Hitch on Hardball

[Nathan Newman]

----- Original Message -----
From: <s-t-t at juno.com>
Nathan Newman writes:
> There is no positive vision by the Left of what the middle east should
> look like in a just world and little analysis on how to get there,
again
> other than the negative of US getting out.
-At the risk of misreading you, I take the above sentence to conflate two
-separate issues: the cause of democracy in the Middle East and US pursuit
-of hegemony in the region, as if the former were contingent on the
-latter.
-Would you acknowledge a "positive vision" in the Middle East realized by
-efforts *other* than those of Washington?

Of course you are misreading me since I sure don't think this administration
has a good-faith vision of peace and democracy in the region.  So yes, a
postive vision has to come from somewhere other than DC.  My complaint is
that the Left is failing at providing that vision, instead relying on
negativity, which is why they are so irrelevant to the debate.  As Hitchens
notes, if the mainstream and rightwing antiwar folks were not articulating a
strong opposition, the war would probably be a done deal.

That is my frustration.

--  Nathan Newman