The graphic novel “Super canon” from Philippe Girard.
With “Super canon— Le marchand d’armes qui visait les étoiles”, writer Philippe Girardoffers us a high quality graphic novel, as much for the scenario as for the drawings and colour choices. For this work, he benefited from an author residency in Liège. He certainly enjoyed his experience in Belgiummuch more than his writer’s residency in Poland, where he had to fend for himself because the hosts hadn’t respected the scheduled introductions and appointments. At the time, he used his misfortune to produce a very interesting graphic novel entitled “Le Starzec — un mois à Cracovie”.
Graphic novel “Le Starzec – Un mois à Cracovie” by Philippe Girard.
“Super Canon” is based on a true story, that of Canadian engineer Gerald Vincent Bull. Of course, it’s impossible to retrace this man’s life step by step, so the author has created a character named Doctor Gerry.
On reading the book, we realize the incredible talent of Gerald Bull, the scientist who revolutionized ballistics. We bear witness to his chequered destiny, tormented as he was between his youthful dreams and his boundless ambitions.
To balance his research budgets and keep his company afloat, he gradually transformed himself into an arms dealer. He offers his service to multiple states, including Canada, the United States, Israel, Iraq, Iran, China. In the process, he becomes the object of constant surveillance by many agencies and accumulates enemies.
A page from the graphic novel “Super Canon” by Philippe Girard.
We’re dealing with a genius who has purposely blocked any critical thinking about his weapons of destruction. He dreams of a powerful cannon to send satellites into space, but the intelligence agencies of other countries hold very different plans for his invention.
He naively believes that he will be able to serve several masters with divergent interests, without this causing him the slightest problem. It borders on childish reasoning, on wilful blindness in the pursuit of the high life.
My only reservation regarding the content concerns the first page of the story. I find an ambiguity about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction (box 5, page 3). This was indeed the initial fear raised by the United States, but repeated follow-ups by UN inspectors had shown that Saddam Husseinhad no such weapons. The invasion of Iraq couldn’t be justified on such a basis. The invasion went ahead anyway, and none of these supposed armaments were found in Iraq. I would have liked the UN’s conclusions to have been mentioned. This would have allowed to establish the book’s scenario on a basis that left no room for doubt.
A page from the graphic novel “Super canon”.
Otherwise, one thing’s for sure: you’ll enjoy this extremely well-crafted graphic novel.
“Patrick Cockburn spotted the emergence of ISIS much earlier than anybody else and wrote about it with a depth of understanding that was in a league of its own.” – Press Gazette Journalist of the Year Judges
The book presents a bigger picture of what is happening in the Middle East than what we are normally allowed to watch in the news. The reader is presented with both sides of several stories and this really helps to get a better understanding of the different conflicts.
Cover of Patrick Cockburn’s book “The Rise of Islamic State”
Of lies and limited accuracy of the news
The author shows how lies are easily fabricated on a battlefield. He also explains the limited accuracy of news reports, such as when a “chosen” reporter is travelling, protected by an army or when reporters use second-hand information (often not verified) to prepare their news reports. It also seems pretty hard for a news channel to refuse to air a story when there are doubts about it, especially when all the competitors are reporting the same news.
I am including quotes (in italic) from the book as they provide excellent summaries. Some are from the author himself, others are from the sources he found to write his book. The author addresses so many subjects that it impossible to cover everything in a small review like the present one. So I’ll be as succinct as possible to present the reader with a broad idea of the book’s content.
Fear
Fear is the main factor behind many irrational political decisions. Fear leads to radical policies, religions and propaganda. It is often related to the fact that a very small group of people leading a country, a state or a region think that they can lose the political power that gives them undue privileges over the rest of their population. The greater the advantages, the greater the fear.
The political “solutions”, most of the time irrational, create tensions or aggravate the existing problems and only help to increase instability.
Saudi Arabia was initially helping ISIS because of fear of Jihadists operating within Saudi Arabia and fear of Shia powers abroad. As for Turkey, it is more afraid of the Kurds than it is of ISIS. So for a long period of time, it kept its border with Syria open: it helped ISIS to maintain a rear base.
