Fox News shocked that Harvard students think the US is a greater threat to world peace than ISIS. Students who don’t agree with Fox are ‘twisted’, elitist and wrong apparently.
Did they miss the part where these kids said that ISIS wouldn’t exist without Imperialist intervention in areas like the Middle East? (I’m not singling out America because I’m British and we’ve been fucking up the world since long before America has)
I love how the Harvard students give strong arguments on why the U.S. (and its allies, of course, such as Canada and Western Europe) is one of the biggest threats to world peace and all Fox News can say is “this—this is just a FAD”
It’s like millennials do not understand that middle east has been at war for 1000′s of years. That we intervened on behalf of Kuwait. That without “bombing” people that want to kill and oppress others, millions will be murdered and tortured.
“at war for 1000′s of years”
you clearly know nothing about Afghanistan nor the middle east
It’s interesting to note that when the communist government came to power in Afghanistan in the late 70′s, one of the first things they did was declare equality of the sexes, made education for girls mandatory, & banned child marriages. The conservative tribal leaders who the US armed & funded (& who later became the Taliban) declared this to be a “war on Islam” & fought against the central government.
The US had no problem back then with encouraging the growth of Islamic conservatism to counter socialism/communism. You created your biggest enemy & you have no one to blame but yourselves.
its crazy to me how the US talks about war in the middle east as if its this ancient problem inherent to the area instead of a recent problem created by western countries to further their own interests.
I get a little bit more exhausted every time I read a criticism of the West’s(and yes, in particular, America’s) handling of Daesh that basically amounts to “what we really need is more troops on the ground and airstrikes so surgical they could give a flea a prostate exam!”
Why in the hell would this suddenly work when it hasn’t been for so long? Just once I’d like to hear someone suggest a more civil approach. What if we took some of that money we’re spending on troops and airstrikes and put that money into these nations’ infrastructure instead?
It seems to me(and I admit I probably don’t know what I’m talking about) that signing up with a group like Daesh is a last resort sort of thing. I think most of these men are probably less concerned with the rhetoric and politics and more concerned with providing for their loved ones. The military is always a good career choice–your job is highly unlikely to be cut, you’ll be well provided for(meals, clothing, lodging, maybe healthcare, depending on who/where you’re serving), your family is usually well provided for, or it’s a way to have a meaningful death in a situation where an early death is more likely. I’d argue it’s not dissimilar to poor males in economically deprived areas of America enlisting with the military cause it’s the only gig in town that isn’t a benefits-free, part-time job at a grocery or convenience store.
If you had access to a job that would provide a secure, happy future for your family, without having to risk your life every day, wouldn’t that be more appealing? If these men had alternatives to joining Daesh, I think most would take those alternatives. Not all, of course, but a fair chunk. And with such a small organistion, that might be enough to stretch them too thin. Not to mention, it would hurt Daesh’s recruitment because instead of contributing to the chaos and destruction, the West would be seen contributing to the job market, and the people’s welfare. It’s harder to sell the elimination of an entity that isn’t bombing your home into an unrecognisable wasteland.
Basically, I don’t think these men want the fall of America as much as they wanted a steady job, and therefore the way to end the threat of Daesh is to provide a better alternative for its recruitment pool. Stop destroying and policing, and start rebuilding and providing. That’s just my relatively uninformed opinion.
Afghanistan, Tibet and/or Myanmar may or may not be included depending on extended definitions.
Southeast Asia:
Brunei
Cambodia
Timor-Leste
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philipenes
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
East Asia:
China
Japan
North Korea
South Korea
Mongolia
Taiwan
Vietnam (geographically part of Southeast Asia, but culturally part of East Asia), and/or Siberia in Russia (it’s related to East Asian countries) may or may not be included depending on extended definitions.
North Asia:
Siberia in Russia (Siberia makes up 77% of Russia’s territory and falls into Asia; geographically speaking, Russia should centralize in Asia instead of Europe)
Central Asia:
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Iran (may or may not be included depending on extended definitions)
Western Asia:
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Cyprus
Georgia
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Iran (may or may not be included depending on extended definitions)
Iran is in a constant tug of war between Western and Central Asia.
So, to summarize:
Bangladesh =/= India =/= Pakistan
Bangladesh/Pakistan =/= India
India =/= South Asia
China =/= Southeast Asia
North Korea =/= North Asia
Indian subcontinent =/= South Asia
South Asia =/= Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia =/= East Asia
Western Asia =/= Middle East
It’s actually pretty offensive when you dump half these countries into East Asia or just plain India, so please, think before you address the cultures and the countries. Is the culture Indian, or is it South Asian? Is the style Chinese, or is it East Asian?
It takes like two minutes to look these up. It’s not that hard.
(Except Western Asia. That’s a tricky definition because it includes most of the South Caucasus, which very few people take into account when considering Asia, and some of the countries there are difficult to place geographically. Most, but not all, of Western Asia falls into the definition of the Middle East, but the Middle East is not only comprised of Western Asian countries.)
Edit: I’d forgotten to include Central and Western Asia. My apologies.
Waiting for Winter 