[lbo-talk] Can Politics Be Liberated from the von Neumann Style?

[Lenin's Tomb]

On 10/14/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> Why not argue that it's just not the business of the US Air Force to
> bomb Iranians regardless of what we think of their government? You're
> accepting at least part the premise of the neocons that the bombing
> would be justified if the regime were as bad as they say, if you feel
> like you have to refute the claims of badness. Besides, the Saudi
> regime is considerably worse than the Iranian, and no one is talking
> about bombing them. So why argue on their territory?

Of course we should argue that as a starting point, but you know as well as
I do that this won't decide the propaganda struggle.  It is absolutely
necessary to attack fabrications and misconceptions, even where one is
likely to incur the usual slanders as an apologist for this and that.
Obviously the most important thing we have going for us as far as Iran is
concerned is that the opposition hasn't been coopted, so the 'humanitarian'
angle is somewhat blunted, but there is no guarantee that this will remain
the situation especially given how little most people know about Iran.