Margolis is a nightmare, sticks out in that paper like a sore thumb. Yeah, why don't we have more sympathy for the Taliban, never thought about it, Eric...read what I wrote about gaza at top of www.darrellepp.com
Posted at 2008-01-30 09:03:47 [PermaLink]His book title, "War at the Top of the World", seems rather derivative of Peter Hopkirk's "Trespassers on the Roof of the World" from a few years earlier.
Posted at 2008-01-30 09:08:16 [PermaLink]I've long thought Margolis's reputation, like Gwynne Dwyer's, is built on his ability to throws out incoherent nonsense so brazenly and confidently that folks assume he must be a few years ahead of everyone else. Sort of like the Alvin Toffler of the strategic studies set.
Posted at 2008-01-30 09:27:31 [PermaLink]From the Margolis column:
"Half of Afghanistan's population, the Pashtun tribes (source of Taliban), has been largely excluded from political power. Until included, there will be no stability, never mind democracy."
But isn't Hamid Karzai an ethnic Pashtun? According to Wiki, he won 21 of the 34 provinces in the October 9, 2004 presidential election.
Margolis was interviewed on my local radio station about Benazir Bhutto's struggle for power in Pakistan (pre-assassination). He said they were good friends, referring to her as Benazir, and talking about the advice he had given her.
Self-aggrandizement?
And look at the result ...
Well the Taliban do compare well with our very own damian penny, the imperialist hillbilly from Newfoundland. Karzai the american puppet was lounging in Europe when the Soviets invaded, when Dostum was raping women and children pre-taliban, and when the taliban were massacring the Hazara Shia. Margolis, on the other hand, travelled to Afghanistan through all it's wars, and understands the region better then any Canadian . Penny, who I doubt has ever left the Maritimes, and Collins, whose never left Ottawa maybe should take heed and shut up and listen to a person whose been there, and doesn't bootlick at the feet of politicans.
Posted at 2008-01-30 10:27:19 [PermaLink]I cannot believe they give this clown any airtime at all, much less treat him like a mideast "expert".
I wrote about him here: [External Link] where you can see some more of his gem's on the links provided. My favorite observation of his is his take on why the Taliban banned women/girls from schools:
"Female education was temporarily banned because Communists had infiltrated the nation in the 1970’s through the school system"
Is that priceless or what?
Skal!
I'm still waiting for unassailable Afghanistan expert Margolis' phantom Unocal pipeline to be built. According to the omniscient infallible 'boots-on-the-ground' Margolis, American bases were established right along the path where it was to be constructed.
Like most Margolis prognostication and 'analysis', discoloured as it is by his rabid blind hatred of any and all foreign policy which doesn't involve building a high wall and hunkering down inside ones own borders, I'll be waiting forever for it to come true.
And the Robert Fisk Award for Objectivity in journalism goes to Eric Margolis!
Posted at 2008-01-30 13:09:53 [PermaLink]Most of his columns appear to be little more than boiler-plate anti-American/anti-West diatribe. Very little is new, very little is first hand knowledge. He appears to do little more than self-plagiarize.
He makes a big deal about knowing Bhutto, but apparently, she was quite the party animal who had a large circle of friends, and would talk to anyone who thought could help her. Hardly a close friendship.
He did apparently go into hiding in the 90s after some of his anti-Serb stuff was published. His mother is Albanian, which would explain quite a bit if she is Muslim (which would make him, technically I believe, Muslim).
And just look at where he is on the payroll: Dawn, (Pakistan's leading newspaper), the Gulf Times in Qatar, the Khaleej Times in Dubai...
I'm letting my Sun subscription go because the paper has become total crap. He is part of it...
No, he basically just writes now as a hobby. His financial stake in Jamieson Vitamins keeps he quite wealthy.
Muhammed: I was in Kabul briefly in 1972 and was, from time-to-time, "Our Man in Kabul" from 1975-77.
I was born in Washington D.C., of Canadian parents, and lived there until I was three. Maybe that's a deep cause of something. I have also lived in London England, Moscow, Concord Mass., Kingston ON, Islamabad and Belgrade. Spent the summer of 72 in Beijing, and the summers of 64 and 65 in Cape Town and Pretoria. Have also done a lot of travelling in Europe, Morocco, and Asia.
Your peregrinations?
Mark
Ottawa
My peregrinations (what a pompous word) are being born in Pakistan, living for a decade in S. Arabia, a year in England and a decade here in Toronto. I've traveled to various parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Glavin's buffoonish attempts to discredit Canada's greatest foreign affairs journalist were laughable. He had no sources at all for refuting Margolis' facts. Yes, the Taliban were bad, but they were no more evil then their predecessors, the indiscriminate rapists and murderers of our current friends the Northern Alliance. Even Karzai, the former fundraising architect for the Taliban has said he does not oppose them, but wants to bring them into the political process. It is imperative that we listen to the voices who best understand the region, and in Canada, that journalist is Margolis.
Posted at 2008-01-30 20:52:54 [PermaLink]Wonder what "Canada's greatest foreign affairs journalist" will think of this:
[External Link]
"Canada's greatest foreign affairs journalist"
You mean we got one of those(greatest foreign affairs journalist) and it's Margoolis?
Okey dokey.
Actually, if there is such an award, it should go to Matthew Fisher:
[External Link]
"He is presently the Middle East correspondent for CanWest News and is currently on his 12th trip to Afghanistan. Mr. Fisher previously worked for the Globe and Mail and the Sun Media newspaper group. He has worked abroad for 23 years, traveling to 153 countries and has reported on every Canadian Forces mission overseas since the mid-80s.
He has reported on 14 wars including Chechnya and both Gulf wars and was the only Canadian to be embedded with a combat unit during the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq - a Marine recon outfit that was involved in several major battles. He has returned to the war in Iraq six times since then. "
Ever notice that Margolis' recent bylines include New York City, London and Davos?
When was the last time his "boots on the ground" were in Iraq or Afghanistan? Reminiscing on a tea you had with a warlord 20 years ago doesn't make you an expert.