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May 21, 2003
Al Qaida vs. Al Fayda
"In Urdu, the world for Profit is fayda. Al Qaida means The Word, The Word of God, The Law. So, in India some of us call the War Against Terror - The Word Vs. The Profit (no pun intended)..."
Just finished reading two contrasting speeches on Sept. 11, one by the author and social activist, Arundhati Roy, the other by Dr. Francis Fukuyama, a political scientist with strongly influence over the current Bush Administration. No conflict in terms of forseeing difficulties for the US over its current foreign policy but fundamental opposition in terms of how to proceed.
"But it isn't necessary to be `anti-national' to be deeply suspicious of all nationalism, to be anti-nationalism. Nationalism of one kind or another was the cause of most of the genocide of the twentieth century. Flags are bits of coloured cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap peoples' minds and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead."
Come September, Arundhati Roy
"The underlying principled issue is essentially unsolvable because there is ultimately no practical way of addressing the 'democratic deficit' at the global level. But the problem can be mitigated by a degree of American moderation within a system of soverign nation-states".
Has History Restarted Since September 11?, Dr. Francis Fukuyama
Posted by .M. at May 21, 2003 01:42 PM
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