Kelley has broken the question accurately into two separate components.
In fighting racism, most of the activist groups PRA works with advocate a two-pronged strategy. One is apprehending (with the use of appropriate force) and then prosecuting members of groups such as "a racist proto-fascist organization holed up in the mountains of Idaho" who have apparently violated criminal laws. Two is working at challenging the systems and institutions that perpetuate racism. It is only liberal groups that propose using only the first option. As progressives we are supposed to see the need for both.
The situation with ObL and his thug pals is similar.
And I fear that the left will be less successful at organizing a movment for social and economic justice and peace as the government will be at organizing for repressive legislation and war. But that is not a good reason to give up trying to stop an indiscriminate war while urging a UN-led police action to go after Obl and his pals.
Further, that the left needs to find some way to express these (or other) ideas in a patient way to the unconverted great mass of non-left folk in the US is what I think Kelley is suggesting that we talk about here. Which makes a lot of sense.
:-)
Chip Berlet
----- Original Message ----- From: "Kelley" <kwalker2 at gte.net> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>; <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Friday, October 19, 2001 8:29 PM Subject: Re: Operation Enduring Protest
> .. is apprehending and prosecuting, possibly even violently,
> a racist proto-fascist organization holed up in the mountains of Idaho
> accurately understood as THE way to "eliminate racism". No, it would be
> apprehending and prosecruting criminals. doug is not proposing to
> eliminate terrorism. the concerted strategy you and yosh have cooked up is
> to suggest that he's bought into the administrations "war on terror". doug
> hasn't done so. instead, he's proposing that we should pursue a strategy to
> pursue Al Qaeda and such a project will entail some form of limited war:
> people will die in the process.