[lbo-talk] Is the Anti-War movement in decline?

Lenin's Tomb leninstombblog at googlemail.com
Wed Nov 14 04:57:01 PST 2007


On Nov 14, 2007 12:36 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:


>
> Who could disagree with that? I wouldn't.
>
> DOug

I didn't think you would. The context of the remark is an engagement with Alexander Cockburn's criticism of the left in the NLR. He specifically raised the comparison with the NLF and FSLN, and while I agree with some of what he said, the limitations of the comparison point to the reason why it is more difficult to galvanise such support for the Iraqi resistance. Cockburn seems to suggest that the failure to identify with insurgents in Iraq signifies the hegemony of Democratic discourse and the acceptance of the logic of the war on terror - thus causing many of the problems faced by the antiwar movement. However, I really don't think that's right. It may be symptomatic some of the historic limitations of progressive liberalism, and the impact of centuries of colonial/imperial ideologies on the West, but it isn't the source of whatever problems we face and I don't think a failure to support the resistance is in itself evidence of weakness or cooptation.



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