Anti-Imperialism 101 Re: Hitchens quits Nation

Nathan Newman nathan at newman.org
Fri Sep 27 14:57:35 PDT 2002


----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Doss" <itschris13 at hotmail.com>
> >If the explicit goal of US intervention was to run Iraq from abroad
> >dictatorially, that might be an argument, but since the explicit goal is
to
> >restore power to the Iraqi people through democratic institutions, the
nice
> >symmetry fails.
>
> Has anybody asked the Iraqi people if they even want this?

There are a range of opposition groups, from Kurds to Shiia to secular Iraqi groups who have endorsed Saddam's removal. So as historical polls go, Saddam is reasonably targetted as an unpopular dictatorial incumbent.

But then the question of whether the Iraqi people want to be able to democratically choose their government is exactly the kind of question that makes the left look so morally bankrupt. We can debate whether the Right is really promoting democracy but the idea that democracy is preferable to dictatorship shouldn't be a question on the left.

-- Nathan Newman



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