[lbo-talk] re Hot Air Advisory! (Was: Tariq Ali)

[Stephen Philion]

But the poll confirmed what Christian told me -
that Iraqis are glad to be of Saddam (the guy at the MR party tried to
convince me that SH was popular and had done good things), don't   like
being occupied by the U.S. and don't at all trust Washington's  motives, but
are worried about what would happen if the U.S. simply  pulled out. It's a
complicated and contradictory position, which  doesn't fit nicely with the
preconceptions of your average  metropolitan anti-imperialist

--yes, it is sort of contradictory, but not something that should be too
surprising given what has transpired since the 'liberation'.  On the other
hand, I'm inclined to guess that if the average Iraqi polled were concerned
about what would happen if the US pulled out now that they've created a
bonafide mess, the key question is just how long will they want the US to
have any role in their government as this tragicomedy continues to play
itself out.

Re: the cheapshots being taken at Tariq Ali by others in this thread, I'm
not sure that Ali would be unable to see these questions in light of their
complexity.  In fact, if anything, his analysis in Clash of the
Fundamentalisms should indicate that he does see quite clearly the
complexity of radical politics and occupation.