I don’t blame people for being wrong about what’s happening in Syria. What does anger me is fearmongering and the notion that only westerners are capable of solving the problems in the region. American politicians say that the US has to lead the fight. Actually, our attempts to do so have made everything worse. The…
Hysteria is absolutely fantastic—for your opponents
January 22, 2024
Nobody can succumb to hysteria like Americans. As an investor, I see it daily. The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 500 points for no reason, and then the very same people who panicked yesterday make it go up 500 points today. We’ve become a nation of geese. Although I’m apolitical, I oppose President Obama. In…
Tishreen Dam was taken in a ferocious battle
January 21, 2024
With each passing day, I’m more impressed by the ability of the Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD) and the Arab League to conceal what they’re doing in Syria. My little blog posts won’t change anything, because the plausible deniability is perfect. Operations security (OPSEC) is perfect. If I thought I were endangering anything, I wouldn’t do…
Never look for rationality where there is none
January 19, 2024
My lawyer told me that. He said the hardest thing he had to learn was to never look for rationality where there is none. I understand intellectually, but so far I’ve been unable to emotionally disconnect myself from the global irrationality I see. It fills me with horror and rage. I’m apolitical. Although I always…
Arms reduction works in Utopia, not here on Earth
January 18, 2024
Every now and then, I read something about how this or that nation is the world’s biggest importer or exporter of arms. So what? Groups that track arms sales never explain the context. Who’s buying the weapons, and for what reason? Arms in and of themselves don’t matter. It’s the people who own them who…
Syria as a microcosm of the Middle East
January 17, 2024
How would you win the war in Syria? We have Alawites, Christians, and Shi’ites fighting against Sunnis and Christians; Turkey is supporting the Sunni Arabs and threatening to attack the Kurds; the Arabs accuse the Kurds of land grabs; Iran wants to use Syria to open another front against Israel; western powers have no credibility…
Iranian military leader confirms plan to cause Armageddon
January 16, 2024
Paging Sean Penn. Mr. Penn? You said that the traditional Iranian chant of “Death to America!” shouldn’t be taken literally. What do you make of this? Iran has prepared almost 200,000 young men in countries across the Middle East to help with the arrival of the Mahdi, a Muslim leader who will usher in justice prior to…
Everyone should live under the system they support
January 15, 2024
One of the benefits of being fifty-three is that I’ve got a lot of firsthand experience. If I had a magic button that would force everyone to live under the system that they advocate, I’d press it so hard and so many times that I’d break my finger. If you support Hamas, I’d make you…