Jeroen Percival Jesus » iraq

i would say ‘oh snap’ if it didn’t make me want to weep

admin — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:44:08 +0000

I would laugh if it wasn’t so sad and true:

The U.S. Army’s internal “debate” that NPR reports presents two competing philosophies. In old-fashioned, conventional war, the military conducts all-out conflict to destroy an enemy nation. To that end, it conducts airstrikes against population centers. In 21st-century counterinsurgencies, the military conducts wars of liberation to free oppressed people. To that end, it conducts airstrikes against population centers

From Slacktivist, a blog that I would recommend reading for the weekend deconstruction of the Left Behind books not to mention all the other awesome content.

Al-Qaeda angry at 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists

jpj — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:45:16 +0000

Al-Qaeda’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has blamed Iran for spreading the theory that Israel was behind the 11 September 2001 attacks.
In an audio tape posted on the internet, Zawahiri insisted al-Qaeda had carried out the attacks on the US.
He accused Iran, and its Hezbollah allies, of trying to discredit Osama Bin Laden’s network.
Correspondents say the comments underline al-Qaeda’s increasing public hostility towards Iran.
In a two-hour audiotape posted on an Islamist website, Osama Bin Laden’s chief deputy responded to questions posted by al-Qaeda sympathisers.

I find this article staggeringly odd and funny, not least because as Tongodeon points out that the Onion already did this as humor. The 9/11 conspiracy theorists appear to be in a permanent steady state though, and not just the Iranian ones that Al Qaeda is particularly mad at.

Culture: Chuck Norris only Weapon of Mass Destruction in Iraq

jpj — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:00:29 +0000

I think this is an interesting vision of how cultural diffusion starts. Years from now, after America has (hopefully) left Iraq, the image of Chuck Norris as a heroic/cultural figure will still remain. As well as the raw amount of Awesome that contains, it’s also an interesting way of seeing culture develop in action.

Another police trainer said Chuck Norris was a role model for the police in Falluja, which until 2007 was an al Qaeda stronghold and the scene of fierce battles with security forces.

“I’ve seen his videos, he’s a hero. He saves the city, he protects women and children and he fights crime wherever it is. We should all be like Chuck Norris,” Khaled Hussein said.

This is from a newspaper piece about US soldiers in Iraq and how the myths, legends, and ‘facts’ surrounding Chuck Norris have built over time to something that both continues Chuck Norris’ myth and makes soldiers’ experiences slightly easier through having a shared joke.

Pretty awesome. Although the article calls him ‘Norris’ a couple of times, I always think of him as named ‘Chuck Noris’ as a single indivisible word. I think that’s an internal artifact due to his cultural place.