Hail!
Dear Leader, Supreme Leader, Dr General President For Life, Field Marshal President For Life - what's in a nom de guerre - really?
Quite a lot actually. When cats who live in fun and free choice functional democrazies take a diplopolititary look at the stagnant ME and Arab League -- illegit regimes, 'cunning' leaders for life, police states, crazy preachers and creepy control freaks - their collective lack of accomplishments at home or abroad is shocking.
And the response is often "These cats don't seem so cunning to me!"
"...But that’s flat wrong. They are very cunning and if you understand how, you can begin to comprehend the Middle East.
"...These rulers’ most important priority is regime survival. The people’s well-being and country’s interest is secondary at best. To stay in power, a dictatorship needs to generate foreign enemies, reduce freedom and monopolize economic wealth.
"...This is, in many ways, the opposite of the Western democratic view that a government which provides freedom and material benefits for its citizens is the one most likely to stay in power.
"...To ensure regime survival, the dictatorship must protect its m'Hammedist and Arab credentials. Using these two pillars in various combinations, rulers mobilize the people. A key way to do this is anti- Western and anti-Little Satan demagoguery: The government portrays itself as a champion of m'Hammedism and Arabism against demonic foes.
"...What the West does in response is unimportant to a populace that already views it as an enemy and whose information about the outside world is filtered through regime and ideological propaganda.
"...In these dictatorships, the army’s main purpose is to support the regime rather than win wars. The main purpose of the educational system and media is to glorify the regime, not tell the truth and help fix its problems.
"...These rulers’ most important priority is regime survival. The people’s well-being and country’s interest is secondary at best. To stay in power, a dictatorship needs to generate foreign enemies, reduce freedom and monopolize economic wealth.
"...This is, in many ways, the opposite of the Western democratic view that a government which provides freedom and material benefits for its citizens is the one most likely to stay in power.
"...To ensure regime survival, the dictatorship must protect its m'Hammedist and Arab credentials. Using these two pillars in various combinations, rulers mobilize the people. A key way to do this is anti- Western and anti-Little Satan demagoguery: The government portrays itself as a champion of m'Hammedism and Arabism against demonic foes.
"...What the West does in response is unimportant to a populace that already views it as an enemy and whose information about the outside world is filtered through regime and ideological propaganda.
"...In these dictatorships, the army’s main purpose is to support the regime rather than win wars. The main purpose of the educational system and media is to glorify the regime, not tell the truth and help fix its problems.
"...The economy’s main purpose is to provide the regime with assets for rewarding friends and punishing enemies, not to create prosperity or raise living standards.
"...This approach provides neither rapid progress nor better lives for the people. But if you start with the original premise – keeping the regime in power comes first – everything makes sense.
"...This approach provides neither rapid progress nor better lives for the people. But if you start with the original premise – keeping the regime in power comes first – everything makes sense.
0 comments:
Post a Comment