Daily Times

Talisman governance. It is the business model used by the political leadership of many nations. This talisman, the use of a powerful military to cordon the civilian population, the magical powers of wealth and cronyism, is in a weakened state. The charm no longer works. There is smoke coming out of the keyhole. Do you smell it? I picked up the scent in 2005.

The Daily Times editorial board have possession of a batch of images, which I have come across on the web in recent weeks. They were taken in Iraq. The protest gatherings are named by locale. Not unpredictably, one is simply labelled ‘Chinese hand’. What caused me to pull out the archived research was a message released from the area surrounding Qaryat ‘Adnan al-Bawi. It is the words of a cleric. I quote in part, based on available translation: “The lethal weapon in this day and age is the demonstrations and the mass to come…Demonstrations are rulings, which indulge my decisions…”

Massive mountains of humanity as a lethal weapon? Men of jurisprudential tradition using innocent civilians as cannon fodder? Why not? It distorts modern rules of warfare.

The words given by a cleric mirror a distinct political reflection. There is a rising global consciousness of what it means to be a Muslim. The movement is chaotic. It is difficult to track the political tethers. But this consciousness and identity is moving forward in rapid manner. Ancient manuscripts and writings, codices, which were the domain of universities and their scholars, are finding their way to the web. A vast literary treasure from the Qur’anic Sciences are being translated and disseminated. The history of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is within the envelope of warning and battle cry. It is suitable for geopolitical purposes.

For the uninitiated, there is plenty of room for misapprehended reality. And for the devious, this is an era for manipulation of the masses.

The history of a people, the caudex of a human tree, and decades of governmental corruption are emerging from the shadows. The clerical voice is rising. Some voices are moderated by the reasoned. But there are clerics who build a dossier and advance their agenda by other means. They are the priggish acolytes of terror networks. DTOs (drug trafficking organisations) are a source of funding. The masses they assemble to the sound of freedom are skewed atop an altar of sacrifice.

A nightmarish ‘creative commons’ exists. It is populated by al Qaeda and other like-minded entities. This criminally-inclined demographic includes drug cartels and common half-wits. It is populated by foreign-agency agit-prop cells that are ruthless in their unilateral task: creating unrest. The cleric class is part of this mix. Those who would advise the king (religio-intuitive class) have been in business with the sceptre class for centuries. The cleric has an intuitive grasp of the fault lines of society. It is his job to monitor the quakes.

There are jurisprudential statesmen who manage their affairs well. They occupy rank within a strong chain of command structures. They move forward by means of consultation and consensus. The management skills are good. I am worried about ‘the other guys’, those who leave bloody trails of manipulated flesh.

Generationally corrupt political rule, which neglects the basic needs of civilians, is being challenged. The challenge is coming from religio-terror alliances that use the common man for political leverage. I am observing the clerical fiat, which has evolutionary geopolitical movement toward diktat within the unstable corridors of your Carbon Winter nations.

What are we to do when innocent people are manipulated to function as a lethal weapon of anarchy? The psychology of the herd is easy to trigger. The cleric corrals his audience. When he opens the gate and yells, “Stampede!” there is hell to pay. Yes, this is power. This is heady resistance. And it is unmitigated disaster.

The clerics light the fuse with their incendiary messages. The terror organisations provide the gunpowder. Drug trafficking organisations are a source of funding. The miserable masses assemble for acts of solidarity. The unique capability of the cleric to manage the stage is best expressed from the Arabic root, L F F. The word lafifi means to wrap, to bring together. It is the word used in the Qur’an 17:104. Today, it is judgment by the people. Humans as a lethal weapon.

A fire of anti-west sentiment is raging across the African continent. Toss a few more pieces of wood onto the fire from nations elsewhere. The wood Pakistan contributes is also plentiful. There is smoke coming out of the keyhole. Do you smell it?

Team America blunders along in a senseless manner. Analysts light their small scented candles. The Pentagonians scamper about. The COIN doctrine is flawed. It is the imprimis document of a western mind. So you are on your own and accountable for your governance.

Nanny governance by our 20th century State Department model does not work. There is a wall of fire moving across your nations. There is a raging sentiment due to decades of a lack of good governance. The defence of posture that the west is 100 percent responsible for your societal ills no longer washes with the masses. You have trained them to hate us. This training by ideological pollutant now seeks a new target.

Truth is not historical freight. It is God’s thoughts embedded within eternity’s vault, graciously released for human consideration. Truth requires confession. You have created most of this cluster. The mass are rising up. L F F.

The intaglio of an iron tool on lead is crafting a new product. It is not the master engraving technique required for gems nor the adornment of governance. Clerics who lead the march and then fall back to enjoy the chaos? Lock them in a library and force them to take courses in logic. Clerics who bed down with terror organisations and then wish to join the ranks of those who craft healthy policy? Drown them with their fellow sewage rats.

There is smoke coming out of the keyhole. Worry about the fire.

The writer is a freelance journalist and author of the novel Arsenal. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com