Month: October 2024

Syrian Rebels Respond To Assassination Of Hizbullah Secretary-General Nasrallah: ‘The Most Beautiful Day Ever;’ ‘Rejoice, Dance, And Sing!’

The news of the September 27, 2024 assassination of Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike was joyfully welcomed by members of the Syrian opposition. They took to the street in droves in several cities, setting off fireworks and distributing sweets; some even carried signs expressing their gratitude to Israel. The euphoria that they had been feeling as Israel’s elimination of senior members of Hizbullah, an ally of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in the war against the Syrian opposition, had gained momentum was now at its peak. Syrian oppositionists also expressed their joy on social media, calling the day of Nasrallah’s killing one of the happiest of their lives.

Moyen-Orient : la colère au cœur d’une violence inextinguible

Dans Géopolitique de la colère. De la globalisation heureuse au grand courroux, dont une seconde édition actualisée et enrichie est parue le 29 août 2024 aux éditions Le Cavalier Bleu, Myriam Benraad, professeure en relations internationales à l’Université internationale Schiller à Paris, aborde la question des émotions dont découlent de nombreux conflits contemporains et qui contaminent toutes les interactions sociales et tous les rapports politiques. La réflexion qui suit, tirée de cet ouvrage, appréhende la colère comme un affect dominant dans le déclenchement et la prolongation d’une majorité de crises récentes au Moyen-Orient – celles à Gaza et en Syrie plus particulièrement. Comment, au sein de cet espace géopolitique singulier, des adversaires répondent-ils à des expressions réciproques de rage ?

The ‘Digital Terrorists’ Of Pakistan – OpEd

An army with a state

In her seminal piece titled “Pakistan-from hybrid-democracy to hybrid-martial law” published in the 2019 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistan born and UK based leading expert on the Pakistan armed forces made some very pertinent and precise observations of how the all-powerful Pakistan army was continuing its subtle subversion of the country’s constitution with renewed vigour. One of her prognostications was – “The military is keen to generate a new national discourse in which the army’s position is considered synonymous to the state.” [Emphasis added].

In Issue 30 Of Its Urdu-Language Magazine ‘Taliban,’ Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Rejects Pakistan Army Narratives, Says Pakistan Is World’s Largest Jihadi Front: ‘TTP Is Striving For An Islamic Welfare System In The Country’

In the latest issue of its Urdu-language magazine “Taliban,” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) eulogizes slain fighters, argues that it is ahead of the Pakistani military in building narratives in the eyes of Pakistani audiences, frames Pakistani military leaders as those who monopolize resources and obstruct the establishment of Islam, and says that the TTP should not be viewed as a terrorist group but as an Islamic jihadi group striving for an Islamic welfare system.

Reza Seraj

Position: Unknown, former Head of the Special Operations Division (Division 4000) in IRGC’s Intelligence Organization (replaced by his former deputy Javad Ghafari).

Background: He is behind multiply failed attempts to assassinate and kidnap Israelis in the last months in places like Turkey, Cyprus, and UAE.