[lbo-talk] A Day When Mahdi Army Showed Its Other Side

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Tue Nov 28 14:06:41 PST 2006


Marvin:

It's on that basis that I oppose the invasion and occupation - out of respect for the principle of national self-determination. If I were an

[WS:] I think this is where we disagree - I do not particularly care for national self- determination. For me, internationalism or socialism (which is a form of internationalism) trumps national self-determination. Moreover, I find nationalism of _any_ kind quite detestable. I am an open-borders or rather no-borders person.


>From that standpoint, I do not oppose military interventions in principle,
but only if they are antithetical to the principles I hold dear (e.g. internationalism, or socialism.) A military intervention against a murderous fascist regime is probably a good thing, and so is an empire that integrates under its rule a great number of people and offers them better living conditions, legal protection etc. (e.g. x-USSR).

Of course this is a general principle. In real life, we need to make judgments based on the particularities of the situation on the ground. I am against the invasion of Iraq mainly because it was ill conceived, carried out under false pretenses, and aimed to achieve murky political ends which are still not clear. I would not oppose it, however, if it was better planned and succeeded in establishing genuine democracy.

Wojtek



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