US and Israel's State Terror is Normalised, World Must Wake Up
State terror, once the exclusive domain of authoritarian regimes, has become a normalized feature of democratic states like the US and Israel. As a war correspondent who has spent years documenting atrocities, I can attest that this is a chilling reality. Governments are using coded language to justify oppressive measures, from "security" and "order" to "deterrence", and even exploiting academic freedom and free speech to silence critics.
In Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Chechnya, the West Bank, and Gaza, I have witnessed firsthand the brutal suppression of dissent and opposition. In these regions, masked men would take people away in the dead of night, only to be subjected to torture and interrogation. In modern times, this phenomenon has taken on a new form: ICE tactics, where deportation and detention are used as tools of control.
The situation is dire, with lists being drawn up of "loyalty tests", migrants facing intimidation and arrest, and activists, journalists, and academics being silenced through propaganda and disinformation. This erosion of democratic values and institutions has far-reaching consequences for society as a whole, where fear becomes internalized, and free speech is censored.
The US and Israel are not totalitarian regimes like North Korea or Russia, but their gradual adoption of state terror tactics has created an environment where democratic norms are increasingly being eroded. The United Nations is being sidelined and discredited, while powerful lobbies and special interests are taking over the narrative.
It's time for us to wake up to this reality and demand action. We need to amplify the voices of those who have been silenced, and hold our governments accountable for their actions. This is not a crisis of politics; it's a crisis of humanity.
State terror, once the exclusive domain of authoritarian regimes, has become a normalized feature of democratic states like the US and Israel. As a war correspondent who has spent years documenting atrocities, I can attest that this is a chilling reality. Governments are using coded language to justify oppressive measures, from "security" and "order" to "deterrence", and even exploiting academic freedom and free speech to silence critics.
In Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Chechnya, the West Bank, and Gaza, I have witnessed firsthand the brutal suppression of dissent and opposition. In these regions, masked men would take people away in the dead of night, only to be subjected to torture and interrogation. In modern times, this phenomenon has taken on a new form: ICE tactics, where deportation and detention are used as tools of control.
The situation is dire, with lists being drawn up of "loyalty tests", migrants facing intimidation and arrest, and activists, journalists, and academics being silenced through propaganda and disinformation. This erosion of democratic values and institutions has far-reaching consequences for society as a whole, where fear becomes internalized, and free speech is censored.
The US and Israel are not totalitarian regimes like North Korea or Russia, but their gradual adoption of state terror tactics has created an environment where democratic norms are increasingly being eroded. The United Nations is being sidelined and discredited, while powerful lobbies and special interests are taking over the narrative.
It's time for us to wake up to this reality and demand action. We need to amplify the voices of those who have been silenced, and hold our governments accountable for their actions. This is not a crisis of politics; it's a crisis of humanity.