Skip to main content

"I’m sitting on the side that’s launching bombs’: author Omar El Akkad on the hypocrisy of the west." Interview of Omer El Akkad by Noa Yachot. TheGuardian.

 


Here’s a detailed breakdown of Omar El Akkad’s views from his Guardian interview, where he critiques the hypocrisy of the West, particularly in the context of the Gaza war, the U.S. role in global conflicts, and the moral failures of Western liberalism.

1. Disillusionment with the "Free World"

  • Early Idealization of the West:
    • As a child growing up in Egypt and Qatar, El Akkad admired Western freedoms—such as access to uncensored books and music.
    • Moving to Canada and later the U.S., he saw the West as a land of opportunity and values.
  • Cracks in the Illusion:
    • Despite covering major conflicts (Afghanistan, Guantánamo, the Arab uprisings), he still believed in America’s moral foundation.
    • The Gaza war shattered this belief, making him feel personally complicit in Western-supported atrocities.

2. The Gaza War as the Breaking Point

  • "Sitting on the launching side of the bombs":
    • El Akkad recognizes that his taxpayer money funds Israel’s war in Gaza, making him complicit.
    • Unlike past conflicts he covered, the real-time nature of the Gaza war made it impossible to look away.
  • Three Reasons for His Crisis of Faith:
    1. Immediacy: The war unfolded live on social media, with images of children who were later confirmed dead.
    2. Scale: The magnitude of destruction was beyond what he had seen before.
    3. Cowardice (His Own): He admits he ignored warning signs and justified past U.S. actions as anomalies, but Gaza made that impossible.

3. Hypocrisy of Western Liberalism

  • Moral Bankruptcy of Western Political Leaders:
    • The war in Gaza revealed that Western liberalism is hollow, prioritizing comfort over true moral action.
    • He criticizes leaders who preach human rights while funding wars and ignoring mass suffering.
  • Democrats’ Performative Politics:
    • The Democratic Party talks about existential threats (Trump, climate change) but does little to meaningfully address them.
    • Biden’s administration postures as progressive while actively supporting war and oppression.
  • Contrast with Trump and the Right:
    • While Trump is extreme, his actions align more closely with his rhetoric.
    • The Democratic Party, however, widens the gap between its "performance" and "reality."

4. The U.S. War on Terror and Its Parallels to Gaza

  • Previous Reporting on U.S. Wars:
    • He covered Afghanistan, Guantánamo, and the post-9/11 era but still believed in America’s "core goodness."
    • Thought U.S. actions were deviations from a fundamentally sound system.
  • Why Gaza is Different:
    • Unlike the "War on Terror," Gaza’s destruction is ongoing and visible in real time.
    • The global response—either silent, complicit, or justifying violence—makes it impossible to believe in Western moral leadership.

5. The Collapse of the American System

  • Trump is Not the Biggest Threat:
    • El Akkad sees the real problem as systemic: America is built on "endless taking"—of land, resources, and lives.
    • Trump is merely a symptom of a deeper issue; his extremism was once fringe but is now mainstream.
  • The System is Breaking Under Its Own Myths:
    • The U.S. political structure can no longer sustain its contradictions.
    • Both major parties are failing: one (Republicans) embraces extremism, while the other (Democrats) offers weak resistance.

6. The Role of Complacent Liberals

  • The Silent Majority’s Responsibility:
    • Many liberals sympathize with Palestinian suffering but refuse to act.
    • Fear of backlash or loss of privilege stops them from speaking out.
  • Western Institutions Are Failing:
    • Academia, media, and political structures have proven to be complicit in oppression.
    • The West claims to champion democracy and human rights but applies those values selectively.

7. Hope in Grassroots Resistance

  • Despite Everything, There is Hope:
    • His book is not just an indictment but a recognition of individual courage.
    • Examples of resistance:
      • Doctors risking their lives to save people in Gaza.
      • Dock workers refusing to load weapons onto ships.
      • University students rejecting privilege to protest injustice.
  • The Future of Change Lies in the People:
    • Institutional reform may be hopeless, but grassroots movements offer real opposition.
    • He sees ordinary people taking meaningful action, which gives him hope.

8. Final Takeaways

  • The Gaza war exposed the deep hypocrisy of Western liberalism and permanently severed El Akkad’s belief in the moral superiority of the West.
  • The U.S. government, particularly under Democratic leadership, engages in performative politics—preaching justice while funding war.
  • The American system is collapsing, not because of Trump alone, but because of its insatiable nature and reliance on violence.
  • While institutions fail, individual acts of resistance prove that people can still fight for justice.
  • The future depends on whether liberals will move beyond passive sympathy and take real action.

