From an LA activist, long time KPFK supporter and someone who knows Cooper:
>Marta
What a opportunistic Cooper is.
He continues with his little smear tactic he has used in the past. Where he will find one picket sign, one speaker, one group and use that brush to paint what he labels as the American Left. Now thats American journalism.
He praises the US Government for their kind actions in Afghanistan and in turn dismissed the civilians deaths and other traumas they suffered. By equating the El Salvadoran fight against a murderous Fascist regime supported by the US. And the fact is that many on the left criticized some of the actions of the FMLN in their struggle, in the deaths of civilians.
But Afghanistan could have gone either way, and thats what people pointed out. If the Taliban had used better tactics, not massed their forces in the North, that let the US to effectively use massive airstrikes against them things might have gone differently.
And if we attack Iraq that could go either way also. So I guess we should support the US attacks on Iraq because hey they might rid us of Saddam and not hurt another lively soul.
Of course in both Cooper doesn't take into account US strategic interest in these actions, ie, the break up of the Middle East and control of the entire Central Asian oil and gas reserves, something big oil feels that have to have to starve off what is predicted to be a depletion of any current reserves they control in the next dozen years or so.
And shall we take Coopers word for it that we have nothing to worry in regards to Ashcroft, Bush et al in regards to civil liberties, etc. Of course they wouldn't start acting like some movie fascist country. They would do it the old fashion American way. Hell they just closed health clinics all around LA while spending billions on useless Wars and while corporate execs rob the public, their employees and their US Treasury.
Then his biggest most despicable smear. That his (and Bushes?) feelings of sorrow are bigger and better than what he labels as coming from the left. That the wallowing in this sentimentality for the past year is somehow what we should do, rather than try to mobilize against a government than in turn is using the deaths of these folks for their own right wing corporate agenda. (Buy, buy buy, that will show those nasty infidels). Rather then to analysis this and similar events to look for real solutions other than blowing someone up real good. And are we now suppose to believe every governmental press release as the gospel and not question and challenge them. I meant do we really know who bin Laden is.
Or that maybe more people in the world other than a small group of fundamentalist aren't too happy with the current state of World control by the multi national corporate agenda that is driving most of the world into more and greater poverty.
Now I do find that part of one of his points about not engaging the population on their own levels is a big problem "the left" has. Some of that does come from a sense of self righteousness. From an unwillingness to dilute ones agenda with such engagements. This straight jacket of progressive political correctness that some have.
Some from a purity of ideology that does not see where people are really at but where they think their ideology can move them to.
Some just from the practically of finding ways to engage others. We have no mass media, many aren't not engaged in mass movements, ie workers, students, neighborhoods so just don't have the opportunity.
Most people have family and friends who have been hurt or killed in terrible ways, accidents, fires, crimes, illness, neglect from or corporate government. And rarely to they get any sympathy or help. And because they don't appear on national TV doesn't make their suffering or sorrow of any less of value. That the deaths from so many other world wide atrocities isn't also of equal value. Many folks don't want to make those judgements.
>LA Weekly
>Dissonance
>A Year Later
>Only fear and loathing remain
>by Marc Cooper
>
>UNFORTUNATELY, THE POLITICAL LEFT has also shirked its responsibilities and
>just as equally avoided learning anything from this catastrophe.
>September 11 revealed America, for once, as victim instead of victimizer.
>The
>left's Manichean view that only two forces -- American imperialism and
>appropriate reaction against it -- shape world events was no longer viable.
>The left might have seen that American military deployment is not a priori
>evil. Virtually none of the dire predictions the left made about the war in
>Afghanistan have come to pass. The U.S. has not (unfortunately) occupied the
>country. Millions were not driven out or killed or forced into famine.
-- Marta Russell Los Angeles, CA http://www.disweb.org