Aimen Dean
@AimenDean • 57,477 subscribers
Author (Nine Lives, My time as MI6 spy inside Al-Qaeda), Ex banker, Ex spy, @MHConflicted .. Supreme Leader of the “Fraternity of Labelled Incoherent Pawns”
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A Tale of Two Palestinian Cities. Some were outraged when I stated earlier that we, as Gulf Arabs, no longer wish to destroy our nations and futures for a cause that, for 70 years, has brought us nothing but terrorism, accusations, betrayal, and alliances with our enemies. The moment we say: “We want to live,” we are branded Zionists. By who? By people sitting comfortably in Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, the West - sipping lattes and tweeting from safe homes - demanding we fight and die for their version of solidarity. So let me show you two realities. The first video is from Gaza, April 2025 - 18 months into a war that never needed to happen. There was no prior Israeli provocation, no bombing campaign, no invasion leading up to October 7. Things were improving. Israel was issuing 22,000 daily work permits for Gazans, and negotiations were underway - with Saudi mediation - for improving Gaza’s conditions in exchange for moderation. Then Hamas, acting on behalf of Iran, blew it all up. October 7 wasn’t resistance. It was sabotage. A completely unnecessary massacre - not for Palestinian liberation, but to derail Saudi-Israeli normalization and regional peace. It was Tehran’s agenda, paid in Palestinian blood. The second video is from the Palestinian capital, Ramallah, also April 2025 - the ICON Mall grand opening. Music. Dancing. Luxury stores. BMWs pulling in. Palestinians celebrating as if Gaza were on another continent. No outrage. No mourning. Just luxury shopping and selfies. If they, the fellow Palestinians, aren’t standing in the rubble, why are we told we must? Let’s also get this straight: Gaza has been “free” since 2005. The siege? It started in 2007, after Hamas took power by killing 300 fellow Palestinians (PA Police) and throwing them off rooftops. Since then, Israel still gave out work permits. Egypt, on the other hand, kept the Rafah border completely sealed. Even during the war’s worst days, Egypt wouldn’t open it - barely for aid, not for refugees. Not one work permit. Nothing. If Gaza was truly a prison, why didn’t Hamas break out through Egypt? Why always toward Israel? Because Egypt would shoot - not negotiate. But you won’t see the usual online “activists” blaming Cairo. No. It’s always easier to guilt-trip the Gulf Countries. So no - we will not join your death cult. We will not die for the cause while Ramallah dances and Cairo locks the gate. And to all the comfortable, self-righteous voices screaming “solidarity”: shut the fuck up and go die in Gaza yourselves if you care that much. Don’t lecture us from safety. Don’t demand sacrifice from others while you live off hashtags. If the people of Ramallah aren’t bothered - if their own fellow Palestinians can dance on the same day others die - why the hell should we? Spare us the pious performative grief. We’ve seen through it. The cause was hijacked long ago by ye Ayatollahs of Tehran - and we are done dying for other people’s delusions.
Aimen Dean1,341,975 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
The Druze militias of narco-warlord Hikmat al-Hijri appear to be collapsing under the weight of 50,000–70,000 tribal fighters. No Israeli support - because there’s no clear target. The tribes are all infantry, using ordinary cars and pickups indistinguishable from militia vehicles. Now word is: his son, who leads the militia, is captured. If confirmed, it’s over by morning. Let’s pray the bloodshed ends here - and that the Bedouin forces show the magnanimity their tribal code demands. Israel said: Don’t mess with the Druze. Syria replied: Don’t mess with the Bedouins.
Aimen Dean231,997 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
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🚨💣 Bombshell Update If confirmed, this could present some very awkward questions for Israel’s leadership. Tribal forces just uncovered a warehouse full of Grad missiles, the kind Hezbollah has used in past attacks on the Golan Heights. Initially thought to belong to Hikmat al-Hijri, the warehouse turned out to be linked directly to Hezbollah, after nearby Lebanese operatives were captured with full comms gear. Those operatives confessed: the warehouse was theirs, and Hezbollah’s operations in the area are being conducted in coordination with the IRGC. Now pair that with confirmed reports that Hikmat has taken money from Maher al-Assad, the Syrian regime’s main conduit to both Hezbollah and Iran. So here’s the question: is Israel defending a man who may be facilitating its enemies? Because this isn’t just a liability anymore - it’s a potential security breach. If this checks out, it’s not just a scandal. It’s a strategic embarrassment.
