids for Independence Day”.)
The fantasy camp dispatch begins in the illegal Israeli settlement bloceuphemised as “the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank”, where one fine morning tourists from Hong Kong are “pretending to be Israeli army commandos” at a counter-terrorism and security training academy by the name of Caliber 3:
“As their Rambo-like trainer barks out orders, they move their assault rifles into position and, using the Hebrew word for fire, repeat after him: ‘Esh. Esh.’
"‘Louder,’ he demands. ‘I can’t hear you guys. Don’t be so politically correct.’”
While political correctness may not be part of the tour package, lots of other things are - including “a simulation of a suicide bombing in a Jerusalem marketplace, immediately followed by a stabbing attack, a live demonstration with attack dogs and a sniper tournament”.
Super-tough visitors can sign up for a more advanced itinerary entailing “an Entebbe-like hostage-rescue mission”. READ MORE AT MIDDLE EAST EYE.

12 July 2017

The long reach of the US border

Al Jazeera English

Earlier this summer, an American friend of mine was returning home from Tunisia, where he had been conducting PhD research.
Checking in for his connecting flight in Paris, he was put on the phone with a representative of US Customs and Border Protection for questioning - since we all know France shares a border with the United States.
Upon reaching America proper, my friend was hauled off for interrogation at the airport in New York on subjects ranging from the details of his Twitter account to the issue of whether or not anyone had suggested he join an armed group in Libya.
You can pick your own moral of the story. One possibility, perhaps, is that academics that insist on showing an interest in certain parts of the world should build detention time into their travel itineraries.
Another - more broadly applicable to the general global population - is that, no matter where you are, the US border can be brought to you. READ MORE AT AL JAZEERA ENGLISH.