Given the political, economic and military setbacks suffered by NATO regimes, it is not difficult to conclude that the West-centric global order is declining.
However, the soft-power angle of Western decline carries far greater importance than generally realized.
In an in-depth analysis for Asia Times, Andrew Salmon analyzing the soft-power of Asian states highlights that China is punching far below its weight.
France reiterates its “commitment to respect for freedom of navigation” and be ready to intervene “effectively in the event of a violation of international law” with new operation in the Mediterranean Sea.
The French Defense Ministry announced an operation, called Medor, at the end of September in the Mediterranean Sea. The surface action group (SAG) is made up of three frigates which converged on the return from operation: the stealth light frigate FLF La Fayette (F-710) (returning from Operation Chammal , deployed in Syria-Iraq against the terrorist groups of the Islamic State), the anti-submarine frigate FASM Latouche-Tréville (D-646), which has just completed its mandate in the maritime operation of the UE (EUNAVOR Med Irini), the FDA Forbin (D-620) air defense frigate which commands the group.
“Political Islamic organizations are the reason for perpetuating terrorism and hatred. These organizations are banned in most of the Islamic countries, while Europe, especially Britain, embraces them and allows them to operate freely. Europeans can only blame themselves.” — Mohammed al-Sheikh, Saudi writer, Twitter, October 29, 2020.
“There is no doubt that France’s previous policies, lenient with [Muslim] extremists, contributed to the current wave of terrorism, as well as legislation that guarantees the right to asylum and immigration to every expatriate on its soil.” — Hailah al-Mashouh, Saudi columnist and political analyst, Elaph, November 5, 2020.
Analysts say the Council of Senior Scholars’ message means Saudi Arabia will not change policy on the Brotherhood following Biden’s victory in the US.
The International Organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood has clashed with the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars, describing it as a sycophant body, after the Council declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation that does not represent the way of Islam and warned against its agenda.
It is generally believed that Islam is a backward religion, reinforcing the beliefs of medieval period, if not of the ancient period, it is conservative and even fundamentalist in its outlook, and it motivates its followers to be intolerant and violent.
Islam, it is further believed, is incompatible with modern values and political systems, including, secularism, freedom of religion, human rights and democracy. Samuel Huntington suggested that there would be civilizational clash between the west and Islam.
Ah la Transition, Eh la Transition ! Tout est massacré et mis sens dessus dessous. En matière d’exemplarité, la règle c’est : faites ce que je dis, mais ne faites pas ce que je fais.
Le bimensuel la Lettre confidentielle du Mali, en collaboration avec Caïlcédrat GROUP Think Tank indépendant et panafricain, a organisé, hier jeudi, deux panels sur le Sahel. Il ressort des interventions qu’environ 80 personnes ont été faites prisonnières par des groupes terroristes entre 2003 et 2020 dans le Sahel. Contre leur libération, plus de 24 milliards de FCFA auraient été payés comme rançon. Une manne qui contribue d’ailleurs à alimenter le réseau terroriste.
L’armée française reste mobilisé sur le front malien.
Depuis la libération des otages, trois opérations ont eu lieu contre des cibles jihadistes.
The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria issued a statement attacking Iran and its role in the Syrian conflict, and disavowed terrorist operations as well as extremism and takfir.
The group said in its statement, issued on Tuesday and published on its official Facebook page, that it repudiates the Safavid dynasty and the theory of the Wilayat al-Faqih.
MP Ibrahim al-Dorsi sees inter-Libyan dialogue tracks as “postponed wars, and time bombs that the United Nations mission failed to deal with in good faith”.
The expressions of cautious optimism about the success of the inter-Libyan dialogue, which were once more echoed during the opening session of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Tunis, could not dispel growing fears that this dialogue could end up producing a new document that would reproduce and reinforce the dominance of Islamist organisations on the Libyan scene even if under new deceptive headings.