Aimen Dean46,960 görüntüleme • 11 ay önce
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1/ Yes, I’m breaking my 36-hour self-imposed embargo. But I’ve seen a video circulating falsely claiming that Druze civilians were massacred by the Syrian army in a hospital. That’s not what happened. 2/ After speaking with multiple on-the-ground and open-source contacts, I’m staking my reputation on this: The victims in the video - over 80 - were previously wounded Syrian security forces and police, not Druze civilians. 3/ They were prisoners, wounded and held in the hospital. Two hours before the discovery, Hikmat al-Hijri’s militia withdrew from the building, and before retreating, they executed every single captive. 4/ The man filming? He’s one of the government forces, shocked and praying for his comrades. He also asks for face masks because the bodies had started decomposing. 5/ Once the dust settles, independent international investigators (possibly UN-mandated) will confirm this. But let me be clear now: this was a war crime, committed by Hikmat al-Hijri’s faction. 6/ And let me repeat for the hard of hearing: There are no angels and devils here. This is a tribal war. A sectarian one. A Sunni tribe. A Druze tribe. Both capable of atrocities. 7/ Hikmat al-Hijri is no saint. His men are already threatening senior Druze leader Yusuf al-Jarbu and others trying to push for ceasefire, branding them traitors. 8/ Just like the coastal events in March, wildly exaggerated. They said 21,000 dead, including 7,000 Christians. In reality: 1,036 dead, 6 Christians among them. 400 were security forces. The rest? Mostly Alawites, some killed by fellow Alawites for siding with the government. In tribal wars, truth is always the first casualty. I have no agenda - just follow the facts.
Aimen Dean41,854 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
One tired whataboutery I keep getting: “But Gaza was under total blockade! No flights, no airport, no port!” Dear reader - let me spell it out. Gaza wasn’t some dystopian “open-air prison” before Oct 7. Go on YouTube. Malls. Beaches. Fancy cafés. Weddings. Luxury homes. It looked more like a third-tier Mediterranean resort than a war zone. There are parts of Detroit that look worse. But here’s the inconvenient truth: since 2007, Gaza’s been ruled by Hamas, a globally designated terrorist group. Not a government. Not even close. A militia that, alongside PIJ, carried out 116 suicide bombings between 1994–2005, killing 735 civilians and injuring over 4,500. That’s not “resistance.” That’s terrorism, textbook edition. Now pay attention: In my autobiography, I detail how Hamas operatives were being trained by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan as early as 1992. By 1999, they took back with them the TATP mass-production method (a notoriously powerful explosive), and from 2000–2004, turned Gaza into a suicide bomb factory. The carnage? Predictable. And deliberate. Still want to talk airports and seaports? Let’s be serious. IATA won’t authorize flights into a terrorist-run territory. IMO won’t touch its ports. Insurers won’t underwrite jack. No government, no regulation, no safety, no logistics. And yes, even if Israel said “sure, open up”, nobody sane would fly or sail there. And this was all with a blockade in place. Imagine the arms smuggling, the Iranian shipments, the chemical precursors, the heavy weapons, all flowing freely if there wasn’t a blockade. Hamas was already digging up EU-funded water pipes and turning them into rocket launchers. With a shipping lane and airstrip? You think they’d open up a Zara and a Starbucks? If Hamas really cared, they could’ve renounced terrorism like others did, look Syria’s new leadership. Renounce violence and terror and all doors will be open! Israel left Gaza in 2005. No one wanted to stay. But as always, the Palestinians - bless them - never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. They chose tunnels over infrastructure. Rockets over schools. Martyrdom over medicine. So, no. The blockade wasn’t some arbitrary cruelty. It was global consequence. Because when you act like terrorists, the world treats you like terrorists. Simple.
