Hitch 22

I picked up this memoir in the B&N discount area, and it's been a mad scramble tracking Hitch's allusions, delusions, and explanations. When I first noticed Christopher Hitchens on the cable chatter shows in the late 1990's I was perplexed by his wild swings across the ideological map, and I've never  grasped how fervently one can be so anti- organized religion and not realize that has become one's religion.

His tales of travels inside the International Left  has been educational, but I've never understood that fascination. When I was ten, I read a biography of Tito and knew that that the totaliarianism of Communism would never appeal to me.

Perhaps, I've never grasped the English public school boy's continuing dalliance with the left.

Some amusing tales of Bill Clinton's days at Oxford in the late 1960's.

I'll read on and type more later.

March 6, 2013

Since Syria dominates Middle East headlines , I thought about Hitchens and found his article on the time he defaced a swastika while walking in Beirut , Lebanon.  2009 Vanity Fair article

I recognized it as the logo of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a Fascist organization (it would be more honest if it called itself “National Socialist”) that yells for a “Greater Syria” comprising all of Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Cyprus, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, and swaths of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt.

Another thing to consider when evaluating what's going on in Syria today.

May 11, 2013

I wonder if  those on the left who bashed Hitchens as a neo-con have  started to see him as more of a realist on Islamic terrorism, Syria, and messy Middle East. He's turning over in his grave.

June 18, 2013

  Just saw a funny quip from martin Amis, one of Hitch's buddies: Amis "views the Brooklyn hipster scene as populated by conventional posers." Amis & Hitch were not always on the same political page.

July 2, 2013 

 I've read about thirty pages  of  Lionel Asbo and  felt a Faulknerian dilemma, the need for a  flow chart of family trees.. Granted, the 15 year-old Destin fucking his 39 year-old grandmother   does give one pause for thought. Maybe he's trying to be Derek Raymond (Crust of the uppers). His personalization of Lionel's killer dogs, Joe & Jeff, adds to the confusion of tracking events.

Oct 3, 2013

I scanned through the article link in  the March 6th comments and thought it was worth noting that it wasn't too long ago that the now troubled Syria had troops in Lebanon.

The street reaction to the murder of Rafik Hariri was so intense that it led to the passage of a United Nations resolution mandating the withdrawal of the Syrian Army from Lebanon after almost three decades of occupation. 

Oct 18, 2013

I mentioned Derek Raymond (aka Robert William Arthur Cook (12 June 1931 – 30 July 1994), in my July memo , and may re-read some of his works if I can find a Cockney  dictionary.

12/11/13

I suspect Hitch would be livid over western concessions to Iran

4/17/14

Syria mess spills into Jordan. & Turkey. Maybe they should ask Putin to rein in Assad? Interesting 2004 Hitchens column on the Kurds role in the area. Hitchens on the Kurdss

6/21/14

Quote from Hitchens  "Saving Islam from bin Laden," from The Age, September 5, 2002:

It is impossible to compromise with the proponents of sacrificial killings of civilians, the disseminators of anti-Semitic filth, the violators of women and the cheerful murderers of children.

If it weren't for oil would we (the west), bother with the Stone Agers. 

6/23/14

Some things change little. Hitch on the Kurds in 2007 Slate column:

It maintains its own security, does not require foreign troops, has put an end to sectarian warfare among Kurds, fights against al-Qaida with some success,

8/28/14

2004 Hitch column on the Kurds & Syria. kurds

9/23/14

Syrian refugeees, including Kurds, flooding into Turkey.  Putin is mad at the world but won't agree with anyone. Hitch would be hitting all pundit shows today.

11/10/14

Yep Syria, Iraq , Turkey , and Iran remains a mess. I'm sure the way the Brits carved things up still is wreaking havoc

1/31/15

 “Who are your favorite heroines in real life? The women of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who risk their lives and their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Azar Nafisi as their ideal feminine model.” 
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir

3/17/15

Hitchen paid attention to the Kurds maybe we should start. link

A senior Kurdish official in Iraq has voiced concern over Iranian-backed Shia Muslim militias fighting with Iraq's army against Islamic State (IS).

