Think Forward.

International Politics

by Aziz Daouda
81393
Chapters: 10 30.3 min read

1: Ukraine and Sudan: Two Conflicts, Two Different Perspectives... 6277

Aziz Daouda, 3 mon.
The entire Western world gathered in Washington a few days ago. Since his return, President Trump has been trying to save what remains of Ukraine, and the Europeans genuinely do not want this to happen behind their backs. Unable to play a decisive role, they at least want to be present. Their credibility is at stake, and above all, their image before the rest of the world. Overheated by a Europe whose reach exceeds its power—a Europe increasingly powerless—Ukraine has endured and waged a war it believed it could win with Western support. To date, it has lost 20% of its territory, and it is far from over. Instead of dealing directly with Vladimir (Putin), Volodymyr (Zelensky) thought it wiser to seek support from those who had already been insufficient since delegating their defense to NATO, and thus to the United States. The Europeans will learn this the hard way: one cannot wage war without the means to do so. That same world remains silent about what is happening in Sudan. It is considered less “interesting.” Two generals, generals in name only, have launched a militarized competition to seize power, just days after signing an agreement to share it. Since then, the situation has deteriorated. Every day, lives are lost, women are raped, and millions of people wander the desert, their only refuge. For the Western world, perhaps—I emphasize perhaps—they are just Africans, mostly believing themselves Arabs, killing each other. The war in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region, remains one of the most tragic and deadly conflicts since its outbreak in April 2023. This war mainly pits two rival forces against each other: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” former leader of the Janjaweed militias. The latter, along with their allied Arab militias, are responsible for massive massacres, especially targeting the Massalit people and other non-Arab groups in Darfur. In essence, those who consider themselves Arab are killing and driving from their lands those they do not recognize as their own. The BBC has just released an investigation and documentary on this subject, which should stir collective conscience, if any human conscience remains willing to watch. The conflict is primarily a power struggle between the two military leaders who, it should be recalled, had signed a pact to govern the country jointly. The sudden slide into armed clashes has spread to several regions, notably Darfur, where the RSF and their allies stand accused of grave abuses. The Janjaweed, militias identifying as Arab and formerly supported by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, are active again under the RSF banner, committing ethnic-based violence openly. Also involved are the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLA/SLM), the historic rebels of Darfur, fragmented between Minni Minnawi and Abdelwahid Mohamed al-Nur. The scale of the massacres is terrifying. According to the UN, in Al-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, between 10,000 and 15,000 Massalit civilians were killed between June and November 2023 by the RSF and allied Arab militias. More broadly, over 150,000 have died in two years throughout Darfur, with 13 million displaced—half the Sudanese population—pushed to the brink of famine. NGOs like Doctors Without Borders warn of imminent massacres in cities such as El-Fasher, heavily besieged. The violence also includes destruction of civil infrastructure, schools, and mosques. Systematic sexual violence is another tragic facet of the massacre. Following a deadly attack a few days ago, Doctors Without Borders just closed the only hospital still operating in Zalengei, the regional capital, making any medical activity impossible. This is not the first hospital to be forced to shut down. Despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the international response remains mostly ineffective. Although the United States and the UN officially acknowledge the severity of the genocide, their direct interventions and sanctions remain timid. The African Union and the UN struggle to deploy forces capable of enforcing peace and upholding international law. Arab countries exert no notable pressure on Hemedti or Burhan, the latter having long wielded significant influence in Sudan. This silence is interpreted by many observers as complicity, seen as a form of institutional racism that devalues African lives, especially those of the Massalit victims of the RSF. The fact that Hemedti and his allies claim an “Arab” identity while attacking so-called “African” groups, according to some, contributes to the indifference of Arab nations, more preoccupied with their regional dynamics than human rights. International Muslim organizations have also failed to take a forceful stand, despite frequent religious instrumentalization by the warring parties. The conflict is also marked by a profound religious contradiction: murder, injustice, and war among Muslims are explicitly condemned by Islam, except in cases of self-defense or struggle against oppression. Yet, the massacres in Darfur are regularly denounced as contrary to these principles by Muslim intellectuals and religious leaders, though these condemnations have had little tangible effect on the violence. This crisis has triggered the world’s largest current humanitarian emergency, with 13 million displaced. Access to medical care, food, and shelter remains grossly insufficient. Civilians live in extreme insecurity, caught in ethnic and political struggles manipulated by power-hungry warlords. The international community, Arab countries, and Muslim actors appear to be shirking their responsibilities, allowing this tragedy to continue in alarming silence. This situation challenges not only global collective conscience but also the real capacity of international institutions to protect the most vulnerable populations from such vast violence. The situation in Darfur and greater Sudan is a stark and urgent call for attention. The hope remains that the wars in both Ukraine and Sudan will end swiftly, as in both cases it is innocent generations paying the price of violent conflict.

