It's an extraordinarily complex situation that's already being distorted left, right and centre in service of tribal point-scoring. Lots of unpleasant takes* polluting the Substack notes feed today (God knows what Twitter/Bluesky must be like).
Anyone paying attention knows something's going very wrong in the culture – antisemitism being a reliable barometer of these things. But mismanagement by an exhausted political class is creating space for dangerous fanaticism, especially in the UK: the kind that would rather side with clerical fascists than their critics. It's the moral certainty of these people that chills – so many of them obviously the product of indoctrination.
*Today I got called a "propagandist and fucking idiot" (lol) by a very prominent writer on this platform, and when I referred him to Simon Sebag Montefiore's brilliant piece on the Free Press (which I quoted), he angrily shot back that it's "literally funded by Israel".
These people are everywhere, gleefully waiting for everything to go horribly wrong because what matters is not peace or security in the region but feeding their own narcissism and blaming it all on you-know-who.
I am not sure if you remember when asked about the elections a French voter said that it is like a choice between cholera and Ebola. This is pretty much the choice in the Middle East. We don't mind them having whatever disease they want as long as it doesn't spread to their neighbours and the Western world.
When it comes to the protestors in London. I can completely understand them. They will be all laid off from the Ayatollah's payroll and have to find a new job in these difficult economic times. Poor sods!
and what are the parallels with Ukraine being attacked by Russia?
I get the feeling that many in Britain feel that with extra commitment and force, plus the cleverness of Mossad, "we" could see an end to both Iran's state sponsored terrorism and Putin's regime with a restoration of Ukraine's sovereign borders.
I can't see that - my view being based upon history and human nature,
and even not so, if we see achieved a half way house with Iran being controlled by a western friendly government ( like the Shah's) and Putin being dead
No answers can be both realistic and also lead to peace in the Middle East.
It's an extraordinarily complex situation that's already being distorted left, right and centre in service of tribal point-scoring. Lots of unpleasant takes* polluting the Substack notes feed today (God knows what Twitter/Bluesky must be like).
Anyone paying attention knows something's going very wrong in the culture – antisemitism being a reliable barometer of these things. But mismanagement by an exhausted political class is creating space for dangerous fanaticism, especially in the UK: the kind that would rather side with clerical fascists than their critics. It's the moral certainty of these people that chills – so many of them obviously the product of indoctrination.
*Today I got called a "propagandist and fucking idiot" (lol) by a very prominent writer on this platform, and when I referred him to Simon Sebag Montefiore's brilliant piece on the Free Press (which I quoted), he angrily shot back that it's "literally funded by Israel".
These people are everywhere, gleefully waiting for everything to go horribly wrong because what matters is not peace or security in the region but feeding their own narcissism and blaming it all on you-know-who.
I am not sure if you remember when asked about the elections a French voter said that it is like a choice between cholera and Ebola. This is pretty much the choice in the Middle East. We don't mind them having whatever disease they want as long as it doesn't spread to their neighbours and the Western world.
When it comes to the protestors in London. I can completely understand them. They will be all laid off from the Ayatollah's payroll and have to find a new job in these difficult economic times. Poor sods!
My questions are- what would success look like?
and what are the parallels with Ukraine being attacked by Russia?
I get the feeling that many in Britain feel that with extra commitment and force, plus the cleverness of Mossad, "we" could see an end to both Iran's state sponsored terrorism and Putin's regime with a restoration of Ukraine's sovereign borders.
I can't see that - my view being based upon history and human nature,
and even not so, if we see achieved a half way house with Iran being controlled by a western friendly government ( like the Shah's) and Putin being dead
No answers can be both realistic and also lead to peace in the Middle East.