[lbo-talk] Galloway and Gandall

Luke Weiger lweiger at umich.edu
Fri May 27 13:16:18 PDT 2005


Cox correctly noted that courage, strength, and indefatigability aren't necessarily praiseworthy. And indeed, if Galloway had said something like "your courage, strength, and indefatigability have served you well as a butcher of men," I'd have no quibble. But Galloway said, "I _salute_ your courage..." Salutation isn't merely notation.

Gandall wrote, "I support the armed resistance, warts and all, on principled grounds (the right to militarily resist occupation) and because I think it's important that the US invasion is decisively repelled in Iraq,"

To revisit a line I've given voice to in the past: surely the Japanese had no right to militarily resist the allied occupation after WWII--what relevant differences would one invoke to argue that (self-described) Baathists and Islamists have such a right?

" It will make future interventions much more difficult."

I think this is just about the only reason why leftists support the violent Iraqi resistance, which might go a ways towards explaining why the support is generally so tepid. (Or, as you put it, "given the political colouration of the resistance, I can understand why there is such ambivalence on the left in supporting it.)

-- Luke



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