Author: mara.ahmed

“The historian’s task is not to disrupt for the sake of it, but it is to tell what is almost always an uncomfortable story and explain why the discomfort is part of the truth we need to live well and live properly,” he told Historically Speaking. “A well-organized society is one in which we know the truth about ourselves collectively, not one in which we tell pleasant lies about ourselves.” (Tony Judt) Full article here.

The TIME report comes on the heels of a massive leak of US intelligence secret files by whistleblower website Wikileaks, that dealt yet another blow to Washington’s efforts to maintain public support for the war. A less publicised leak by the same website in March 2010 exposed a confidential CIA document urging the use of abused Afghan women to shore up support for the war.
“Afghan women could serve as ideal messengers in humanising the ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] role in combating the Taliban because of women’s ability to speak personally and credibly about their experiences under the Taliban, their aspirations for the future, and their fears for a Taliban victory,” read the memo. Full article.

the persecution of the roma people in europe has some disturbing historical echoes – france in the front line of the fight against “the other,” of course.

India’s carte blanche to kill Kashmiris… “Compared to a decade ago, no one is willing to annoy India… It carries too much weight globally. In this region, the world’s eyes are on Afghanistan, not Kashmir. This time around the troubles have had little international resonance, with no criticism from the United Nations or the United States.” Full article.

?”This screaming, writhing non-existence is not new to the Kashmiri. Its landscape, just like poverty in India, has been used for centuries to work through different narratives. It fits well in most, albeit minus its inhabitants who smudge the scene. From conniving and treacherous to hapless victims and pawns, many epithets, many portraits of the Kashmiri – none valiant, none spirited. In this mirror, they must decline to recognise themselves, as they do every day.” Full article.

Gerecht first revealed this Israeli-neocon fantasy as early as 2000, before the Iranian nuclear program was even taken seriously, in an essay written for a book published by the Project for a New American Century. Gerecht argued that, if Iran could be caught in a “terrorist act,” the U.S. Navy should “retaliate with fury”. The purpose of such a military response, he wrote, should be to “strike with truly devastating effect against the ruling mullahs and the repressive institutions that maintain them.” And lest anyone fail to understand what he meant by that, Gerecht was more explicit: “That is, no cruise missiles at midnight to minimize the body count. The clerics will almost certainly strike back unless Washington uses overwhelming, paralyzing force.” Full article.