"So to now, in the midst of this Arab Spring, designating one group or another as terrorists, as the US did recently with the Syrian Jabhat al-Nusra, is only to reflect, yet again, a profound misunderstanding of what is happening on the streets of Tunis and Cairo and Damascus. Instead of being afraid, we should be filled with pride: These people are so dedicated to the idea of liberty that they're actually fighting for it.
There are good reasons not to support groups like Jabhat al-Nusra, as there were good reasons not to support the "terrorists" in Anbar in 2005. But America's willingness then to engage with Iraqi currents and movements who recoiled as much from our support as we recoiled from giving it provided a way forward for a nation riven by sectarian conflict. The result then was what it might be now: The transformation, in an eyeblink, of terrorists to insurgents and, in the midst of that conflict, the marginalisation of the Jacobins from the Gironde. It is not always the case that my "terrorist" is your "freedom fighter", but nearly so." (thanks Christian)
There are good reasons not to support groups like Jabhat al-Nusra, as there were good reasons not to support the "terrorists" in Anbar in 2005. But America's willingness then to engage with Iraqi currents and movements who recoiled as much from our support as we recoiled from giving it provided a way forward for a nation riven by sectarian conflict. The result then was what it might be now: The transformation, in an eyeblink, of terrorists to insurgents and, in the midst of that conflict, the marginalisation of the Jacobins from the Gironde. It is not always the case that my "terrorist" is your "freedom fighter", but nearly so." (thanks Christian)
