The Havok Journal

The Voice of the Veteran Community

West and Dunn

The Top Five Weird Books On Osama Bin Laden’s Bookshelf

The Top Five Weird Books On Osama Bin Laden's Bookshelf by Chris Otero “Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda.….” – President Barack Obama On 1 May 2011, the President of the United States announced the death of terrorist mastermind Osama bin … [Read more...]

Saudi Women and the War on Terror

Saudi Women and the War on Terror by Mike Kelvington In the masculine-driven nation of Saudi Arabia, women are subordinate men and the state, yet, in the eyes of both, they serve as an important role within their society.  Historically and contextually, the Saudi government sees women as weak and “depicted as needing to be protected, controlled, and guided within an … [Read more...]

A Middle Eastern Veteran’s Struggle with His Own Community

A Middle Eastern Veteran’s Struggle with His Own Community by Aymen Kafel My squad drives along MSR (main supply route) Dover, en-route to Camp Anaconda. I am standing in the gunner’s position, wearing my face mask and goggles. Dust hits my face and uniform as the sweat from the desert heat trickles down my face and back. I'm wearing 50-pound IBA (individual body armor) … [Read more...]

Ulama in the Kingdom: Useful Pawns or Strategic Partners?

Ulama in the Kingdom: Useful Pawns or Strategic Partners? by Mike Kelvington This first appeared in The Havok Journal April 19, 2017. Prior to reading portions of Nabil Mouline’s The Clerics of Islam I did not see the ulama, or Islamic clerics of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as anything more than religious pawns for the royal Saudi family to use when they needed to … [Read more...]

Joyriding in the Kingdom: Saudi Arabia’s Lower-Class Gateway Drug

Joyriding in the Kingdom: Saudi Arabia's Lower-Class Gateway Drug by Mike Kelvington This first appeared in The Havok Journal April 11, 2017. In reading the chapter “Street Terrorism” out of Pascal Menoret’s book, Joyriding in Riyadh, I found it striking how an authoritarian state tied to religious ulema could fail to tamp down and limit a socio-economic culture … [Read more...]

“No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor”

"No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor" by Gunnery Sergeant L. Christian Bussler Editor's Note: These excerpts are from the multi-award winning book “No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor” and were provided by the book's author, Gunnery Sergeant L. Christian Bussler, who retains the copyrights. This an exclusive look into the world of a how the Marine Corps took care of our fallen … [Read more...]

Importing the Muslim Brotherhood: Creation of the “Sahwa” in Saudi Arabia

Importing the Muslim Brotherhood: Creation of the “Sahwa” in Saudi Arabia by Mike Kelvington A movement known as the Islamic Awakening (al-Sahwa al-Islamiyya) or Sahwa quickly established itself as a counter-culture to the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia over the course of only a few decades, starting in the mid-1950s.[1]  During this time, the Muslim Brotherhood … [Read more...]

Generations at War

Generations at War by Leonard Benton The mind of the young is malleable and we can condition children to limit their feelings, harden their revulsion, and we can teach them to hate. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle East. Prior to the 1920’s the Middle East had been relatively unchanged for over 400 years. The stability of the Ottoman Empire ruled then … [Read more...]

Why the Islamic State Hates Shrines and Kills Those Who Worship There

Why the Islamic State Hates Shrines and Kills Those Who Worship There by Michael Kelvington On 16 February 2017, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device that killed at least 83 Pakistanis at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a Sufi shrine in Sindh Province. It was a catastrophic attack which also wounded over 200 other innocent worshippers, and has already been claimed by … [Read more...]