"There are those, whether pacifists or persons of the left, who believe that all military interventions by Western powers should be opposed. For the leftists, this position seems ahistorical, since even Stalin was glad enough to ally with the American bourgeoisie against Hitler’s murder machine. Stalin was pretty far left."
I am disappointed that you would characterize the anti-war left in such a way. Arguments about where exactly Stalin stood on the political spectrum are probably a waste of time, but today he is completely reviled by all but the most fringe, paranoid sections of the left - the most difficult question for those who advocate violent revolution being, "what if we end up with an other Stalin?" So there is nothing ahistorical about the left opposing policies embraced by Stalin.
But beyond that, my understanding is that most of the anti-war left oppose Western millitary action not in principle, but based on deep mistrust in the ability and motivation of imperialist states to wage a just war.
When there is support for war on the left, for example recently to support the Kurds in their struggle against Da'esh, the anti-war response is not that all war is bad, but that because we cannot trust our governments in matters of war, and have little foreign policy influence anyway, it is better to consistently and generally oppose wars.
Iran doesn't have nukes and never has. They had a program at one point, but abandoned it soon after Iraq was attacked. Right now they are the most monitored country in the world (under the NPT). Nobody with a brain is scared of Iranian nukes.
The BBC is publicly funded but it is supposed to be 'unbiased' and educational, and until it was neutered by the current Tory government it could claim that with some credibility.
Isn't that the point? Israel sees the map this way, which makes zionist reasoning as absurd as it looks here. As for Zionist propaganda value of this piece it can't be very much.
Pam,'rein' means pure, or clean, but as a suffix x-rein does not mean 'purely x' but 'clean from x'. Juan Cole is of course alluding to the onerous Nazi term 'judenrein' which is a synonym of 'judenfrei', meaning 'free of Jews'.
(Concerning 3.) Jonathan Sacks is chief rabbi of British Orthodox synagogues, not Israel (so his comment about Iran is most likely his own speculation) 🙂
"There are those, whether pacifists or persons of the left, who believe that all military interventions by Western powers should be opposed. For the leftists, this position seems ahistorical, since even Stalin was glad enough to ally with the American bourgeoisie against Hitler’s murder machine. Stalin was pretty far left."
I am disappointed that you would characterize the anti-war left in such a way. Arguments about where exactly Stalin stood on the political spectrum are probably a waste of time, but today he is completely reviled by all but the most fringe, paranoid sections of the left - the most difficult question for those who advocate violent revolution being, "what if we end up with an other Stalin?" So there is nothing ahistorical about the left opposing policies embraced by Stalin.
But beyond that, my understanding is that most of the anti-war left oppose Western millitary action not in principle, but based on deep mistrust in the ability and motivation of imperialist states to wage a just war.
When there is support for war on the left, for example recently to support the Kurds in their struggle against Da'esh, the anti-war response is not that all war is bad, but that because we cannot trust our governments in matters of war, and have little foreign policy influence anyway, it is better to consistently and generally oppose wars.
Iran doesn't have nukes and never has. They had a program at one point, but abandoned it soon after Iraq was attacked. Right now they are the most monitored country in the world (under the NPT). Nobody with a brain is scared of Iranian nukes.
“Yes, Hamas is an organization of brutal, ruthless fascists"
What is this supposed to mean? Under which definition of fascism? People who aren't liberals?
The BBC is publicly funded but it is supposed to be 'unbiased' and educational, and until it was neutered by the current Tory government it could claim that with some credibility.
Isn't that the point? Israel sees the map this way, which makes zionist reasoning as absurd as it looks here. As for Zionist propaganda value of this piece it can't be very much.
Excellent article!! Nuanced, informative and sympathetic
Pam,'rein' means pure, or clean, but as a suffix x-rein does not mean 'purely x' but 'clean from x'. Juan Cole is of course alluding to the onerous Nazi term 'judenrein' which is a synonym of 'judenfrei', meaning 'free of Jews'.
(Concerning 3.) Jonathan Sacks is chief rabbi of British Orthodox synagogues, not Israel (so his comment about Iran is most likely his own speculation) 🙂