terrorism – mackaycartoons

Saturday September 28, 2024

October 1, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 28, 2024

Animated making-of clip here!

Netanyahu’s Escalation Risks Broader Conflict While Peace Remains Abandoned

December 20, 2023

Thomas L. Friedman’s recent analysis of the Israel-Hezbollah-Hamas-Iran conflict in The New York Times frames the issue as part of a global battle between a “coalition of inclusion” and a “coalition of resistance,” with Israel standing at a critical junction. While this perspective offers a compelling geopolitical narrative, it glosses over key realities on the ground. As Benjamin Netanyahu’s military offensive expands from Gaza to Lebanon, it seems less about securing peace and more about consolidating power through the elimination of key leadership figures in Hamas and Hezbollah. The harsh humanitarian toll and the escalating risks of broader regional conflict suggest a more dangerous path—one where peace is sidelined and devastation deepens.

Opinion: What This Israel-Hezbollah-Hamas-Iran Conflict is Really About

October 14, 2023

The insightful reporting by Ben Hubbard and Alissa J. Rubin in The New York Times vividly documents the devastating impact of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The relentless bombardment, aimed at dismantling Hamas leadership, has destroyed civilian infrastructure, flattened entire neighbourhoods, and displaced thousands. This is not a fight that ends with the death of key leaders; instead, it’s a cycle that perpetuates destruction, creating a new generation of anger and despair among Palestinians. As Friedman correctly notes, Netanyahu’s military campaign against Iran’s proxies is framed as part of a larger international conflict, but it’s also clear that this strategy is profoundly damaging to those living under fire.

Analysis: Facing a Big Test, Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ Flails

Hubbard and Rubin emphasize the cost of this war not only in terms of lives lost but in the complete collapse of basic services and governance in Gaza. Hospitals are overwhelmed, water supplies are compromised, and electricity is scarce. Civilians bear the brunt of a war in which they have little say, caught between the militant tactics of Hamas and the overwhelming military power of Israel. Netanyahu’s military strategy may succeed in taking down Hamas leaders, but at the cost of eroding any prospects for a peaceful future in the region.

October 20, 2023

Netanyahu’s widening offensive in Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah in the north, risks expanding the humanitarian catastrophe beyond Gaza. Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, now killed in an Israeli strike, was seen as a destabilizing force, but his death, like the toppling of Hamas leadership, is unlikely to bring about the peace Israel claims to be fighting for. As Hubbard and Rubin detail, the fear in Lebanon is palpable. The nation is already teetering on the edge of collapse due to its political paralysis, economic crisis, and a vast influx of refugees. Further destabilization from Israeli military actions could push Lebanon into outright disaster, echoing the ruin seen in Gaza.

Reader comments on Friedman’s analysis rightly point out the complexities Israel faces. One reader highlighted the entanglement of Israel’s military leadership with its far-right settler movement. Many high-ranking Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officers come from these settlements, complicating any move toward a two-state solution or territorial concessions. The settlements—long supported by Netanyahu’s government—are not just political bargaining chips; they are deeply entrenched in Israel’s defence and security infrastructure. As one reader argued, Israel may be stuck in a “bear trap” of its own making. Any serious disengagement from the occupied territories risks not only international fallout but potential civil unrest within Israel itself.

November 10, 2023

The parallels Friedman draws between Israel’s regional struggle and the broader post-Cold War global order are illuminating but ultimately incomplete. While Israel is fighting proxies of Iran, Russia’s war in Ukraine is driven by similar attempts to resist Western inclusion. Yet, as one reader commented, America itself seems to be straddling the line between inclusion and resistance, particularly given the rise of populist, authoritarian-leaning movements at home. In this sense, the struggle between inclusion and resistance is not just an external geopolitical dynamic—it is one that many countries, including the U.S. and Israel, are grappling with internally.