5/19/15

Kurds getting closer to an independent state? link

Barzani added, “A lot of countries have the same attitude shown by Hungary, whose PM declared its support for the independence of the region of Kurdistan.”

6/23/15

Kurds backed by US air units gain ground in Syria. kurds

7/16/15

From 8/16/10 Slate column by Hitch: link

The concept of "nonproliferation," so dear to the heart of the right-thinking, will go straight into the history books along with the League of Nations.

10/05/15 

Even Hitch couldn't keep up with the Syrian "scorecard". Ergodan ctiricizes Russia on a few issues plus

Turkish jets 'intercept Russian plane'

10/7/15

Watched  some of a 1951 movie Sirocco  featuring Bogey  gun-running for the rebels during the 1925 Syrian insurgency against French occupation. Wonder what the French stance is on Syria now?

11/7/15

Maybe Hitch would've comented on this today. 

Nov 7, 1917 - British capture Gaza, Palestine, from Turks

11/19/15

Keep coming back to why the "West" won't  use the Kurds more in the Syria&Iraq

11/24/15

Turks shot down a Russian plane and I  thought of high school history lessons on the Crimean War.

3/2/16

sad laughter on this line  assad?

Syria's Assad: We've shown restraint, but 'everything has a limit'

6/20/16

Must be fun to live in Syria.

Russia denies bombing U.S.-backed Syrian rebels near Jordan border

8/20/16

Maybe, I'm stretching for a comparison, but #Morrissey is just as difficult to pigeon hole politically as Hitchens was. The former lead singer of the Smiths  bashed the BBC for denigrating LEAVE voters   and has hailed #Farage (UKIP) and ex Labor MP #Galloway in the same sentence.

9/10/16

One of clearer , less Cockney quotes from Derek Raymond.

"Existence is sometimes what a forward artillery observer sees of enemy lines through field glasses. A distant and troubling view brought suddenly into focus with a wealth of obscene detail.” 

10/17/16

Anarchy and/or various agendas in Syria?

"Turkish troops involved in Operation Euphrates Shield clashed with the YPG militia, part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)."

safe zone

11/20/2016

 Probably was 50/50 on  #Hitchens opinions so I'll turn back the clock to an excerpt from a   Hitch diary  on the 1996 RNC convention:

" #DonaldTrump – a ludicrous figure, but at least he’s lived it up a bit in the real world and at least he’s worked out how to cover 90 per cent of his skull with 30 per cent of his hair."

Jan 6, 2017

Russia, Turkey , and Iran are bragging about "peace"in Syria, but the UN is claiming more than five million people in Damascus are currently without drinking water.

Feb 10, 2017

Is this the main reason #assad remains in power in Syria :  the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t

feb 27, 2017 

another part of The Syrian war: #Saudi Arabia and #Iran support different camps,

march10

#hitchens was spot on about the Kurds .  #Kurds and #turks are supposed to be fighting ISIS in #Syria but

Turkish troops and Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces have killed 71 Syrian Kurdish fighters in northern Syria this week.

March 30 

#Tillerson told Turkey no on its request for the US to drop its alliance with Kurdish fighters, because they are the most effective force in #syria

April 27

In the mid 1970s a a guy came back to our neighborhood from  his Navy tour of duty, mostly in Nam and told us that a stint in Cypress on the way home was the scariest because  all sides were shooting at us. Syria is the same way. #turks are bombing the #kurds in syria although both groups claims ISIS is the enemy. Now there are reports that Israel targeted a Hezbollah military base in Damascus. #tednugent song "free for all" should  be the background music for a #syria documentary

May 8. 2017

Syria remains the regions "war ground" and more than a  civil war is going on. Syrian Foreign Minister #WalidMuallem labeled the role of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in Syria as "legitimate," which irked the Turks who consider them terrorists.

