A COMMENT
By Tony Sayegh
Edward Luttwak recently penned a piece in which he outlined seven principles to help extend the life of the American Empire. He based these principles on his study of the longevity of the Byzantine Empire.
Since the end of the Vietnam war, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, national liberation movements in our part of the world have been the target of the attacks of the USraeli Empire and its NATO little helpers. Shouldn’t we also be learning our lessons and formulating our principles of resistance?
Here is my modest contribution of thoughts. I realize that most are not original, but it does not hurt to refresh our memories and to relate to our current and recent experiences.
Principles for Successfully Resisting the Empire:
1) Tie down the Empire in as many locations as possible, simultaneously, to exhaust its resources. As we see, the Empire wants to subdue Iraq to shift its military resources to Afghanistan. This is the time to escalate the resistance in Iraq.
Like the Lilliputians in Gulliver Travels, together we can tie down and exhaust the Imperial giant.
2) Take advantage of the hubris of the Empire. Its arrogance and ignorance are fatal weaknesses and that can be a good weapon in our struggle.
3) Never fight large-scale, pitched battles, with the Empire. This is especially true in open terrain or confined within a besieged city. The Empire is ruthless and has far superior technology. It will not hesitate to destroy a whole city to drive resistance into submission. Examples, of course, are in Fallujah, Southern Lebanon and Beirut’s Dahiya, as well as the massive destruction in Gaza and its siege.
Always operate in small, mobile, undercover guerrilla groups.
4) Never negotiate with the Empire, until it is exhausted and is looking for a way out. Even then, be alert for the many possible traps.
5) Form alliances with other resistance groups within the country and with national liberation movements outside it. In the struggle for national liberation, do not demand or expect 100% agreement with your program from other groups, as long as the resistance to the Empire and occupation is the main shared objective.
6) Take advantage of some powers who might be close to the Empire, but who don’t fully share its Imperial hubris. These powers can be useful when the Empire is exhausted and looking for a way out.
7) Always be vigilant to the Empire’s attempts at subversion and sedition.
In the Old World, with so many ethnicities, religions, cultures, etc co-existing for thousands of years, the Empire is always tempted to divide-and-rule. This tactic can be enormously advantageous to the Empire, as recently illustrated in Iraq.
The role of a successful national liberation movement is to weave all the nationalist elements into one fabric for national liberation. Sedition and subversion attempts should be discovered early and the fires put out before they spread. This requires good, on the ground, intelligence gathering and awareness of the movements of the people. Black operations by the enemy or his agents should be stopped before they produce the damage. The massive car bombs in Iraq we hear about almost daily fit in that category.
One of the secrets for Hizbullah’s success in the South of Lebanon, is that the local population was fully integrated in the resistance and in the intelligence gathering. Enemy agents and local spies were found and caught early.
8) Strengthen the culture of unity and discourage voices that magnify differences whether cultural, ethnic or religious. These are the fissures that the Empire will try to take advantage of. This is a long struggle; therefore start early within the family and instill these values of unity for the next generation, from early childhood. Emphasize what is common with the neighbors and minimize the differences.
By Tony Sayegh
Edward Luttwak recently penned a piece in which he outlined seven principles to help extend the life of the American Empire. He based these principles on his study of the longevity of the Byzantine Empire.
Since the end of the Vietnam war, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, national liberation movements in our part of the world have been the target of the attacks of the USraeli Empire and its NATO little helpers. Shouldn’t we also be learning our lessons and formulating our principles of resistance?
Here is my modest contribution of thoughts. I realize that most are not original, but it does not hurt to refresh our memories and to relate to our current and recent experiences.
Principles for Successfully Resisting the Empire:
1) Tie down the Empire in as many locations as possible, simultaneously, to exhaust its resources. As we see, the Empire wants to subdue Iraq to shift its military resources to Afghanistan. This is the time to escalate the resistance in Iraq.
Like the Lilliputians in Gulliver Travels, together we can tie down and exhaust the Imperial giant.
2) Take advantage of the hubris of the Empire. Its arrogance and ignorance are fatal weaknesses and that can be a good weapon in our struggle.
3) Never fight large-scale, pitched battles, with the Empire. This is especially true in open terrain or confined within a besieged city. The Empire is ruthless and has far superior technology. It will not hesitate to destroy a whole city to drive resistance into submission. Examples, of course, are in Fallujah, Southern Lebanon and Beirut’s Dahiya, as well as the massive destruction in Gaza and its siege.
Always operate in small, mobile, undercover guerrilla groups.
4) Never negotiate with the Empire, until it is exhausted and is looking for a way out. Even then, be alert for the many possible traps.
5) Form alliances with other resistance groups within the country and with national liberation movements outside it. In the struggle for national liberation, do not demand or expect 100% agreement with your program from other groups, as long as the resistance to the Empire and occupation is the main shared objective.
6) Take advantage of some powers who might be close to the Empire, but who don’t fully share its Imperial hubris. These powers can be useful when the Empire is exhausted and looking for a way out.
7) Always be vigilant to the Empire’s attempts at subversion and sedition.
In the Old World, with so many ethnicities, religions, cultures, etc co-existing for thousands of years, the Empire is always tempted to divide-and-rule. This tactic can be enormously advantageous to the Empire, as recently illustrated in Iraq.
The role of a successful national liberation movement is to weave all the nationalist elements into one fabric for national liberation. Sedition and subversion attempts should be discovered early and the fires put out before they spread. This requires good, on the ground, intelligence gathering and awareness of the movements of the people. Black operations by the enemy or his agents should be stopped before they produce the damage. The massive car bombs in Iraq we hear about almost daily fit in that category.
One of the secrets for Hizbullah’s success in the South of Lebanon, is that the local population was fully integrated in the resistance and in the intelligence gathering. Enemy agents and local spies were found and caught early.
8) Strengthen the culture of unity and discourage voices that magnify differences whether cultural, ethnic or religious. These are the fissures that the Empire will try to take advantage of. This is a long struggle; therefore start early within the family and instill these values of unity for the next generation, from early childhood. Emphasize what is common with the neighbors and minimize the differences.
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