Conclusion

El Akkad’s latest work is not just a critique of America’s hypocrisy but a call for moral clarity. He argues that people must either accept their complicity in systemic violence or take a stand—because the West’s moral posturing is no longer sustainable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Price Tag Attackers: Extremist Settler Violence in the West Bank.

  Year-by-year breakdown of documented " Price Tag" attacks in the West Bank and Israel , based on reports from UN OCHA , B’Tselem , Yesh Din , and Israeli media (Haaretz, Times of Israel). Introduction to "Price Tag" Attackers  "Price Tag" attackers are extremist Israeli settlers , primarily affiliated with radical right-wing groups, who carry out violent acts agains Palestinians, Israeli security forces, and left-wing activists  in retaliation for perceived threats to Jewish settlements in the West Bank . The term refers to the " price " they seek to impose for actions like outpost demolitions or Palestinian attacks on Israelis.   - Vandalism, arson, or violence by extremist settlers against Palestinians, Israeli security forces, or left-wing activists.      - Often involves graffiti (e.g., "Price Tag," "Revenge," or "Arabs Out").     - Retaliation for Palestinian attacks, outpost demolitions, or Israeli gover...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Politicization of Antisemitism: Randy Fine, AIPAC, and the Fight Over Anti-Israel Speech

  Randy Fine.  Brief introduction of Randy Fine.  Randy Fine is a U.S. Representative-Elect for Florida's 6th Congressional District and a former Florida State Senator . Born on April 20, 1974, in Tucson , Arizona , Fine holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Business School . He began his political career in 2016 as a member of the Florida House of Representatives and later served in the Florida Senate. Fine is known for his strong pro-Israel stance, earning him the nickname " Hebrew Hammer, " and his socially conservative views . He has been involved in contentious legislation and has faced both support and criticism for his policies and rhetoric. Detailed overview of Randy Fine 's stance and legislative efforts related to criminalizing the distribution of anti-Israel flyers, along with broader context about his political agenda and controversies : --- 1. Randy Fine’s Legislative Efforts Against Anti-Israel Flyers - Florida’s Hate Crime Law (2023): ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Media Sold the War. We Watched It Happen.

What Adam H. Johnson’s How to Sell a Genocide reveals—and what the question of digital witnessing forces us to confront There is a disturbing question at the heart of the Gaza catastrophe that cannot be answered simply by asking what governments did, what armies did, or even what the media reported. There is another question: What did the world do while watching? Adam H. Johnson’s How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza, published by Pluto Press, approaches Gaza through the machinery of mainstream American media. His investigation examines how some of the most influential institutions in the Western information system—including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC—framed the destruction of Gaza. It is an important question because wars are not fought only with weapons. They are also fought through language. Before bombs become statistics, they become headlines. Before civilian deaths become numbers, they become narratives. Before dest...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Price of Their Silence: How Islamophobia Became an Industry—and Muslims Its Global Collateral

  🖋️ By Malik Mukhtar 📍 ainnbeen.blogspot.com | 🗓️ June 28, 2025 They bombed Iraq for democracy. Tortured Afghans in the name of security. Waterboarded bodies at Guantanamo and called it “enhanced interrogation.” And now in Gaza—they bury children under rubble and whisper, self-defense . This isn’t a war on terror. It’s a war on memory, on names, on brown bodies that pray in Arabic. And Islamophobia has been its golden engine—powerful, profitable, and protected. 🧠 Islamophobia: Not Just Prejudice—A $Billions Industry Islamophobia is not just a bias—it’s a well-funded psychological operation . According to the Center for American Progress , over $42 million was channeled (2001–2011) into think tanks and media fronts to craft and normalize anti-Muslim sentiment. This isn’t random—it’s strategic. The goal: keep the public afraid —of Muslims, of mosques, of immigrants, of something called Sharia Law . 📘 Sharia Law: The Manufactured Threat That Never Was Let’s be c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Zionism, Antisemitism — and the Grotesque Death of a Political Theology

  If you ever wanted to witness how confusion, opportunism, theology, nationalism, and bigotry collide in real time — you didn’t need a medieval church council. You only needed to tune into a meeting of the . There, amid political loyalists and pop-culture appointees, a spectacle unfolded: Zionism was denounced, antisemitic conspiracies were flirted with, and centuries-old theological errors were recycled as if they were fresh revelations. But the deeper issue is not one controversial appointee. The deeper issue is this: What precisely is Zionism? And how does it intersect — or collide — with antisemitism? Because in today’s discourse, the two are either falsely merged or lazily separated without thought. Let us disentangle them carefully. 1. What Is Zionism — Precisely? Zionism , in its original and political form, is a 19th-century nationalist movement. It emerged in Europe not from theology, but from crisis. The father of modern political Zionism, , was not respon...
Post a Comment
Read more