June 27, 2017

Get ready for more moaning from #ergodan. #Mattis said the U.S. has made it clear all along that, "we're going to equip them #kurds for the fight in Raqqa , Syria

aug 17, 2017

The #Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq  will  hold an independence referendum in September. A Yes vote will rock #syria , #iraq, #turkey , #iran .

sept 27 2017

An act of protest in #Iran : thousands of Kurds marched in support of the #Kurdish independence referendum, defying a show of strength by Tehran which flew fighter jets over their areas.

Oct 20

#Kurds  got rid of #ISIS in their province when Iraqi soldiers couldn't , and now Iraq is attacking the Kurds and you can bet oil is a big part of that fight.

dec 11, 2017

Russia will keep the Hmeymim air base as well as a naval facility at the Syrian port of #Tartous. Here's what I'm not buying: #Putin  gave the order today for Russian forces to start withdrawing from Syria to their permanent bases in Russia.

jan 21, 2018

#syria has become a playground for it's neighbors' goals. Turkey is bombing the Syrians Kurds , a group the USA supports in a fight against ISIS, in #Afrin . It sure feels as if Syria may never attain peace.

jan 23

#ergodan 's clampdown on the press grows.  Turkish PM #BinaliYilidirim summoned journalists to a meeting on Sunday to lay out a 15-point plan on how the operation in #Afrin should be covered in order to quash criticism.  Members of the press, peace protesters, and some Kurds were arrested.

jan 31

Plenty of chatter from #trump and now #macron  who  "warned Turkey that its operation against Kurdish militias in northern Syria should not become an excuse to invade the country and said he wanted Ankara to coordinate its action with its allies." But #ergodan rolls on

feb 7, 2018

Iran's President  #Rouhani seems to be echoing the USA stance by calling on Turkey to stop its military operation in the Syrian enclave of #Afrin. #ergodan is headed toward a wake up call.

Feb 19, 2018

 The Syrian government and the main Syrian #Kurdish militia in control of #afrin may have reached a working agreement. Will #Turkey  exit?
march 19: Interesting move : #Iraq approves payment of civil servant salaries for #Kurdish Region amid ongoing budget dispute.

may 29, 2018

Has #syria become Iran's playground? The US  State Department warned the Syrian government against “any actions that risk broadening the conflict”.

#Israel says it does not want Iranian forces massing close to the nearby occupied Golan Heights.

june 17, 2018

#ergodan   needs to be checked in his pursuilt of #kurds   An offensive against the PKK in Qandil, #IRAQ  is Turkey’s third cross-border operation (other two in #syria ) since 2016. Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan #Rouhani have  agreed to maintain regional security while #Iraq 's leadership  has been silently complicit.

sept 8, 2018

#iran is having internal problems and yesterday protesters outside Iran's consulate in #Basra , Iraq  burned an Iranian flag and chanted "Iran, out!"  Many blame Iranian-backed parties for interfering in Iraqi politics and playing a role in the deterioration of its public services. Maybe the #Syrians will the be the next group  to give the middle finger to Iran.

sept 27, 2018

Maybe the #Sisi (Egypt) and #Netanyahu chat yesterday and the announcement that Israeli and Egyptian companies  will buy into a pipeline that would enable a landmark $15 billion natural gas export deal to begin next year will ease tensions in the Middle East?

oct 27,2018

 #Macron says such calls , including  #merkel 's , to halt all arms exports to Saudi Arabia  are "pure demagoguery." What? Are France and Germany having a lovers' spat? But Merkel's not done piling on Saudi Arabia. She insists it do everything it can to solve the urgent humanitarian situation in Yemen where the Saudis are fighting a war with Iran -backed #Houthis.  
#Hitchens woud need a flow chart to keep track of all this cr^p.