The author says: “There is something hysterical and exaggerated about Saudi fear of Shia expansionism, since the Shia are powerful only in the handful of countries where they are in the majority or are a strong minority. Of fifty-seven Muslim countries, just four have a Shia majority” (p.102)
The demonization of religions other than Wahhabism
In the case of Saudi Arabia, the demonization of religions other than Wahhabism and the spreading of hate through social media have created a fertile ground for ISIS to grow.
The author says: “[…] The Saudis need a serious attempt to reform their educational system which currently demonizes Shias, Sufis, Christians, Jews and other sects and religions. They need to stop the preaching of hate from so many satellite stations, and not allow a free ride for their preachers of hate on the social media”.(p.107)
“The “Wahhabization” of mainstream Sunni Islam is one of the most dangerous development of our era” (p.108)
Money helps increase the polarization between Sunni and Shia
ISIS could not have risen without the financial help from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Since ISIS thrives on tensions between Sunni and Shia, anything that increase that tension will benefit this terrorist group: “There is no doubt that well-financed Wahhabi propaganda has contributed to the deepening and increasingly violent struggle between Sunni and Shia” (p.99)
“A crucial feature in the rise of Wahhabism is the financial and political might of Saudi Arabia. Dr Allawi says that if, for example, a pious Muslim wants to found a seminary in Bangladesh, there are not many places he can obtain £20,000 other than from Saudi Arabia. But if the same person wants to oppose Wahhabism, then he will have “to fight with limited resources”” (p. 108)
“This polarization between the two religious groups was only intensified by the hot and cold war between the US and Russia. Proxies were at play here with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies, backed by the US, facing off against Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, supported by Russia”(p.71)
Back cover of Patrick Cockburn’s book: “The Rise of Islamic State”
Propaganda that made al-Qaeda look stronger and more effective than it actually was, with reference to the 9/11 attacks
There are multiple sections in the book which relate to the September 11th 2001 attacks. Here are some of the author’s observations (in italic). I have also added some personal comments which are clearly identified as such:
The Pearl Harbour moment of the 9/11 attacks
The author says: “The shock of 9/11 provided a Pearl Harbor moment in the US when public revulsion and fear could be manipulated to implement a pre-existing neo-conservative agendaby targeting Saddam Hussein and invading Iraq”(p.100).
Note: the following four paragraphs are my personal comments on the “Pearl Harbor moment”:
A “Pearl Harbor” moment means that in order for the American public to approve an attack in a foreign country, it needed to see something terrible happening in the United States. For example, before the very obvious destruction of war ships at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the American population refused to be engaged in World War 2.
During the 9/11 attacks and later on, the Pentagon’s eighty cameras have not captured anything close to a Boeing hitting the building. You had to believe that it happened the way the news told you since there were no pictures and no videos of a Boeing close to or in pieces on the Pentagon property.
The Medias showed instead, over and over, the World Trade Center Twin Towers crashing to the ground after being hit by one aircraft, even though the buildings were built to resist multiple impacts, through a “mesh” design, a lesson learned after what happened on the Empire State Building years ago. Some people believed that the buildings crumbled due to the high temperature, but most neglected the FEMA’s report that got out later on stating that the temperature never rose above 300 or 400 degrees in the buildings, hundreds of degrees short from what was needed to melt steel.
The free-falling towers of the World Trade Center were the Pearl Harbor moment needed to instill fear and facilitate the implementation of a pre-existing neo-conservative agenda. The American voters would not have approved a war abroad if the buildings had been standing after a single impact. It’s almost like the world should believe that the World Trade Center was built using the poorest American engineering possible, while not learning from lessons of the past. For more info on this specific subject:
In 2001, al-Qaeda was an “ineffectual” organization
Mr Cockburn is one of very few reporters who is not afraid to present al-Qaeda as it really was in 2001, an emerging organization that was far from being able to mastermind and execute complex attacks such as the 9/11 attacks. (This also explains why, soon after the attacks, international news reports presented a video of Ben Laden denying responsibility for the attacks. A video that was not shown ever again. But millions of people saw it before it was censored by the main news channels).
