Chris Morris speaks his brains

'Islamism'. What does it actually mean? For many it means 'political Islam'. Amis calls it a 'murderous ideology', equating it with terrorism. Now look at the following statement: 'The terrorist killings in New York, Madrid and London were wrong. They were indiscriminate, un-Islamic and based on ideas abstracted to the point of insanity.' I was firmly told this by an ex-Mujahideen who fought in Afghanistan 20 years ago. He was an Islamist. I strongly doubt he was murderous.

In a disconcertingly sober mood, comedy god Chris Morris looks at The absurd world of Martin Amis. It's a rare mention for a part of recent history that has been more or less airbrushed from official memory: the West's love affair with Islamic Mujahideen. Oh how I wish ITV would repeat Sandy Gall's adventures in the hills of Afghanistan following the conscript-beheading "resistance”. Now, 25 years later, he's telling another occupier that "the Afghan war is winnable". If only his Mujahideen buddies had known then of his undying loyalty to Afghani independence.

UPDATE: In the latest New Statesman, John Pilger shows how the corporate media's reporting is identical to Soviet reporting of their invasion of Afghanistan.