dec 2, 2018

Chicks watch what you wear in Egypt. An Egyptian court is prosecuting  actress #RaniaYoussef for wearing a lace dress to a Cairo film festival. #Eltahawy  sums it up

"In Egypt, and much of the Middle East, 'inciting debauchery' is like violating national security," 

dec 16, 2018

 US-backed, Kurdish-led fighters have captured #Hajin ,the last town held by the Islamic State (IS) in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. #hitchens stated years ago that the Kurds were our friends, and they continue to prove it so screw #turkey  .

dec 19, 2018

The #Pentagon warned Turkey against launching an operation targeting #Kurdish militias in northern Syria, particularly as American personnel may be present or in the vicinity.

 jan 11, 2019

EU, with a big push from #denmark ,  approved sanctions against the Iranian Security ministry and two Iranian nationals for their involvement in thwarted terrorist attacks in France and Denmark.

march 1

 #Hezbollah, a group founded in 1982 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and a potent political force in Lebanon,  condemned on the British government’s decision to list it as a terrorist organization, saying the move showed “servile obedience” to the USA. No surprises there!

april 9, 2019

If you're going to #Dubai soon or for the #WorldCup in 2022 , keep your phone at home. #Shahravesh , a British woman was  arrested last month over a 2017 FBook comment about her husband's new wife.

april 17

 Lynn Maalouf, a member of #AmnestyInternational, said that a #Bahrain court's decision to sentence 138 people to jail and strip them of their citizenship for conspiring to create a terror cell linked to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards force,"makes a mockery of justice." The IRG is Shia and and Bahrain 's Government is Sunni dominated., but I wonder when AI became so concerned with the rightsof  Hezbollah-friendly groups.

may 26

  Aren't the Turks and Russians "friends"? #Turkey has equipped  Syrian rebels it backs with fresh supplies of weaponry to help them try to repel  Russian-backed Syrian army assault in the northwest section of #Syria. You need a dozen scorecards to keep track of the shifting alliances.

june 17 2019

 For something a little different in the Middle East:  Slave to Sirens are the first all-female metal band #Lebanon

july 4

I'm not sure why it took this route.  British Royal Marines in #Gibraltar have detained the supertanker #Grace1 on suspicion of carrying crude oil to Syria. Mapping showed the shipped sailed from Iran headed for the Banyas refinery in Syria, an entity that is subject to EU sanctions against Syria.

july 11

  8 years of war and #Syria is carved up into areas of U.S., Russian, Turkish and Iranian influence.Way to go #Assad

July 20

Sure signs tensions with #Iran are about to get messier: Saudi Arabia’s #KingSalman approved hosting U.S. forces in the country.

Oct 4, 2019

Interesting response to the riots in #Iraq:  The Higher Council for Corruption Combat has ordered the dismissal of 1,000 employees at state institutions who have been convicted of wasting or embezzling public money.

Jan 23, 2020

Lebanon’s new government is dominated by Iranian ally Hezbollah and is not is being greeted well by the Lebanese. Also,  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo withheld support from the USA, for now.

feb 24, 2020

#hitchens is rolling over.  Lebanon's  most powerful party is Hezbollah, the Shiite political and militant group backed by Iran, and now Saudi Arabia, Iran's regional arch-rival, is ready to support debt-ridden Lebanon.

may 27, 2020

Lebanon 's descent which began long before #Covid19  was unleashed has a few key flash points. In October 2019  the government proposed new taxes on tobacco, petrol and voice calls via messaging services such as WhatsApp . The #whatsapp tax was rescinded quickly, but the discontent did not ease much then ,and it's grown to the point that many Lebanese fear that poverty will end up killing more people than coronavirus.

June 11, 2020

#christopherhitchens  is smiling somewhere. Protesters were chanting anti-Hezbollah slogans during on-going protests yesterday in Lebanon. Some want Hezbollah, the only group to have kept its weapons since the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990,  to be disarmed. Good luck with that!