2: Greater Israel: A Threat to Peace and Stability... 6482

Aziz Daouda, 3 mon.
The past few weeks have been marked by rather disturbing statements from certain Israeli leaders, reigniting the fundamental debate around the borders of the Hebrew state. Since its creation in 1948, following a UN decision, Israel has never officially and permanently defined its borders—a unique situation that undermines regional stability as well as the credibility of international law. This absence of clear demarcation has severe consequences for a climate already marked by deep mistrust, both within the region and beyond. This situation is often exploited by those who do not stop calling Israel a "cancer" in the region. Unlike the majority of states, Israel did not specify its borders in its declaration of independence. The lines recognized internationally today are those of the 1949 armistice, known as the "Green Line," but they have been constantly altered by wars and territorial expansions, notably after the Six-Day War in 1967. Since that date, Israel has occupied the West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, while Gaza Strip, occupied and then evacuated in 2005, remains subjected to strict control. Following recent developments consequent to October 7 and Israel’s disproportionate response, the current government no longer hides its intention to proceed with a new annexation. These recent declarations revive tensions, notably with references to "biblical borders." There is only one possible interpretation here: the outright annexation of the West Bank and a direct threat to neighboring countries. Statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister Smotrich, and other coalition members demonstrate a desire to maintain confusion, especially as ultranationalist voices continue to invoke the notion of "Greater Israel." This concept, based on religious texts, encompasses territories far beyond internationally recognized borders, potentially extending over the West Bank and even parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. This is all the more worrying as this position faces only ineffective or inaudible denunciations from Arab countries, weakened by repeated divisions and contradictions within Palestinian ranks, exhausted by the sabotage of initiatives on both sides, and aggravated by the barely disguised interventionism of Iran, which has succeeded in bribing a Palestinian faction that weakens the cause, undermining any possibility of peace. This faction, so radicalized, has become an objective ally of Israel and is labeled a terrorist group. Simultaneously, there is the complicit inaction of Western countries, who plead only half-heartedly against various abuses. Underlying this is an anachronistic construction, a 19th-century invention aimed at masking centuries of Christian antisemitism—whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant: Judeo-Christianity. This striking conflation serves to oppose Western civilization to the rest of the world, notably the so-called Arab world. By this conflation, at least in appearance, a hatred that has persisted since the first Christian martyr Stephen, stoned by the Pharisees, is buried. A hatred that has never ceased. Faced with this imbroglio, there is nothing but the chronic impotence of the UN. The question of respect for international law and the definition of Israel’s borders should pose a major challenge to Western powers, especially the United States. Historically, the UN was at the origin of Israel’s creation with Resolution 181 of 1947, but today it proves powerless against the country’s expansion and voluntary absence of border delimitation. Resolution 242, demanding withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967, has never been implemented, just like all resolutions involving the Hebrew state. Western countries, though allies of Israel and holders of significant leverage, have so far refused to compel Israel to comply with international norms, limiting themselves to diplomatic calls for the resumption of negotiations and recognition of a Palestinian state, especially since the beginning of this summer. To this, Israeli leaders respond with categorical refusal and an intermingling of antisemitism with opposition to or criticism of a government’s politics. For the current government, there is no room for maneuver: either one accepts the Israeli diktat, even when it involves violations of international law and denial of Palestinians’ human rights, or one is antisemitic. People forget that Palestinians are Semites too... This generates deplorable tensions with unfortunate consequences for many countries, as De Gaulle might have said. If not stopped, these recent developments will undoubtedly increase the risk to global stability. Until now, popular dissent in the region has been controlled, even prohibited, but for how long? The absence of recognized borders and the normalization of using religious narratives to legitimize possession of illegitimate lands constitute a direct threat to regional and global stability. To dare evoke "Greater Israel" is to legitimize expansionist aspirations, stir fear among neighbors, and fuel instability. In his recent speeches, the Israeli Foreign Minister does not hesitate to present the possibility of a Palestinian state as an existential threat to Israel. The current government does not want a Palestinian state, which remains the only foreseeable and logical solution for Israel’s very security, while maintaining ambiguity over territorial outlines can only perpetuate the conflict and block all prospects for lasting peace. Beyond the strategic and religious considerations, it falls to the international community, particularly Western countries, to take responsibility and finally demand that Israel define its borders in accordance with international law, as is the case for every other state. Without this perspective, any political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will remain a dead letter, with the ongoing risk of global conflagration. Israeli citizens must also take their responsibility. Continuing to vote for extremists is in no way a guarantee of security but rather a threat to the future of the children on both sides, even though a life in peace is possible. Many Israelis know this and shout it with all their might, but their calls remain unheard. It is with them that peace must be built, and they are numerous within Israel itself and across the world, particularly in the United States.