Friedman’s argument that Israel can emerge as a stabilizing force through an alliance with Saudi Arabia overlooks the core issue of Palestinian sovereignty. While Netanyahu’s government seeks to normalize relations with Arab states like Saudi Arabia, the price of such an alliance—ignoring the plight of Palestinians—will likely prove unsustainable. As Ben Hubbard and Alissa J. Rubin report, the Israeli offensive against Hamas and Hezbollah has sparked widespread condemnation across the Arab world. Social media is flooded with posts calling out the destruction and human cost in Gaza and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia and other regional players may see the long-term benefit of aligning with Israel, but public opinion in these countries cannot ignore the ongoing suffering of Palestinians.

October 18, 2022

One of the key questions raised by both Friedman and the reader comments is whether Netanyahu has a plan beyond the military victories he seeks. The answer seems to be no. As one commenter noted, Netanyahu’s far-right coalition has shown little interest in pursuing peace or reconciliation with the Palestinians. The maps Netanyahu held up during his UN speech may reflect his vision of Israel’s place in the world, but their omission of Gaza and the West Bank underscores his government’s unwillingness to confront the realities of occupation and Palestinian statehood. Without a diplomatic strategy that addresses the core grievances of Palestinians, Netanyahu’s military victories will only be pyrrhic, ensuring more instability in the long run.

Hubbard and Rubin’s reporting, along with Friedman’s broader analysis, paints a picture of a region on the brink of broader conflict. The elimination of key leadership figures in Hamas and Hezbollah may satisfy short-term military objectives, but it is unlikely to lead to a lasting peace. Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas, will not simply abandon its proxies, and its response may come in ways that Israel and its allies are unprepared for. The risks of escalation, both within the region and involving global powers like Russia and China, are very real. Moreover, the humanitarian cost of these wars—particularly in Gaza and Lebanon—will only deepen the divides between Israel and the Arab world, making the prospect of normalization with Saudi Arabia ever more complicated.

While Netanyahu’s strategy may deliver tactical victories by eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, it is a strategy that comes with severe humanitarian costs and escalates the risk of broader conflict. True peace will require more than military dominance—it will demand a commitment to diplomacy, reconciliation, and a genuine effort to address the root causes of conflict, particularly Palestinian self-determination. Until Netanyahu and his government are willing to engage in meaningful peace efforts, the region will remain locked in cycles of violence and destruction. (AI)

Saturday September 11, 2021

September 18, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 11, 2021

The 20th anniversary of 9/11: no end in sight

Wednesday September 12, 2001

A new and deadly era began when the planes sliced into the twin towers on the morning of 11 September 2001. That evening, the historian Tony Judt wrote that he had seen the 21st century begin. The nearly 3,000 lives stolen by al-Qaida were only a small part of the toll. The horror began a chain of events that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, including huge numbers of civilians abroad and many US military personnel. It is still unfolding.

If the killing of the plot’s mastermind Osama bin Laden a few months before the 10th anniversary perhaps let some hope that an end to that new era might be in sight, there can be no such false confidence at the 20th. The establishment of a Taliban government in Kabul, two decades after the US ousted the militants for harbouring Bin Laden, has underscored two things: that far from reasserting its global supremacy, the US looks more vulnerable today; and that the echoes of 9/11 are still reverberating across the region – but will not stay there.

September 11, 2006

Al-Qaida itself survives and others claim its mantle. In the west, the threat from Islamist terrorism endures – from 7/7 and the Madrid train bombings, to the attacks at Manchester Arena, the Berlin Christmas market and Vienna – though the nature of the threat has shifted, from a heavily financed, complex and internationally organised plot to more localised, less sophisticated attacks. This week, 20 men went on trial over the 2015 massacre at the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris. Ken McCallum, MI5’s chief, said on Friday that the agency had prevented six “late stage” terrorist plots during the pandemic, and that with the Taliban’s triumph, “more risk progressively may flow our way”.

The determination to pursue a military solution fed the political problems, as history should have warned. (A Rand Corporation study of 248 terrorist groups worldwide suggested that only 7% were ended by military force.)

September 11, 2011

In Afghanistan, the refusal to accept a Taliban surrender paved the way for America’s longest war and ultimate acceptance of defeat. Islamic State arose from the ashes of the invasion of Iraq. Extraordinary renditions, torture, the atrocities of Abu Ghraib and the unwillingness to acknowledge or atone for civilian deaths at the hands of US forces or their allies all stoked the fire. These abuses and crimes were not anomalies but intrinsic to the war on terror. Men swept up in the aftermath are still held at Guantánamo Bay.

