by Peter Hodge | Jun 5, 2009 | Conflict and security, Europe and Central Asia, Influence and networks
Last week Alex mentioned that Global Dashboard is a “hotbed of David Kilcullen fandom”. Bravo! I’m a fan too, and I’ve been reading Kilcullen’s The Accidental Guerrilla over the last couple of weeks.
In the book Kilcullen writes at length about counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also looks at guerrilla warfare in East Timor, Pakistan and southern Thailand (the long-running Malay separatist struggle). Another interesting section deals with Islamic radicalization in Europe. “Europe has no remote ‘safe havens’ outside state control”, Kilcullen writes. “But it does have ‘micro-havens’ – urban undergrounds, alienated ethnic groups, and slums where the writ of government does not always run”.
Kilcullen argues that Europeans should take a counter-subversion approach to Islamic radicalization (rather than counter-terrorism). The authorities should work with vulnerable communities to “rebuild community cohesion and authority structures”, so as to marginalize and drive out radical elements. Attacking radical networks would be a secondary and defensive measure “designed to create a breathing space in which the construction of friendly, trusted networks can proceed”.
I believe that an added benefit of this strategy is that it creates situations for governments to tap the knowledge that migrants have of their homelands – knowledge of society, culture, languages, politics, the economy, business and so on. Such information could, for example, greatly benefit intelligence agencies (who study and interpret developments in other regions), military units deploying to foreign countries, and corporations and trade delegations pursing business deals overseas.
Kilcullen rightly says that we should see Europe’s Muslim communities as a target of terrorist-sponsored subversion, not as a source of threat to European society. But let’s take that a step further and consider the opportunities that strong and integrated Muslim communities (and other migrant groups) might offer society.
by Alex Evans | Jun 5, 2009 | Europe and Central Asia
Full marks to the NYT for deadpan delivery:
ROME — Ever since the Italian media began peering into Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s personal life — and found a host of attractive young women — his supporters have been furiously trying to change the subject.
Among them is a small group with a big plan: to nominate Mr. Berlusconi for the Nobel Peace Prize. “An Italian hasn’t won the Nobel Peace Prize since 1907,” said Giammario Battaglia, a 36-year-old lawyer who helped start the initiative a few months ago. “We think it’s a good moment.”
He appears to be serious.
Silvio per il Nobel!
by Richard Gowan | Jun 4, 2009 | Off topic
OK, Barack Obama may have given the best speech of his presidency to date in Cairo. And fine, maybe it creates a new opening with the entire Muslim world. But did nobody tell Barack and Hillary how a real President dresses for Egypt? Remember ’07?
by Alex Evans | Jun 4, 2009 | Influence and networks
Amid the torrent of reaction and commentary on Obama’s Cairo speech, this excerpt from Al Jazeera‘s coverage will doubtless elicit a few double-takes:
Ahmad Yousuf, a senior Hamas official, told Al Jazeera that Obama’s speech reminded him of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech”.
by Alex Evans | Jun 4, 2009 | Climate and resource scarcity, Economics and development, Global system
Mild surprise has been heard in various quarters that the next G20 summit – scheduled for 24-25 September – is to be held in Pittsburgh, rather than in New York (more logical, given that the G20 will take place right in the middle of the first week of the UN General Assembly) or Washington DC. Take for example this transcript of a press conference by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibb last week:
MR. GIBBS: One quick announcement before we get started. The United States will host the next G20 summit, September 24th through the 25th, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Q Where?
Q What?
Here’s the answer to the ‘Why Pittsburgh?’ question, taken from a White House statement quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pittsburgh has demonstrated a commitment to employing new and green technology to further economic recovery and development.
Yarone Zober, the Pittsburgh Mayor’s chief of staff, echoes the point in the same article:
Pittsburgh has really been a model for an economic turnaround,” he said, noting the smokestacks-to-knowledge transformation of the regional economy and the development of environmentally friendly “green” job sectors.
More on Pittsburgh’s turnaround in this Huffington Post piece.
As I noted back in April, the London Summit was a respectable outcome, but fell disappointingly short on the green new deal front. But with this backdrop, and an agenda that for now still remains wide open, maybe – maybe – the September summit will do better.
