File spoon-archives/marxism-thaxis.archive/marxism-thaxis_1998/marxism-thaxis.9802, message 599


Date: Wed, 25 Feb 98 7:08:02 EST
From: boddhisatva <kbevans-AT-panix.com>
Subject: Re: M-TH: Re: Iraq -- putting out fires with gasoline






		C. Heartfield,



	As for US hegemony, I think Annan had a nice, honest moment today
when he ended his press conference by saying that the UN will do its job
and then "render unto Caesar". 



	While it's true that the West uses "humanitarian" concerns to
justify plain old imperialism, that does not mean that poor people should
be left to the tyranny of dictators against whom they are hopelessly
out-gunned - thanks to the industrial nations (and I think the Soviet
Union, Russia, and China should be included in the rogues' gallery of
armers). People can be tyrannized and beaten down by small groups of
people with masses of arms. One can't assume that people like Suharto and
Hussein are just going to go away - or that they should be left to wither
on the vine even if they would. 


	The question is how to reduce net tyranny in the world.  I don't
think that leaving highly tyrannical, super-exploitative third world
regimes in place in the name of anti-imperialism does that.  Obviously the
western powers hardly care about the Iraqi people.  That doesn't mean that
getting rid of Sadaam Hussein, even through the force of arms, is wrong in
and of itself.  It's a question of intent.  If the intent is to deliver
the Iraqi people into democracy, it's good.  If the intent is to further
US hegemony, it is a dramatically qualified good, even to the point of
being bad.  It's a world of unpleasant alternatives.




	peace





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