Aimen Dean33,305 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
When the Tribes Mobilized – Then and Now In light of the recent tribal mobilizations across Syria - and the confusion many have about how tribes actually organize and move to action - I thought it might be useful to take a brief detour from present events and revisit a historical example. One that, like in Amin, speaks volumes. Twice in this 21st century, we saw large-scale tribal mobilizations in Iraq and Syria: •First, against Al-Qaeda between 2007–2009, •Then, against ISIS from 2014 to 2019. But during the entire 20th century? Only once did the tribes of Syria, Arabia, and Jordan rise in unison - and that was against the Ottoman Turks. To illustrate, I want to walk you through three pivotal clips from one of the most iconic cinematic achievements of the 1960s: Lawrence of Arabia. Peter O’Toole portrayed the enigmatic T.E. Lawrence, Omar Sharif was the noble Sharif Ali, and Anthony Quinn - larger than life - was Awda Abu Tayeh, the fierce and charismatic leader of the Hawaitat tribe. Clip 1: The Mobilization in Wadi Rum (or was it Wadi Whiskey?) Here, we witness the moment Lawrence convinces Awda Abu Tayeh that his tribe’s interests lie with the Arab Revolt. Once persuaded, Awda rallies his warriors to march with Lawrence toward the strategic Red Sea port of Aqaba. The scene is shot in the breathtaking desert landscape of Wadi Rum - though honestly, with spirits so high, maybe it was Wadi Whiskey. (Sorry, couldn’t resist a dad joke there.)😜 This is tribal mobilization in action: decentralized, yes, but once honor, strategy, and leadership align, movement can be swift and united. Clip 2: Aqaba Falls from the Desert This clip captures the brilliance of the tribal strategy. The Turkish defenses at Aqaba were aimed entirely toward the sea, expecting a British naval assault. What they got instead was a cavalry charge from the rear, across the supposedly impassable desert. Tribal horsemen swept in, fast and unrelenting, striking where the Turks never expected. The scene is both a tactical masterclass and a cinematic triumph. Clip 3: The Massacre at Tafas The final clip shows the dark side of tribal warfare. Lawrence and his coalition of tribes are heading toward Damascus when they pass Tafas, a Bedouin village ravaged by a retreating Turkish column, burned, looted, civilians slaughtered. One of the tribal fighters, from Tafas himself, breaks ranks and charges the Turkish rearguard in a blind rage. He’s gunned down instantly. Emotions explode. While Sharif Ali pleads for discipline and urges the coalition to continue toward Damascus, Lawrence gives in to fury. He orders the charge. What follows is the massacre at Tafas - revenge without restraint. Lawrence, in his own writings, says 300 Turks were killed. Other historians estimate up to 700. Regardless of the number, the moment captures a critical truth: once tribal vengeance is triggered - especially in defense of family, honour, or homeland - it becomes a force that even the most calculating of leaders may struggle to contain. Conclusion: Then as Now These scenes are more than film. They are a visual echo of what tribal mobilization means - and why it’s never to be taken lightly, especially in this region. History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes. And anyone trying to understand how and why tribes move, act, and fight today - whether in Syria, Iraq, or beyond - needs to remember that. Even if it starts in Wadi Rum🍹 … or Wadi Whiskey 🥃
Aimen Dean15,086 görüntüleme • 11 ay önce
As these clips show, the Israelis mastered the lethal combination of precise intelligence and satellite/drone-based geological surveys to locate missile sites buried deep inside mountains. As I’ve said before: raw firepower without superior cutting edge high tech is just noise. Russia should’ve learned that before going to Ukraine.
