Paris

It’s taken me a few days to digest the goings-on in Paris on Friday. What follows is my best attempt to hash things out.

Freedom #

“They hate us because we’re free.” This always seemed like bullshit to me. Growing up, this was the line we were repeatedly fed in the years after 2001 and it felt artificial. But I see now that it rings true. I heard someone call ISIS nihilists after Friday night, but that is the very opposite of what they are. They do stand for something. Their aim is very specific: a society governed by a twisted religion, where men cannot dance or sing or drink or be merry and where women are traded as objects.

If their intent is on making us less free, I pray that our leaders recognize this and shy away from doing just that. In the years after September 11, our leaders imposed stricter controls on personal freedoms, began monitoring electronic communications, and commenced an insidious torture program that forewent habeus corpus and due process. Imagine the glee of our enemies as they watched one freedom disappear after another. To this end, their attacks succeeded- our response stooped us closer to their barbarism.

I ask that our leaders have the courage to resist restricting personal freedoms in the face of terror.

Fear #

The attacks in Paris on Friday occurred in two restaurants, a concert hall, and a sports stadium. These obvious cultural targets represent not only a symbolic attack on the free, fun-loving culture of Paris but also have a very real secondary intention- to strike fear into the hearts of the common person. Who hasn’t been to a restaurant or a concert or a sports match in the past year? These are venues in which we can all envision ourselves. As the media continues to replay the events of that night, this hits home on a very personal level.

I take refuge in small hope- this isn’t the end of the world. In fact as horrifying as the images were, with months of planning and the backing of the largest terrorist organization in the world, they only managed to take 128 of us. 1 grieving family is enough and 128 is unthinkable. But Paris is a city of 2.24 million. Even if you happened to be in Paris on the night of November 13- a scary proposition indeed- you had a 99.994% chance of making it out alive. I say this with the ultimate regard for the victims and the friends and families of the victims of that night. Indeed it is the only reason I am writing right now, I’m heartbroken and need to vent.

When it comes to fear, I can’t help but think about certain news outlets. Even now as I write this, the headline on CNN reads, “Inside the Terror in Paris”. It gnaws at the back of my mind that CNN saw a massive spike in profits in last few days. No, this is not some conspiracy- it’s only natural that we all tune into the news when there actually is news. But I’m filled with rage when I see CNN treating this as some reality TV show rather than addressing the events with quality journalism and a level head. You will never see CNN or FOX downplay a terror attack as I did in the last paragraph. They will always tell you that it’s the end of the world and that you should be most afraid. Resist them. Be not afraid. Terrorism is not even close to the most likely cause of death in the United States. Many hundreds of thousands more Americans die of a lack of basic healthcare each year than die in terrorist attacks. The terrorists design their attacks to make the ultimate splash. That our media plays into this make them complicit at best in the spread of terror.

Beirut #

As I mourn for our brothers and sisters in Paris I can’t help but wonder why I ignored the attacks in Beirut. Two attacks in two modern capitals in two days by the same psychopathic group. The attacks by ISIS in Beirut the night before Paris resulted in twice the casualties and yet it was hardly a blip on my radar when I saw it on the news.

Perhaps this is because Beirut has been synonymous with violence since long before I was born. Take it from the joker: “Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even when the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I told the press that a gang-banger would get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics. Because it’s all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everybody loses their minds!”

Partly its an empathy thing. The people of Paris are white and Western. Those who died in Beirut are brown and Eastern. In my experience it’s more difficult to empathize with someone of a different cultural background- I can’t put myself in their shoes as easily. I’m not proud of that, but it is the truth. All the more important, then, that I go out of my way to recognize the tragedy in Beirut.

In the end Beirut also highlights a most important point. This is not an east versus west thing. The war hawks and false prophets would have you believe that we are in the midst of some great battle of civilizations. We are not. Were this the case then the people of Beirut would be our enemies in this battle, not our trampled allies. Even the city of Raqqa- the stronghold and governing city of ISIS- is a city held hostage with an underground local resistance that would make 1940’s Paris proud.

Response #

I’m always nervous in the days following an attack like this- not just because I’m afraid of another one- but because now it’s our turn. That was their move. We’re up now. The way we act and react to the lowest moments may well be as good a judge of character as any. So I’ll admit- part of me is afraid. As I touched on earlier, I wouldn’t say our leaders’ reaction to the attacks in 2001 made me proud. Nor- might I add- were those reactions particularly well thought out. By any account, the mess we find ourselves in now is a direct result of our leaders’ miscalculations in the months and years after September 11.

