PROBLEMATIC “PEACEBUILDING”: WHEN THE POWERFUL DON’T ASK AND WON’T LISTEN

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged 9/11, abuse, Afghanistan, Afghanistan war, Balkh, capitalism, David Roberts, democracy, ethics, Everyday Peace Indicators, featured, Herat, justice, militia, neoliberalism, peace, peacekeeping, Taliban, terrorism, Trump, war, war on terror, Western, women, women's rights.

by Sarah Edgcumbe

Afghanistan, a country that has been in and out of the news since the 9/11 terror attack and subsequent U.S.-led coalition invasion, is once again at the forefront of media attention this month, as a result of Trump’s decision to cancel peace talks with the Taliban on 9th September. The relentless violence and bombings conducted by Afghan state forces, U.S.-backed Afghan militias, Taliban, religious extremist groups, career criminals and other groups are no longer considered to be remarkable events; they happen so frequently that the international audience has become desensitized to them. Continue Reading

ISLAM: THE NEW VIETNAM WAR SYNDROME

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged #ParisAttacks, 9/11, Afghanistan, Charles Kurzman, David Schanzer, defence, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Investigatory Powers Bill, iraq, Islam, Islamaphobia, jihad, media, media representation, military, paris, Patriot Act, terror, terrorism, terrorist, US, Vietnam, war.

by Gunnar Eigener

“Since the news, little kids haven’t played outside, as if their moms are afraid someone might snatch them out of their yards and send them off to war.”
Kimberly Willis Holt, ‘When Zachary Beaver Came To Town’

In the early hours of 26^th July, Satoshi Uematsu drove to a home for the disabled where he had previously worked and stabbed 19 residents to death and injured 26. Shortly before handing himself in, he tweeted “May there be peace in the world…Beautiful Japan!!!!” Once in custody, he said that ‘it is better that disabled people disappear’. Barely a week later and at a rally Donald Trump claimed to have seen video footage of $400 million being transferred to Iran by the US government as well as recounting the time he saw Muslims celebrating the devastation of 9/11. One of these stories received little attention while the other gathered headlines.

DID BLAIR HAVE A HERO COMPLEX?

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Afghanistan war, Al-Qaeda, albania, army, Chilcot inquiry, democracy, extremism, George Bush, hero complex, humanitarian crisis, I'm with you, identity, iraq inquiry, Iraq War, Jack Straw, Kosovo, Lord Goldsmith, Milosevic, Nato, new labour, Osama bin Laden, peace, refugees, saddam hussein, serbia, soldiers, Taliban, tony blair, UN Security Council, we are many, weapons of mass destruction, WMD, Yugoslavia.

by Natasha Senior

It is difficult to remember a time when Tony Blair was considered a real hero. But that was the mood when he won the 1997 general election in a landslide. ‘New Labour. New Britain’ was his slogan, as he put an end to the old Labour politics that the people distrusted and vowed to carry Britain proudly into the new millennium. People were chanting his name in the streets, the euphoria was palpable. A stark juxtaposition to where we are today, 13 years after the Iraq War began, the world still reeling from Blair’s decisions. A hero is the last thing we would call him now.

Blair has always been regarded as a master tactician who could easily manipulate the situation to his favour and he knew that he possessed this extraordinary power. But it is how he wanted to wield this power that would cause his downfall. He wanted to leave a legacy. A grand ambition that could only be realised through a grand accomplishment: striking down the biggest villains of the world, one after another.Continue Reading

LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN PARIS, NOT SHOUT

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged #ParisAttacks, 9/11, daesh, facebook, fear, François Hollande, ISIS, Islamaphobia, Martin Luther King Jr, MLK, paris, politics, racism, Syria, terrorism, war.

by Josh Wilson

I wrote an article a few weeks ago about how there is no chance for anyone to win outright in Syria. Since that article the tragic events in Paris have taken place and leaders from around the world alongside ordinary citizens have reacted to the news. As with all heartbreaking events, reactions have been fuelled by emotion, with the debate surrounding tricolore Facebook photo becoming a heated element of reaction to the atrocity. Many took up the option offered by Facebook to drape the French flag over their profile picture. I do have my reservations about this, mostly regarding Facebook picking and choosing which tragedies to offer this show of solidarity for. However, in a time of grief and high emotion I think this is a debate best left for another time.

WE DON’T NEED TO TALK ABOUT ISLAM, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HUMANITY

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged #ParisAttacks, 9/11, Ann Coulter, Beirut, china, Christianity, daesh, EU, extremism, foreign policy, homosexuality, humanity, immigration, ISIS, Islam, Jurgen Todenhofer, Liberia, Lydia Wilson, media, media coverage, middle east, migrant, migration, MSF, MSM, Muslim, Nigeria, obama, paris, petition, racism, republicans, Saudi Arabia, terrorism, uk, US, war, West, Western privilege.

by Gunnar Eigener

The terrorist attacks in Paris have brought back a feeling of despair, that no matter where we live, there is always someone who wants to hurt us. The shaky camera footage of police storming a building, the bangs of smoke grenades, the echoes of gunfire, have sent a shockwave through France, Europe and the world. In the aftermath, a reaction is already beginning and anger will turn on Muslim individuals, communities, businesses and places of worship. Already a petition to “Stop all immigration and close UK borders until ISIS is defeated” is circulating and has got over 383,000 signatures so far. This will not solve anything, nor will blaming Islam.

DON’T COUNTER VIOLENCE WITH MORE VIOLENCE

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged 9/11, Al-Qaeda, david cameron, ISIS, Islam, Islamaphobia, Islamic State, jeremy corbyn, Jihadi John, Labour, media, middle east, military, Nato, terrorism, US military, Western media.

by Faizal Nor Izham

Despite almost 14 years of Western nations waging a ‘war on terror’, not much has been achieved in the way of making the world a truly secure place for all. With Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden now considered yesterday’s news, the Iraq war that was waged after 9/11 — widely considered by critics to be “pointless” — merely gave birth to another terrorist threat in the form of ISIS. Today, some sections of the Western media continue to be awash with Islamophobic articles on an almost daily basis, further fueling the public’s misconception of Islam and its supposed roots in terrorism. This in turn has affected Britain’s immigration and multicultural policies to an extent, and has only served to further heighten levels of prejudice against Muslims.

It begs the question: has the Western response to 9/11 really been that worthwhile?Continue Reading

9/11

PROBLEMATIC “PEACEBUILDING”: WHEN THE POWERFUL DON’T ASK AND WON’T LISTEN

ISLAM: THE NEW VIETNAM WAR SYNDROME

DID BLAIR HAVE A HERO COMPLEX?

LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN PARIS, NOT SHOUT

WE DON’T NEED TO TALK ABOUT ISLAM, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HUMANITY

DON’T COUNTER VIOLENCE WITH MORE VIOLENCE

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