> There seems to be a pall over these lists. I get the impression (of course
> others may strongly have quite a different impression) that leftists who
> grudgingly supported the attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan do not want
> to crow. Those who tried to delay or soften it, cannot see a way forward
> except to regroup against an attack on Iraq and against the state terror
> against the Palestinians. Meanwhile those marxists who see absolute
> opposition to US imperialism as a benchmark of political integrity cannot
> see how to articulate more than declaratory statements. There may be a
> feeling that after Sept 11 that international affairs will not be the same
> again, but the left has yet to be clear, how.
Personally, I think the domestic "left" (such as and whatever that is) is totally fucked on Afghanistan, and might be on Iraq. (Palestine is a different matter, and there solidarity efforts with those in the territories and in Israel may produce some positive results.) I read that the body count in Afghanistan is anywhere from 3700 to 5000 -- who really knows (and we may never really know), but the bottom line is that most Americans don't seem to care about it, any more than they probably cared about German or Japanese civilian dead (though most may not hold the same kind of racist contempt for Afghans that their grandparents did for "the Japs"). "Antiwar" efforts, pitiful and sputtering at best, have been confined to the sectarian left and the paleo-right and are seen by the majority as at best a joke, at worst, treason. Meantime the US bombs away and draws up plans for expanded action, while the populace at home wave flags and prepare for the holidays.
While I side more with Chomsky's take on events, I do see where Hitchens is coming from, and his recent speech in Chicago was thought provoking. I found myself agreeing with many of his points. Let's face it: The Taliban were awful, and no one should mourn their passing. Al-Qaida is even worse, a brutal gang of theocratic gangsters, and I'm certainly not against their elimination, or at least dispersal. I do believe that if al-Qaida got hold of a nuke they'd use it with no second thoughts, so they must be engaged. The challenge for "us" (motley and bickering) is to reframe the debate, to not simply fall back on "No US War in Afghanistan!" which is now moot, and to say openly that, yes, there is a threat to citizens everywhere (and a threat to progressive values), a threat that cannot be excused or rationalized away. We should discuss how best to deal with this threat, in real terms that make sense to common people. Lefty teach-ins where speakers drone on and on about how Marx or Lenin might see this just won't cut it in the current atmosphere.
DP