Around the world, basic rights were erased at home too. The US saw a massive expansion of presidential power; the veneration of secrecy; the destruction of norms; the normalisation of Islamophobia; the promotion of a narrative linking immigration and terrorism, breeding broader intolerance; and the encouragement of the belief that ordinary citizens were in a state of war. It is not hard to draw the line to the rise of Donald Trump and white supremacy, or rightwing populism elsewhere. In the US, far-right terror groups were behind most attacks last year; in the UK, police have said that the fastest growing terror threat is from the far right. The biggest perils to the US now appear not external but internal. The future of a divided and distrustful country looks increasingly precarious, its status in the world weakened.

August 18, 2021

Whatever many in the country once believed, American citizens cannot be isolated from the dangers of the outside world; trouble is not “always someplace else”. On 9/11, the country transitioned from a dream of unending tranquility at home to a nightmare of forever war. With the return of soldiers from Afghanistan, the US is more distanced from the enemy. But the conflict continues by other means, and without boots on the ground, drone strikes are more likely than ever to claim the lives of civilians as well as terrorist suspects. The US, and the west, cannot be safe at home while insecurity reigns abroad. (The Guardian)

Friday February 5, 2021

February 12, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 5, 2021

Proud Boys: Canada labels far-right group a terrorist entity

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the decision was influenced by the group’s “pivotal role” in the 6 January riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC.

The designation allows the Proud Boys’ assets to be frozen, and members of the groups could be charged with terrorist offences if they commit violent acts.

The group is all-male and anti-immigrant, and has a history of violent political confrontations.

It was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Canadian co-founder of Vice Media. Vice has since worked to distance itself from Mr McInnes and the Proud Boys.

The Proud Boys’ platform includes ideas espoused by former US President Donald Trump, libertarianism and traditional gender roles.

The group was mentioned by Mr Trump during the first US presidential debate last October.

July 11, 2019

Responding to a question about white supremacist and militia groups, he said, “Proud Boys – stand back and stand by”, which members of the group online took as a call to prepare for action. Mr Trump later distanced himself from them.

The announcement in Canada comes one week after the US Department of Homeland Security warned of a “heightened threat” of domestic terrorism from violent extremists unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election.

And just hours after the announcement, the US Justice Department announced it had arrested and charged a top member of the group’s Seattle chapter. Ethan Nordean, 30, who is also known as Rufio Panman, is at least the eighth group member to be charged in connection with the Capitol riots.

In Canada on Wednesday, Mr Blair described a “growing threat of ideologically motivated violent extremism”. He did not specify how many Proud Boy chapters are currently in Canada.

The Canadian Proud Boy groups had previously been thought of as disparate and disorganised, but the new designation suggests their perceived threat has been elevated.

The decision was made based on “a trove of new information”, Mr Blair said. “Over the past several months, basically since 2018, we have seen an escalation towards violence for this group [the Proud Boys].”

The escalation has continued since the US presidential election, he added. (BBC)

Friday December 18, 2020

December 24, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 18, 2020

Hold Iran accountable for Flight PS752

As this terrible year of COVID-19 lurches to a close, Canadians should remember another, entirely separate tragedy that started it off.

January 9, 2020

One hundred and seventy-six innocent people — most of them either Canadians or travelling to Canada — were slaughtered by the Iranian military on Jan. 8 when it blasted the civilian plane in which they were travelling out of the skies.

There has been no justice for the dead in the 12 months that have passed since then. There has been no justice for the families and friends they left behind. As for the duplicitous, obstructive Iranian regime that was behind this atrocity, it has refused to admit it is responsible or can be held accountable.

At the very least, the report by former federal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale that was filed with the Canadian government this week should remind everyone in this country of the crime that was committed against so many Canadians and people with ties to Canada. Goodale’s findings should convince us, too, that Canada must push relentlessly for justice.

January 10, 2020

When Iranian missiles downed Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in the second week of January, the entire region was on high alert. Just four hours earlier, Iran had fired missiles at American military positions in Iraq in retaliation for the Jan. 4 American air strike that had killed a senior Iranian general.

