Articles

Rarely in the history of humanity has the progressive assault been as preponderant as it is today. During the worst hours of Marxism, the gulags and intellectual terrorism were limited to certain countries or empires, without being able to subjugate the rest of the West. The Soviet empire could only forbid Christian faith, freedom of thought, and cultural heritage in the territories it directly controlled or through interposed vassals. Today, progressive delusion ignites souls in what Leo Strauss would define as a devastating nihilism. It is a plethora of pseudo-intellectuals who seek to deconstruct the human by cleverly questioning all the values that distinguish it. The aim is to transform the human person into an individual stripped of everything that socially and culturally constitutes them. This new man, divested of his bearings, is placed alone before the law, which itself is devoid of any sense of discernment.

What a master of suspense Donald Trump is! In the warm waters of the Gulf as in the frozen lands of Greenland, the American president follows the same pattern: he engineers a stunning event, then scoops up the prize under the stunned gaze of the protagonists. One would be wrong to overlook the histrionic side of the man, who seeks to monopolize attention and to be implored before dispensing his favors. On January 13, he called on Iranian demonstrators to seize control of institutions, assuring them that help was “on the way.” But this promise was nothing more than a damp squib. Three days later, the American president backtracked, seizing upon a hollow pretext: “I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings that were supposed to take place yesterday were canceled by the leaders of Iran. Thank you!”

Iran and the world have been focused since December 28 on the revolt movement triggered in Tehran by Bazaar merchants and thousands of young and old against the rapid deterioration of the socio-economic situation. The demonstrations, which quickly spread to numerous cities and localities, reached an unprecedented scale by January 8, openly defying the Islamic regime, before being violently repressed in blood. A national internet shutdown, which allowed, according to human rights organizations, to mask the repression, was compounded by threats to inflict heavy sanctions on protesters, labeled as "rioters acting on behalf of foreign powers".

Nouri al-Maliki's return to power — or even to a key position within the Iraqi decision-making center — cannot be perceived as a mere political event, nor as the rehabilitation of a figure from the past. Due to what he embodies and the record of his actions, the man has become the symbol of an exhaustive governance model in its own right, associated with a pivotal phase in Iraq's post-2003 history, with its share of failures, divisions, and structural transformations of the state. Therefore, any eventual reappearance of Mr. al-Maliki effectively means the return of a global political orientation — on domestic, regional, and international levels — with all the repercussions this implies.

Rarely in the history of humanity has the progressive assault been as preponderant as it is today. During the worst hours of Marxism, the gulags and intellectual terrorism were limited to certain countries or empires, without being able to subjugate the rest of the West. The Soviet empire could only forbid Christian faith, freedom of thought, and cultural heritage in the territories it directly controlled or through interposed vassals. Today, progressive delusion ignites souls in what Leo Strauss would define as a devastating nihilism. It is a plethora of pseudo-intellectuals who seek to deconstruct the human by cleverly questioning all the values that distinguish it. The aim is to transform the human person into an individual stripped of everything that socially and culturally constitutes them. This new man, divested of his bearings, is placed alone before the law, which itself is devoid of any sense of discernment.

Lebanon today stands at a decisive historical crossroads. It has a rare and golden opportunity to rid itself, once and for all, of its most dangerous foe: Hezbollah—the Iranian-backed military organization that has dominated the country’s internal political life for over forty years. Under the false pretext of safeguarding Lebanon’s security and defending it against Israel, Hezbollah has instead brought havoc, destruction, economic collapse, and misery. Its track record clearly demonstrates total incompetence and impotence: it has failed to defend even a single inch of Lebanese territory or to inflict any serious strategic damage on Israel. Yet, despite its flagrant defeat and discomfiture, the organization continues to refuse compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.