“At the time of 9/11, al-Qaeda was a small, generally ineffectual organization” (p.59). The term “ineffectual” refers to the inability to produce a desired effect.
The implementation of the neo-conservative agenda
This really means that the pre-existing American neo-conservative agenda could not rely on Al-Qaeda’s experience. Instead, one or more experienced organizations were needed for the financing, planning and execution of the 9/11 attacks. Only after the facts could the blame be put on Al Qaeda since it was, after all the media propaganda, very well-known to the American public. An artificial link was then made with Iraq, allowing for an invasion that sixty percent of the American voters approved.
Sixty percent of the US voters were misled
“The name al-Qaeda has always been applied flexibly when identifying an enemy. In 2003 and 2004 in Iraq, as armed Iraqi opposition to the American and British-led occupation mounted, US officials attributed most attacks to Al-Qaeda, though many were carried out by nationalist and Baathist groups. Propaganda like this helped to persuade nearly 60 percent of US voters prior to the Iraq invasion that there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and those responsible for 9/11, despite the absence of any evidence for this. In Iraq itself, indeed throughout the entire Muslim world, these accusations have benefited al-Qaeda by exaggerating its role in the resistance to the US and British occupation” (p. 53).
The fall of Mosul
ISIS needed only 6000 fighters to win the Battle of Mosul. Yet, they were facing one million Iraqi soldiers. How was that possible? The author sees three reasons:
The cooperation from the Iraqi Sunnis, who were sensing that they would be better off with ISIS than the Shias.
Corruption at all levels in the Iraqi army. “As one former minister put it “the Iraqi government is an institutionalized kleptocracy”. Another politician who does not want to be named says “[…] People pay money to get into the army [so they can get a salary] – but they are investors not soldiers” (p.77)
The fact that the Iraqi army was no longer a national army since the well-trained Iraqi Sunni soldiers were sidelined.
Syria: President Bachar Assad was not as weak as expected
Both the outside world and opposition viewed President Assad as far weaker than he actually was. They both thought that he would be defeated without an organized air campaign.
A major oversight on the war in Syria
“A blind spot for the US and other Western powers has been their failure to see that by supporting the armed uprising in Syria, they would inevitably destabilize Iraq and provoke another round of its sectarian civil war” (p.73)
Five different conflicts within Syria
The Syrian conflict is extremely complicated since there are many different political and religious interests at stake: “The Syrian crisis comprises five different conflicts that cross-infect and exacerbate each other. The war commenced with a genuine popular revolt against a brutal and corrupt dictatorship, but it soon became intertwined between the Sunni against the Alawites, and that fed into the Shia-Sunni conflict in the region as a whole, with a standoff between the US, Saudi Arabia and the Sunni states on the one side, and Iran, Iraq and the Lebanese Shia on the other. In addition to this, there is a revived cold war between Moscow and the West, exacerbated by the conflict in Libya and more recently made even worse by the crisis in the Ukraine” (p.94)
In Syria, it is either Assad or ISIS
ISIS is the strongest opposition force in Syria. If Assad falls, ISIS takes his place: “Syrians have to choose between a violent dictatorship, in which the power is monopolized by the presidency and brutish security services, or an opposition that shoots children in the face for minor blasphemy and sends pictures of decapitated soldiers to the parents of their victims.” (p.81)
The God-given victories
“The appeal of the Islamic State to Sunni Muslims in Syria, Iraq, and across the world comes in part from a sense that its victories are God-given and inevitable, so any failure damages its claim to divine support” (p.159)
The solution to the Syrian conflict will come from outside the country
“Many Syrians now see the outcome of their civil war resting largely with the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. In this, they are probably right”.
Side notes
War is never about “combat” only. There is always an underlying political process going on. So, even if a country seems defeated militarily, enormous political efforts will have to be made in order to create a new stable order.
“Conviction that a toxic government is the root of all evil is the public position of most oppositions, but it is dangerous to trust one’s own propaganda”.
“A government or an army can try to maintain secrecy by banning reporters but they will pay the price as the vacuum of news is filled with information supplied by their enemies”.
