[lbo-talk] Focus on Iran and Palestine, Not Iraq

Yoshie Furuhashi critical.montages at gmail.com
Tue May 16 15:39:35 PDT 2006


On 5/16/06, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
> >On 5/16/06, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
> >>Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
> >>>
> >>> But Washington hasn't resolved to do so yet. So we
> >>> got a window of opportunity to shift our focus onto Iran, which has
> >>> yet to be destroyed.
> >>
> >>Our strength to make a difference here is almost totally centered in
> >>whatever current anti-war organization exists
> >
> >I disagree. Not in the USA, nor probably in Japan (it would be
> >different in Europe). Everyone needs to take an unsentimental look at
> >his or her local anti-war "organizations" and then take a look at
> >national anti-war "coalitions."
>
> I don't get this - if "we" have proved powerless to stop the wreck of
> Iraq, why should "we" be any better positioned to stop an attack on
> Iran?

A lot depends on Washington's timeline, and Ahmadinejad's character and ability. We may or may not have time to do anything.

First, Ahmadinejad's character and Washington's greed: obviously the cheapest solution is for Washington to buy Ahmadinejad, like it bought New Delhi, if Washington is ready to settle for less than a full neo-con prize (neoliberal economics + a pro-Washington and pro-Tel Aviv government in Iran).

Second, Ahmadinejad's ability and, again, Washington's greed: the next cheapest solution is for Washington is to cut deals with Khamenei, Rafsanjani, et al. -- i.e., the clerical gerontocracy and the Iranian ruling class -- behind Ahmadinejad's back, and to have him killed or ousted, if Washington is ready to settle for less than a full neo-con prize.

But, so far, Ahmadinejad hasn't yielded on the main points of contention, so the first option appears to be a non-starter. Ahmadinejad may be able to survive coup or assassination attempts if he is a capable man who has a large following in Iran's military, militias, and masses in general (I can't judge that yet -- we'll see).

Moscow and Beijing are not keen on wrecking Iran. Moreover, Washington may be too greedy to settle for either of the above options. Then, we got a little time on our side, a period during which a lot can change in the US economy, too. We may still be unable to help anyone or even ourselves, but sticking single-mindedly to the Lost Cause -- modern Iraq is lost, gone, destroyed already -- certainly won't do us or the rest of the world any good. -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>



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