3: Trump is here to drive the world to new horizons. 8960

Aziz Daouda, 11 mon.
Finally, the emperor was enthroned and blessed by almost all the religions present in the country. Like a Roman emperor, he is enthroned in the Senate. The Capitol is chosen for reasons of weather... God the almighty had decided so. It's cold, and that's to the advantage of the 47th President of the United States. He even says that if he didn't succumb to the attempted murder he suffered, it's because God Almighty had decided to keep him alive for the noble mission of restoring America to its greatness. As in a certain mythology, we were dealing with a divine descendant, a messenger, and as a good prophet he gave us his Ten Commandments. What could be more natural than to begin by telling Americans and the world that ‘today’ we open (his words) a new chapter in which America regains its place as leader, not through arrogance, but through its destiny of excellence and resilience’. It makes you wonder whether America has ever lost the cheap leadership of the world since it won its first battles against the Spanish in 1898, almost three centuries ago. That war sounded the death knell of Hispanic power, described by the Iberians at the time as a disaster. With a phlegm that could not be more imperial, the lord of the manor went on to announce to everyone that ‘the golden age of America begins now, because we believe that nothing is too great for those who have faith in their country and in themselves’. What a lesson for all of us to remember that a nation's greatest asset is its belief in itself and its people. Once these terms of greatness, ambition and power had been uttered, it was obviously necessary to come to their declinations; and wham: ‘We are declaring a national emergency on the southern border, because protecting our people is the first sacred mission of this government’. The country that owes its prosperity and power solely to immigration is going to close itself off to the primary source of the human flows that it claims are flooding the country, the one that comes from its southern flank. America doesn't want to Hispanicize... And yet it owes an enormous debt to these people who are saving its agriculture and freeing its young people from all the back-breaking jobs and chores that young Americans no longer want to do. He made it a mission tinged with sacredness. American families are worried and need to be reassured, and now he has given them a pledge that could not be clearer or more ambiguous: ‘We will fight the cartels that destroy lives and divide families. From today they will be recognised for what they are: enemies of peace’. Which cartels are we talking about and which enemy? Doubts were thus sown and the spectre of a witch-hunt crossed people's minds. It was as if President Truman had been resurrected... But here the manoeuvre was not against the enemy that communism constituted at the time, but rather against as yet unidentified cartels. Only time will tell whether American families have really been protected from their targeted enemies in this way. Climate change or no climate change, the USA is not responsible. It's the others that are, China first and foremost. The pollution generated by its economy is to blame for what is happening on earth, so America can happily withdraw from the Paris agreements. ‘We choose to withdraw from agreements that restrict our economic freedom because we believe in American innovation, innovation that lights up the world’ and he continues: ’There is no room for ambiguity: we recognize that nature and common sense dictate - the beauty of our differences, while celebrating our common humanity.’ So the audience stands up and applauds. It's acquired and that's normal. The guests were well chosen. Biden and co, the former presidents of the other party and the few Democrats present were stoic. Inert, they took it like beaten boxers in the corner of a ring and a hostile audience. ‘This day marks our determination to re-establish our sovereignty in every part of the globe, and we affirm that the resources that enrich this nation must first serve its people’. These words could not be clearer in the voice of sovereignty, which is full of the most powerful egocentrism. But is this not the expression of some kind of threat? Freedom is achieved through outrageous liberalism; from now on, all the locks will be broken: ‘We will put an end to any programme that compromises our fundamental freedoms or sacrifices our values on the altar of dogma’. He talks about values but does not define them. Which ones will he put forward? Certainly not those defended by his political enemies. Those to whom he wants to forgive nothing; throughout the evening, he will not stop sending them sly messages and jabs without blushing for a moment. And, as if to diminish them further, he delivered the fatal blow: ‘America is never as great as when it dreams boldly, works hard and does the impossible the best it can’. He was clearly telling them: you lack the boldness and courage to serve the American people well. To conclude this first moment of glory, before the series of signing of the ‘President Orders’, the moment he chose first in front of his most popular troops. What an astonishing thing to sign such acts in a sports hall, in the midst of a crowd with an overheated engine. Finally, he brought to the surface all his grievances against a certain press and told everyone: ‘We are restoring a public space where every voice can be raised freely, without fear of censorship, because our freedom of expression is the beating heart of our democracy’. Every voice... by which we mean every citizen in every medium and without regulation. A real gift for Marc Zuckerberg and indirectly for Sundar Pichar. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are getting one more, with the boss encouraging them to go to Mars. As if to comfort him after his disappointment with one of his children, the boss of Space x and Tesla is happy when he hears him say that from now on there are only men and women in the USA. The death knell has sounded for wokism. All these Giga billionaires were happy to be sitting in the front row. The FIFA President's head of hair was barely visible behind them. So the emperor of the Americas was finally enthroned, and the Gulf of Mexico changed its name. It is now called the Gulf of America. The Panama Canal is once again American, and the world has been warned: Trump is here to drive the world to new horizons.