Barbed Wire Buzz

  What is nationalism? Is it positive or negative? Does it depend on circumstances? How are Islamism and nationalism related (or are they not related)? Where in the Middle East is nationalism found most abundantly? What have been the historical effects of nationalism? How do you see nationalism affecting current events (inside or outside the Middle East)?  I was thinking recently about the Pentagon's efforts to combat domestic extremism, and nationalism by extension, by monitoring social media. The most difficult thing to do for the adjudicators (the people making judgements on people's ability to serve) is to tell the difference between the guy who watches Fox News, shares angry things on social media, says political things to enrage other people of a differing political stripe, but still loves and serves immigrant communities despite the imagined communities and activated identities he   seems  to hold; versus someone who does all the same things politically, but d...