In the midst of this ongoing conflict, Flight PS752 should never have been cleared for takeoff from the airport in Iran’s capital city of Tehran. But it was, and three minutes later, it was destroyed by two Iranian missiles. Every one of the 176 people aboard that plane died, and of those victims, 55 were Canadian citizens, 30 were permanent residents of Canada and 53 were not Canadians but travelling to this country, many as students.

January 15, 2020

For three days after the downing of Flight PS752, Iran’s authoritarian leaders denied Iran’s involvement in the disaster, suggesting mechanical failure was to blame. Then, when emerging evidence exposed the falsehood of their denials, they admitted their missiles had destroyed the plane but attributed it to a “human error” committed by a single, Iranian mobile air defence operator. After that, it took the Iranians six months to turn over the downed jet’s flight recorders for outside examination.

If Goodale’s report does nothing else, it proves Iran’s leaders lied, withheld vital evidence and attempted a crass, cruel coverup. Instead of human error, Goodale uncovered “indications of incompetence, recklessness and wanton disregard for innocent human life” on the part of the Iranians.

January 8, 2020

Out of all the troubling questions that still demand answers, the Iranian government must explain why it left open its airspace for civilian flights, such as PS752, even after it had begun its missile barrage. That decision strongly suggests an attempt to conceal Iran’s aerial assault from the Americans — even if it meant using the passengers of PS752 as sacrificial lambs.

It won’t be easy to force Iran’s rulers to accept accountability for what they did. Canada must keep trying. To maintain its pressure, the federal government should, as Conservative MP Michael Chong is urging, impose sanctions on Iranian leaders and list the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

In addition, aware that Iran’s own investigation of the disaster — and itself — is a sham, Canada should persuade the international community to require independent reviews of all future tragedies that involve military strikes on civilian aircraft.

As for the rest of us, the best we can do is remember the dead of PS752 and keep calling for justice. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)

Thursday April 26, 2018

April 26, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 26, 2018

‘Raw hatred’: why the ‘incel’ movement targets and terrorises women

October 22, 2014

When a van was driven on to a Toronto pavement on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring 15, police chief Mark Saunders said that, while the incident appeared to be a deliberate act, there was no evidence of terrorism. The public safety minister Ralph Goodale backed this up, deeming the event “not part of an organised terror plot”. Canada has rules about these things: to count as terrorism, the attacker must have a political, religious or social motivation, something beyond “wanting to terrorise”.

Why have the authorities been so fast to reject the idea of terrorism (taking as read that this may change; the tragedy is very fresh)? Shortly before the attack, a post appeared on the suspect’s Facebook profile, hailing the commencement of the “Incel Rebellion”, including the line “Private (Recruit) … Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please. C23249161.” (“4chan is the main organising platform for the ‘alt-right’,” explains Mike Wendling, the author of Alt-Right: from 4Chan to the White House.)

June 6, 2006

There is a reluctance to ascribe to the “incel” movement anything so lofty as an “ideology” or credit it with any developed, connected thinking, partly because it is so bizarre in conception.

Standing for “involuntarily celibate”, the term was originally invented 20 years ago by a woman known only as Alana, who coined the term as a name for an online support forum for singles, basically a lonely hearts club. “It feels like being the scientist who figured out nuclear fission and then discovers it’s being used as a weapon for war,” she says, describing the feeling of watching it mutate into a Reddit muster point for violent misogyny.

Who are the ‘incels’ and how do they relate to Toronto van attack?

It is part of the “manosphere”, but is distinguished from men’s rights activism by what Wendling – who is also the editor of BBC Trending, the broadcaster’s social media investigation unit – calls its “raw hatred. It is vile. It is just incredibly unhinged and separate from reality and completely raw.” It has some crossover with white supremacism, in the sense that its adherents hang out in the same online spaces and share some of the same terminology, but it is quite distinctive in its hate figures: Stacys (attractive women); Chads (attractive men); and Normies (people who aren’t incels, ie can find partners but aren’t necessarily attractive). Basically, incels cannot get laid and they violently loathe anyone who can. (Continued: Guardian)