That reminds me of an old thread concerning whether the bourgeoisie makes use of Marxist analysis for its own ends. Certainly, they can and do make use of ex-leftists to help them promote their own political agendas.
Jim Farmelant
On Tue, 20 Apr 1999 11:00:03 -0400 "Charles Brown"
<CharlesB at CNCL.ci.detroit.mi.us> writes:
>This is an interesting observation by Michael Pollack. His statement
>suggests that one of the treacherous aspects of lefties and ex-lefties
>supporting the current wars on Iraq and Yugoslavia is that they
>contribute skill and experience in avoiding the propaganda errors of
>previous imperialist wars. The right wingers had already learned from
>the eras of Viet Nam and modified their approach in the contra wars of
>the 1980's. Now added to that may be a whole gang of left advisors,
>many of whom have experience in peace movements in the past.
>
>Shall we overcome ?
>
>
>Charles Brown
>
>>>> Michael Pollak <mpollak at panix.com> 04/20/99 06:53AM >>>
>
>On Fri, 16 Apr 1999, Carl Remick wrote:
>
>> As I expected, the NATO debacle in the Balkans is continuing to
>unfold
>> along the lines of the Vietnam War. Once again, I believe, the
>antiwar
>> movement's best tactic is to destroy the warmongers' credibility
>among
>> the public at large.
>
>Maybe you're right, Carl. But I have the depressing feeling they've
>learned from Vietnam. They deny it when the first reports hit, and
>then
>admit it a day later, when it's old news, complete, as you point out,
>with
>gory details. And then move on. With their own rumors, they do it in
>reverse: trumpet outrageous claims in an ominous voice, and then --
>when
>people turn up alive, for instance -- say that it's tough to get
>information in wartime.
>
>If they would only deny things longer, stonewall, refuse comment on
>outrageous lies, credibility could really take a fall. But they don't
>do
>that anymore. They just keep spinning. They've preserved the most
>effective features of the big lie (constant repetition). But, by
>making
>it a constantly churning procession of slightly different stories,
>it's
>less attackable than it used to be. They constantly admit they were
>wrong, which is the biggest lie of all, since it implies inadvertance.
>But it's hell to pin down.
>
>We haven't learned a thing about humanitarian aid, conflict resolution
>or
>even how to wage war. But we do seem to have improved our propaganda
>techniques.
>
>Michael
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
>Michael Pollak................New York
>City..............mpollak at panix.com
>
>
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