[lbo-talk] "you and I, are indirectly responsible"

[Doug Henwood]

On Nov 19, 2006, at 1:58 PM, James Heartfield wrote:

> I do not think it is good news that the variety of paramilitary  
> actors operating in Iraq are so emboldened. They do not seem to be  
> a democratic movement to establish a free Iraq to me. They seem to  
> be various shades of anti-democratic terrorism, dedicated to short- 
> circuiting the difficult business of winning over the mass of  
> people to their side with violent actions.
>
> I blame the Coalition for their ascendance, but I still think they  
> are a net loss for humanity, not a gain.

After Christian Parenti met a bunch of them, he said many were  
nihilists with no political program. Others said they'd rather  
destroy their country than let the U.S. have it; I wonder how many  
Iraqis would share that POV. When I first quoted him saying these  
things, Yoshie & Co. disagreed strongly, but it sure seems like  
Christian was onto something.

Doug