poetry of US war on terror 2.0

“light footprint”
combo clandestine Special Operations raids
drone strikes
continuous surveillance
cyberwarfare
locally trained proxy forces hunt capture kill manage perceived threats to American interests
on global scale

see Steve Niva," The “Matrix” Comes to Libya," the Merip blog, November 2.

Cinnabon in Tripoli, Libya

NPR's Morning Edition seemed very excited today that Cinnabon had opened a branch in Tripoli, Libya. They didn't get all Thomas Friedman about it, but they didn't have to. The fact that it functioned as a symbol of "freedom" went without saying. Given, I guess, that Friedman had already commented on the food in Libya (Benghazi) back in May 2011, and told us: "The pizza, too, is respectable, especially at Pisa Pizza in Benghazi, where the pies are about a yard in diameter. Proof that Italian colonialism accomplished something after all." (Sarah Carr penned an unforgettable spoof of Friedman's piece here. Thanks for the reminder, John.)

Yesterday, CNN told us a bit more:

American business interest in Libya is growing, said Chuck Dittrich, executive director of the U.S.-Libya Business Association, a trade group representing American companies that are interested in doing business in Libya.


In April, the trade group led a delegation of 20 American companies to Libya to discuss business opportunities...


"In the new Libya, people are seeing franchising as an opportunity to become entrepreneurs," said Dittrich.


"This is one of the questions I get asked most," he said. "When are American franchises coming to Libya?"


Back in May 2003 (shortly after the Green Zone was up and running, under the supervision of the twenty-something apostles of neo-liberalism) the inimitable Zippy had this to say about what it would mean when Damascus finally had its Krispy Kreme outlet. (Thanks, Walid.)

It's pretty amazing that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, despite all the ridicule from the likes of Sarah Carr and her ilk, Friedman continues to promote his McDonald's Doctrine, according to which no two countries, once they have the Golden Arches, will ever go to war with each other (The Lexus and the Olive Tree). 

I remember when the world changed, forever, when Krispy Kreme finally arrived here in Arkansas. Janet Huckabee, the wife of the gov, was present for the opening of the first franchise in Little Rock in February 2004. I'm pretty sure she was in Bentonville later that year for the Krispy Kreme opening there, and I think the cars lining up for the donuts were backed up all the way to I-540. But I can't find any articles on the internet. You'll just have to trust my memory.

In any case, just like the Tripolitans, we in Northwest Arkansas were really and truly glad to enter the flat world of freedom.

Libyan Hipsters

Lots of irony in these findings. Very funny. This one, courtesy Sebastian Meyer.

This one, which features the characteristic 'hipster kufiya,' I got through a Facebook friend. The source, I never found. Don't you love the 'ironic' bazooka? Puts a whole new spin on 'irony.'

Kufiya note: Egypt and CNN

Arwa Damon of CNN, broadcasting from Benghazi this morning (7 a.m. Cairo time), was wearing a black-and-white kufiya. She was speaking with Libyans in Arabic, which I found impressive--not something you see your US correspondents based in the US doing that often. 2-3 weeks ago, in the early days of the uprising, CNN's Ben Wedemann was wearing a black-and-white kufiya while he was broadcasting from Benghazi. In both cases, I think the kufiya was meant to send a subtle sign of sympathy for the rebels.

I checked out Arwa Damon on wikipedia, and learned these significant facts. Damon graduated from Roberts College in Istanbul. Her mother is Syrian. Her father, George H. Damon, is currently headmaster of the American Community School in Beirut. I met him last July at the ACS reunion in Austin, TX. (I'm an alumnus.)

On another note, I asked a friend about the wearing of kufiyas in Cairo and the revolution. He said that he thought that you see more kufiyas in Cairo now in the wake of the struggles on Tahrir from January 25-February 11. It's certainly true that you see a lot of people wearing them in Cairo this week, in all sorts of colors and on all sorts of people. On Sunday we ran into a demonstration of schoolchildren from outside Cairo, and their teachers on the Corniche, across the street from the Ministry of Information. Two teenaged boys in the group were wearing pink kufiyas.

My friend said there was a shop selling kufiyas at Tahrir during the period when it was occupied. He thought it signified an international symbol of revolution.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll take a photo or two of Cairo kufiya wearers and post it.