In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. This invasion was unanimously condemned, even by countries that are traditionally aligned with Iraq. The United Nations reacted by giving Iraq up to January 15th 1991 to withdraw. But Saddam Hussein’s attitude clearly showed that there would be no withdrawal and that he intended to proceed with Kuwait annexation to the Iraqi territory.
Understanding that military force would obviously be necessary, United States (representing a coalition of 34 countries) started preparing for the conflict. Aircraft movements increased and short range military aircrafts that would have to cross the Atlantic used Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, as a stopover before continuing through Greenland, Iceland, Europe and finally the Middle East.
OV-10 Broncos transiting through Iqaluit in 1990 and heading for the Persian Gulf
Starting summer 1990, the Iqaluit airport then became one of the mandatory stopovers towards Middle East for some military aircrafts. Soon we could see L-382s carrying large size items and some OV-10 Broncos painted with desert colors landing in Iqaluit. Later on during autumn, other specially equipped aircrafts like the U.S.Army RU-21 Guardrail Common Sensor also made stopovers in Iqaluit.
RU-21 Guardrail Common Sensor on a stopover in Iqaluit in 1990 and heading for the Persian Gulf
A Southern Air Transport L-382 also landed in Iqaluit. That company was sometimes used by the CIA for its operations.
Southern Air Transport L-382 N908SJ transiting through Iqaluit in 1990
As soon as a flight service specialist (FSS) was not busy with radio communications, he would head toward the briefing counter to receive the military pilots who had come to obtain the mandatory weather and flight planning information that would be used to safely cross the Atlantic.
HF frequencies used for international communications at the local Transport Canada flight service station were really busy. On top of the regular air traffic services normally associated with commercial aircrafts crossing the Atlantic, we were now dealing with the radio communications associated with numerous military cargo aircrafts like the C-5s Galaxy and others.
In the two weeks preceding the United Nations ultimatum, between January 1st and 15th 1991, the Iqaluit flight service station recorded a 266 % increase against the same period in 1990 in oceanic traffic transiting through its airport. Flights were mostly related with private or chartered business jets linked to international banks, petroleum companies and military organizations preparing for the events to come. We received, among others, aircraft types like the G1, G2, G3, G4, HS25, DA50, DA90, CL60, C550, LR25 and B-727.
Occidental Petroleum B-727 N10XY on a stopover in Iqaluit in 1990
One night of January 1991, while we were at work, one member of the staff took-off his headphones and calmly told me: “Son, the war has started”.
I will remember that special period since we did not receive a military training but, nonetheless, we witnessed and dealt with the preparation and aircraft movements associated with a major military conflict.
Moreover, for a short period, the Iqaluit airport reverted to the use it had initially been planned and built for in 1942, during the Second World War, which was a base created for short-range military aircrafts heading to Europe.
Islamic State, Daesh and ISIS: three names that represent the same terrorist group
In order to avoid any confusion, the author, Alexandre Adler, immediately makes clear that three names represent the same group: Islamic State, Daesh and ISIS. He explains what the ultimate goal of ISIS is: to establish a Caliphate on the Levant, a territory that spreads from Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf and that includes Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine.
The concept of “caliphate” and the reasons behind the desire to re-establish it are explained clearly.
Changes in the balance of power between Sunnis and Shiites
ISIS uses decomposing zones to settle. The group feeds on very high tensions created by increased inequality between two groups: Sunnis and Shiites. The Sunnis, a more conservative religious group, has lost a lot of influence following Saddam Hussein’s death. Today, there is an effort to ensure that the leaders in charge of Iraq take into consideration the interests of both groups.
Radical movements look for dissatisfied people
Sunnis are aware of the increasing strength of the Shiite axis: Beirut, Damascus, under Bachar Assad, Bagdad under Maniki, and Iran, who is inhabited by a vast majority of Shiites. Acting on the new imbalance of powers, ISIS has managed to recruit military officers as well as dissatisfied Sunnis and Arab tribe’s chiefs.
The author insists on the fact that radical movements basically dig in the dissatisfied crowd, the left aside individuals. He gives another example of a situation that is almost certain to create dissatisfaction: colonization.