Aimen Dean13,990 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
Oxford Street’s shiny new blue signs - helpfully warning you to “stay away from the curb” so your phone isn’t stolen - are the latest chapter in Britain’s proud tradition of blaming you for daring to exist in public. Forget chasing criminals; the real menace is you, flaunting your outrageous luxury item: a mid-range Samsung. Meanwhile, moped thugs ride straight onto the pavement like it’s the M1, knowing the only consequence is a gentle police leaflet about “awareness.” If I were in charge, every 50 metres you’d have an officer ready to kick a moped into orbit, crush it in front of its sobbing owner, and livestream the whole thing. Name, shame, pulverise - problem solved in months. But no, instead we get gutless politicians turning victim-blaming into public policy. Today it’s “don’t use your phone,” tomorrow it’ll be “don’t walk in nice shoes,” and by Christmas they’ll tell you to stay indoors entirely so criminals can have the streets to themselves.
Aimen Dean10,562 görüntüleme • 11 ay önce
👑In Defence of Crowns: Why Monarchies Work When Republics Don’t (in the Middle East)👑 Since the very first episode of Conflicted dropped in February 2019, I have remained consistent - unwavering, even - in my argument that monarchies, not republics, are the political form best suited to deliver what the people of the Middle East need most: stability, security, prosperity, law and order, and gradual, steady doses of modernity. Not shock therapy. Not utopian dreams. Just sustainable progress. Over the years, some asked if my views would evolve. They haven’t. Why? Because reality hasn’t changed. In fact, if anything, it keeps reinforcing the very foundation of my argument: that monarchies, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, have delivered results that the republics - whether democratic, autocratic, military-run, or theocratic - have utterly failed to produce. 💀 Republics and Their Repeated Collapse Let’s not mince words. The modern history of republics in the Middle East is a cemetery of failed experiments: •Democratic republics? Iraq and Lebanon say hello from their permanent state of paralysis. •Autocratic ones? Syria and Egypt have shown us what stagnation wrapped in military boots looks like. •Theocratic nightmares? Look no further than Iran, Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, or Houthi Yemen. •Militarized pseudo-states? Sudan and Libya are cautionary tales of warlords cosplaying governance. All of them - without exception - have failed so spectacularly that one must consider rewriting the very definition of “failure” just to contain their downfall. And no, it’s not about oil. Algeria, Iraq, Iran, and even Yemen are resource-rich. Yet natural resources alone did nothing to spare them from the whirlpools of dysfunction. This is not a resource issue. It’s a governance issue. 👑 Enter the Monarchies - The “Royal Zone” Now contrast that with the so-called “Royal Zone” - the Gulf monarchies. Yes, they’re not perfect. But perfection isn’t the metric - durability, adaptability, and performance are. •The average age of ruling dynasties in the Gulf is 300 years. That’s not luck; that’s endurance. •Their track records? Top of the regional HDI rankings, consistent improvements in infrastructure, health, education, and economic diversification - while maintaining societal cohesion. •These monarchies have achieved the holy grail of Middle Eastern governance: a synthesis of the four necessary forces that shape this region - faith, tribe, economic modernity, and science. Republics - of all stripes - almost always exclude one or more of these elements. Theocrats abandon science and economics. Militaries suffocate modernity. Secular autocrats and liberal democrats often dismiss tribe and faith - at their peril. Only the monarchies have figured out how to balance the contradictions. They provide a system that evolves, adapts, and delivers - without pretending to reinvent society overnight. 🧠 It’s the Sociology, Stupid The Middle East is not Western Europe. It’s a region where tribe and religion still define identity, loyalty, and legitimacy. Republics - especially imported ones - fail to acknowledge this, let alone accommodate it. But monarchies? They understand it viscerally. They embody it. They institutionalize it. And then - crucially - they temper it with technocrats, scientific advisors, and pragmatic policies. The result? A hybrid system that may seem alien to Western theorists but makes absolute sense on the ground. And no, that’s not apologism - that’s anthropology. 📽️ So Why Do I Support an Uprising in Iran, But Not in KSA or UAE? Simple. If it ain’t broke - don’t fix it. The Islamic Republic of Iran is broken, top to bottom. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait - are they perfect? Of course not. But they are functioning, reforming, and progressing. You don’t burn down a building just because the paint is peeling. And that’s the heart of my position: Monarchies are not sacred, but they are proven.
Aimen Dean10,839 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
Daha fazla içerik yok.