Already I see it. French President Holland called for “merciless revenge” the day after his capital was attacked. Can we blame him? Of course not. But in my experience revenge is not the emotion of choice when seeking a smart, level-headed response that actually solves a very real problem. Likewise, the saber-rattling among the usual suspects in the United States has escalated again. Natural? Of course. But let us not forget the lessons we learned from the first two wars of this millennium. Just today Massachusetts Governor Baker declared he would be barring Syrian refugees from entering the state. This knee-jerk political grandstanding is shameful and illogical- to our knowledge, none of the attackers in Paris were Syrian refugees. Moreover, the governor does not have some authoritarian control over who comes and goes from his state.

A more logical response- if I may be so bold as to recommend- would be to hit ISIS in their pocketbooks. Wahhabism- the ultra-conservative Sunni brand of Islam that takes the interpretation of the Qur'an to the deadly extreme- has its roots and widespread support in Saudi Arabia and other gulf nations.[1]

For a long time, the Syrian Civil War was seen as a proxy war between two rival powers of the region- Saudi Arabia and Iran.[2] Iran had long been allied with the more secular Assad regime in Syria[3] and when civil war broke out in 2011, the Sunni Saudi Arabia and their gulf allies saw an opportunity to gain a leg up on the Shi'ite Iran. Private gulf (Saudi, Kuwaiti, Qatari, and Yemeni) interests started pouring arms and money into a Wahhabi rebel group that came to be known as ISIS.[4][5][6]

To this day, Saudi interests are aligned with ISIS and much of ISIS’ monetary support comes from the gulf nations.[7] If ISIS is indeed the grave threat they proved to be last Friday, then it is time for the United States and other western nations to break ties with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have funded jihad terrorism across the globe for decades now and were a major source of funds for the group that came to be known as Al Qaeda through the late 1990s.[8]

A breakup with Saudi Arabia would not be easy. Two very large industries in the United States are tightly coupled with the gulf nation- oil and arms. Good luck convincing Boeing, Lockheed, and Raytheon that one of their biggest clients is off limits. Worse, as the largest producing member of OPEC, Saudi Arabia has gladly agreed (in exchange for our military protection) to sell oil to the rest of the wold exclusively for US dollars. Some venture that the status of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency entirely depends on Saudi Arabia’s cooperation in the oil markets. For these reasons among others, the United States government continues to declare Saudi Arabia an ally, even as it (rightfully) denounces ISIS. We cannot have our cake and eat it too. Given these facts, it would be wise to question whether our government is doing everything they can to protect us from the scourge of ISIS as it trades openly with its sponsors.

One last thing to note is the growing importance of Iran in all of this. I have said this before, and the threat of ISIS only makes this more relevant: Iran is a natural ally, they are a predominantly young country with the largest economy in the region[9]. They have given money and troops in the fight against ISIS and Wahhabism[10]. Their right-wing religious party continues to saber-rattle (hmmm… sound familiar?) against the west but their moderate-progressive party has won four of the last six elections. Massive student protests in 2009 led to substantial reforms in their political system. The historic accords between Iran and the P5+1 this summer only encourage this partnership. This is one arena in which we are moving in the right direction.

Conclusion #

I’m not really sure if there is a conclusion. There’s no easy answer to any of this. Let’s just keep our heads, recognize the problems, and encourage our leaders to remain thoughtful and compassionate in their response. And my heart goes out to the people in Paris. And seriously, fuck ISIS.

[1] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html
[2] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/26/proxy-war-between-iran-saudi-arabia-playing-out-in/?page=all
[3] http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2006/Jun-16/72583-iran-and-syria-sign-pact-against-common-threats.ashx#axzz2tsRyr16V
[4] https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/saudi-funding-of-isis
[5]http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/14/america-s-allies-are-funding-isis.htmlhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/31/combat-terror-end-support-saudi-arabia-dictatorships-fundamentalism
[6]http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/31/combat-terror-end-support-saudi-arabia-dictatorships-fundamentalism
[7]http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a39727/paris-attacks-middle-eastern-oligarchies/
[8]http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/world/middleeast/pre-9-11-ties-haunt-saudis-as-new-accusations-surface.html
[9] http://www.aneki.com/countries2.php?t=Largest_Economies_in_the_Middle_East&table=fb126&order=desc&dependency=independent&number=5&cntdn=n&c=middle%20east&measures=Country–GDP&units=*–$*&decimals=*–*
[10] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/war-with-isis-iran-seeks-to-join-international-coalition-battling-militants-as-part-of-significant-10461307.html