21st Century Conflicts

The book is both a journalistic and literary report from the many battlefields of the U.S.-led global war on terror. I believe to be one of the few journalists of my generation who has had the privilege of reporting from so many crisis spots over the last ten years. The methodology of my approach in the field is very straightforward: my aim is to talk to as many people as possible while keeping as close to the action as possible – much like a photographer. Since my employers have always left me plenty of leeway, I have also had the privilege of developing my own thorough and comprehensive approach to reporting. For as long as I can remember, I have held the view that a reporter’s duty is not merely to report but also to pass judgment. The book’s basic purpose is to illustrate how the 9/11 attacks and the ensuing war on terror thoroughly modified the geo-strategic map of the world. On account of its unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the West slowly lost its dominant role in the Third World, and China was the first to benefit. The war on terror launched or escalated a number of other wars and conflicts such as Somalia, Darfur, and the DR Congo that were overshadowed or adumbrated by the mass media fickle attention. My intention is to help rectify this by providing a first-hand account. Most often, I am happy to leave the interpretation to my hundreds of interviewed participants – ranging from the Taliban leaders to the leading men of the Iraqi insurgence to Colin Powell and NATO’s SG Anders Fogh Rasmussen. One of the book’s advantages is my direct access to both the victims and the tormentors. In the last ten years, I spoke to dozens of U.S. soldiers, dozens of African boy-soldiers and hundreds of civilians. I have gathered the accounts of the hundreds of normal everyday people that other journalists did not really bother to stop in the street – and I have weaved their accounts into a tale that I believe has some literary merit, as well as a much-needed interpretation of our time. This book aims to be a historical document not only on its main subjects, but also on an approach to journalism that is rapidly vanishing. It is a comprehensive guide to a decade of war crimes and torture; a decade that saw the dire effects of the Western global democratic game. It is also a first-hand depiction of a vengeful war waged by a demented behemoth and the countless repercussions for the entire planet. Synopsis and Table of Contents Foreword Introduction: Reporting on War Chapter 1: Afghanistan/Pakistan (AfPak) – The Old Frontier Chapter 2: Iraq – The Unfinished and Unending War Chapter 3: Democratic Republic of Congo: Carnage and Exploitation Chapter 4: Somalia: Twenty Years of Fragmentation Chapter 5: Sudan: A New African Country