They ruled in the Western style through institutions and bureaucracies, and when those institutions-the military and the internal security services-refused to shoot people in the streets, had no choice but to meekly resign and quickly go into…exile.” Funny, I don’t remember Mubarak’s fall being quite so speedy. What, then, drives leaders? “They have been fighting for something far more age-old, basic, and less susceptible to compromise: territory and honor.” One need not bother pointing out Kaplan’s “the-barbarians-are-at-the-gates” racism to appreciate the fact that his driving thesis-that “their world is not one of institutions and bureaucracies of dominating scraps of ground through dependence on relatives and tribal and regional alliances”-is already coming apart at the seams.įirst off, according to Kaplan’s frame, “in such a world, figures like…Hosni Mubarak, are without virtue. It’s not clear that anyone is assuming any such thing, but the basic point is fair enough. The fact that they have already gone on as long as they have is an indication that there is a basic truth that those in the West fail to grasp about the individuals involved… reasoning assumes that what divides these strongmen from their adversaries are issues as benign and susceptible to compromise as, say, Medicare and tax rates. “By any rational standard,” Kaplan opens, “it would seem that the fighting and power struggles in the Ivory Coast, Libya, and Yemen should have been over weeks ago.” Really? What rational standard is that? And what precedent do we have to base it upon? Kaplan doesn’t bother with these sorts of considerations, but steams ahead to the observation that
Things get off to a rotten start, and quickly. After all, the notion of warrior politics, and attendant claims of ancient hatreds and the like, have been scoffed at and dismissed as being racist, unhelpful, and politically dangerous since at least the end of the Cold War. You might think that the book’s poor critical reception would make Kaplan think twice before resurrecting the “warrior” leitmotif in attempting to explore the Yemen, Libya and Cote d’Ivoire crises. Indeed, its only notable feature was the famous conclusion that “The short, limited wars and rescue operations with which we shall be engaged will…feature warriors on one side, motivated by grievance and rapine, and an aristocracy of statesmen, military officers, and technocrats on the other, motivated, one hopes, by ancient virtue,” a statement that stands out for being both nonsensical and patently wrong no matter how you slice it. The concept of warrior politics is familiar ground for Kaplan, who devoted an entire, and entirely absurd, book to the subject. The reason, Kaplan argues, that Laurent Gbagbo, Muammar al-Qaddafi and Ali Abdullah Saleh just can’t bring themselves to leave political office is because…they’re “tribal warriors”! Posing a reasonably interesting question-“Why is it so hard for strongmen to say goodbye?”-Kaplan offers an answer that is as intellectually flimsy as it is poorly presented. A seasoned and sometimes shrewd observer of international affairs, Kaplan’s chief failing has always been his unwillingness to analytically retreat when he’s out of his depth-a weakness that often leaves readers stranded between mind-numbing banality and outright erroneousness.Ĭase in point: Kaplan’s new essay at Foreign Policy.
#ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT GAME MEME CATEGORY PLUS#
Plus strategy games, card games, and classic board games like dominoes, mahjong, chess, or a backgammon set.
There are four card categories- Trivia, Dating, Memes, and Who Wore It?- that get shuffled before gameplay begins.
#ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT GAME MEME CATEGORY TV#
This party game is recommended for 2-4 players, ages 12 and up. THE GOLDEN GIRLS TRIVIA PARTY CARD GAME: Get ready for some nostalgia as you test your knowledge of the beloved TV show, The Golden Girls, with the Any Way You Slice It game.
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