Monthly Archives: October 2021

The Capture of the Islamic State “Finance Minister” and the Impact of Leadership Losses

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 22 October 2021

This article was originally published at European Eye on Radicalization

Sami Jassim al-Jaburi (Haji Hamid) | IMAGE SOURCE

Mustafa al-Khadhemi, the Iraqi Prime Minister, announced on the morning of 11 October that the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) had arrested Sami Jassim al-Jaburi (Haji Hamid), the effective finance emir of the Islamic State (ISIS), in “a complex external operation”. Continue reading

Hysteria and the Iranian Revolution

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 12 October 2021

Iranian protesters burn an effigy of the Shah outside the American Embassy, 1979 [source]

There were immense political forces at work in the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79, and they have been covered in some depth on this blog before. In this brief piece, I want to look at the social aspect, specifically the social contagion aspect. People who were in Iran during the Islamic Revolution or who have studied it deeply in retrospect describe the country going “temporarily insane”,[1] and tend to use terms like “febrile” and “hysterical” when describing the atmosphere, especially by the summer of 1978, since, as everyone seems to acknowledge, the revolutionary fervour fed on itself the longer it was allowed to continue. Continue reading

A Case of Red Terror in Spain: The Cárcel Modelo Massacre

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 8 October 2021

Cárcel Modelo, 1937 || MINISTERIO DE CULTURA. ESPAÑA

A fire was started at the Cárcel Modelo (Model Jail) in Madrid on 22 August 1936 by “common” criminals displeased with the pace of releases promised by the Republican government. The Republicans convinced themselves that the Carcel Modelo fire was a “fascist” uprising, brought about by conspiracy with General Franco’s forces outside the prison walls, who had initiated their rebellion a month earlier. The fire was used as a pretext by the Republicans to carry out a massacre of prisoners that lasted into the early hours of 23 August, in scenes reminiscent of the French Revolution’s September Massacres in 1792 that signalled the onset of the Terror. There were Rightist among the victims and some military men; there were also many liberals and non-Soviet Leftists. Continue reading

India’s Options in Afghanistan

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 6 October 2021

Army Jawans hold the National Flag near the snow-covered border on the 71st Republic Day (ANI Photo)

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman arrived in India today for a three-day visit. Afghanistan will be high on the agenda. Continue reading

Tajikistan and the Afghan Resistance

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 1 October 2021

Since the takeover of Afghanistan by a coalition of jihadists controlled by Pakistan, the one neighbouring state to vocally object is Tajikistan, which has extended support to the remaining anti-Taliban resistance. This is a reprise of Tajikistan’s role in the 1990s, when it provided a rear base to the United Islamic Front (UIF) or “Northern Alliance”, and was the gateway for the states supporting the UIF, notably Pakistan’s great rival India. Continue reading