Dividing a territory without taking into account the human factor
Colonization modifies the balance of power within a population. The author being French, he writes about the way France intervened in Sahara, dividing the territory without taking into account the human factor. As new boundaries were being drawn, the Touareg tribe was suddenly divided in three. This tribe refusing to obey to a new authority, in this case the Malian government, tensions built up and increased with time, since no acceptable compromise could be found.
From Libya, dictator Gaddafi understood that he could take advantage of the situation. He started supporting the Touareg resistance movement. After Gaddafi was killed, the Touareg looked for support by getting closer to jihadists. Progressively, a historically autonomous tribe became a friendly land for jihadists.
Between Al Qaeda and ISIS, Boko Haram chooses ISIS
The author explains that in Nigeria, Boko Haram was born of internal tensions between the north side of the country, which holds the political power, and the south where the population benefits from revenues generated by vast petroleum resources. In 2014, Boko Haram chose to fight along ISIS. Why? ISIS, contrary to Al Qaeda, wants a total war against the Shiites. Boko Haram picked the most radical movement.
Appearance and disappearance of the caliphal power
The caliphal power establishes a theological and political continuity of the State created in 622 by the Prophet in Medina. The author explains the reasons for the multiple appearances and disappearances of that caliphal power since the year 622. The last change was brought in 1923, when Mustapha Kemal abolished the caliphate.
Which religious group represents the real Islam?
Tensions exist between Sunnis and Shiites about the caliphate and the group which really represents the real Islam. This division dates from centuries ago. Shiites consider that Ali, the fourth successor of the Prophet, was victim of a plot at a time when he was attempting to achieve a moral and state straightening of Islam. Shiites consider that they are the real Islam beholders. They have been defending that point of view for centuries, even through Sunnis persecutions against them.
Shiites are against an early reestablishment of the caliphate
The author explains the profound differences of opinion as for the philosophic, theological and political views between both groups. Because of those reasons, Shiites are against an early reestablishment of the caliphate, which leads the most radical Sunnis, and through them ISIS, to lead a total war against them.
The Sunni axis is represented by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, although there is a degree of rivalry between those two countries.
Saudi Arabia’s fear
Saudis fear the birth of a powerful Shiite political movement on their territory. They estimate that there would be a risk to lose the control on oil installations, which constitute the base of Saudi Arabia’s economic wealth. The author writes that Saudis are financing “[my translation] all the anti-Shiites movement in the Arab world, including the Sunni jihad in Iraq”.
The return of Iran
The return of Iran, a Shiite power, on the world stage, adds to an already complex equation. The reader is told that there are natural tensions between Persian Iran and the Arab world. But there is something else: Iran, as well as few other countries in the region, is now supporting more moderate policies: “[my translation] Iran is radically changing its orientation and now prepares his return on the world stage as a more open country, pluralist, supporting a Shiite democracy. Although this is not a perfect democracy, the country is now living its perestroika”.
A fight between extremism and moderation
The adoption of more moderate positions is far from pleasing an extremist political group like ISIS. The 2013 americano-iranian agreement on nuclear talks, and the continued progress made in 2015, corresponds to a net increase in terrorist acts committed by ISIS.
Atrocities against humanity set in an historical context
The Medias constantly report on the atrocities perpetrated by ISIS. According to the author, all that media attention gives a false impression on the real strength of Islamic State: ISIS would now be down to committing those terrible acts against humanity due to its relative weakness.
The author links ISIS actions with war crimes and atrocities perpetrated by other regimes throughout decades. He situates those actions at a time that always corresponds to a last attempt to survive before being completely defeated and replaced by modern and moderate political parties.
A little reserve
The only reserve I have on the book concerns the passage where the author repeats, without nuances and like other well-known Medias, that Ben Laden is responsible for the New York 9/11 attacks. This version of facts has always been strongly debated, the disagreements starting within hours after the attack. And, contrary to popular belief, it was not brought forward only by what we call the “conspirationists”. But everyone knows that the more you repeat something, the more it becomes a reality, an undisputable truth. Noam Chomsky and other renowned authors have covered this aspect at length.
Title: Le Califat du sang Author: Alexandre Adler Edition: Grasset&Fasquelle, 2014. ISBN : 978-2-246-85457-9
