How America’s Afghan crusade came home to Orlando

[pauldp]

https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/how-americas-afghan-crusade-came-home-to-orlando-b1b9aba680ad#.kpquhkzh6

A well researched piece by Nafeez Ahmed delving into the complex influences in the Orlando tragedy.

The US-Afghan military industrial complex surrounding Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen’s father stretches from Blackwater to Donald Trump.

There are many threads to this tragic, horrifying story of a gay American son of an Afghan mujahid.
There’s the question of blowback: the deep politics of short-sighted military interventions and the self-defeating profiteering of the military industrial complex. There’s the escalating clash of cultures and the crisis of multiple identities that is becoming evermore fractious as Western wars have brought unresolved chaos to foreign shores, and invited foreign refugees from theatres of war to the homeland. And ultimately, there’s the destructive force of repressed sexuality.

“There is no way he was homosexual, he was not brought up that way. I will not have it. He was not gay.” - Mateen's father

[applegrove]

1. The shooter was born in the USA in the 1980s when Afghanistan was an ally. His parent were refugees

from the war in afghanistan against communism.

[pauldp]

2. I know. I think the article gives a more complete picture

of who the father was and the ideological and sociological
forces influencing the family. i think this story is very complex and nuanced
and many are trying to over simplify it.

[Iggo]

3. He killed 50 people. Did you bring him up that way, Pops?

[Dems to Win]

4. Yes, it's blow-back. I made this point yesterday

The Pulse massacre can be seen as blow-back from the CIA support for the mujahideen (later the Taliban) fundamentalist Muslims in their fight against the USSR in the late 70s-early 80s.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7916294

Thanks for the link

[malaise]

6. He most certainly would not have been welcomed

if he backed the other side.

The entire cocaine cartel from Jamaica were welcomed with open arms - kind of their version of the Iran-Contras criminality. Then when they start committing serious crimes in the US all hell breaks lose.

These right wing goons and their gangs were welcomed as allies during the 'cold war'.

[JI7]

7. the asshole was born and raised in the US as many others have been

They didn't end up killing a bunch of innocent people.

[JI7]

5. the guy was born and raised in the US. there are many

people who grow up in the US with immigrant parents whose views can conflict with the culture in the US .

you deal with it and in the US unlike many other parts of the world you have more freedom to live as you want .