The enemy of my enemy is my friend

The Daily Show’s coverage of the new “arm the Sunni insurgents because the enemy of my enemy is my friend” strategy makes the reality of what some people call neo-medievalism pretty obvious. Basically, the nation-state is no longer central; like most of human history, conflict and existence more generally can best be described as hella-confusing.

If it wasn’t already clear to everyone, this makes it more so. The system of military technology that temporarily (during the modern period) gained ascendency, of which nation-states and simple us vs. them warfare are the evolved product is clearly dissolving. What exists now and for the foreseeable future is the same type of complex, chaotic web of sometime allies and adversaries interacting in generally unpredictable ways. Only now, everyone has assault rifles and bombs. More on this in the future.