----- Original Message ----- From: "Drewk" <Andrew_Kliman@msn.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2001 10:19 AM Subject: FW: Against the Double Tragedy: Statement from News and Letters > -----Original Message----- > Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 8:20 > Subject: Against the Double Tragedy: Statement from News and > Letters > > > A Statement from the National Editorial Board of News and Letters > Committees > > Against the Double Tragedy: > Say no to terrorism and Bush's drive to war! > > A double tragedy descended upon the world with the barbaric, cruel > and > inhuman terrorist attack on New York and Washington, D.C. on Sept. > 11. The > first tragedy was the terrorist attack itself, which created a > level of > destruction and mayhem never before seen in a U.S. city. The > second tragedy, > now unfolding, is the response to the attacks by the Bush > administration, > which has used them to declare a "state of war" and is pushing for > total > militarization, at home and abroad. > > As Marxist-Humanists, we oppose both sides of this double tragedy. > Our ground > is the absolute opposite of mindless terrorism and statist > militarism-the > idea of freedom. > > The Sept. 11 attacks have nothing to do with any struggle against > capitalism, > injustice, or U.S. imperialism. They were a brutal act of violence > against > U.S. workers that has no rational cause, legitimacy, or > justification. > No group took responsibility for the attacks, and not a single > political > demand or proclamation was issued by anyone. It is hard to discern > any > political content to these acts, presumably carried out by Islamic > fundamentalists under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. They were > simply > geared to kill as many people as possible, without any regard for > class, > race, or background. Such cruelty could only have been carried out > by the > most reactionary, backward elements imaginable. > > And yet even in the midst of this anti-human destruction the light > of > humanism did shine, in the hundreds of workers and citizens who > flocked to > "ground zero" in New York to help clear rubble, save victims, and > provide > medical aid to the injured. The unexpected-construction workers > rushing to > save office workers, Black youth helping elderly Jewish people to > get out of > the area-became commonplace. New forms of solidarity emerged-as > seen in the > prisoners at Folsom Prison, most of them Black, who collected > $1,000 to aid > victims of the disaster. > > These humanist expressions of solidarity, however, are being > quickly buried > by Bush's effort to use the attacks as an excuse to militarize > America, > restrict civil liberties, and prepare for what the rulers have > long aspired > for-permanent military intervention overseas. Bush is being given > a free hand > to rebuild the military, gut domestic social programs, and bury > the memory of > his stolen election. On a single day the terrorists succeeded in > totally > shifting the ideological ground and handed the far Right one of > its greatest > victories. > > Bush is preparing to bomb anywhere he deems fit to "eradicate > terrorism"-even > though this may mean killing thousands of innocent people in > Afghanistan and > elsewhere who have suffered for years from the repressive, > anti-woman > policies of such reactionary regimes. > > Bush claims that revulsion over the Sept. 11 attacks has unified > the nation, > for now. Yet let's not forget that a similar kind of "unity" after > Pearl > Harbor was attacked in 1941 was used by U.S. rulers to commit such > atrocities > as the bombing of Dresden and Hiroshima. We are being thrust into > a new, > voracious, and deadly militarism. > > This does not mean Bush has all the cards in his hands. Forces > have been > unleashed by the events of Sept. 11 that may be beyond anyone's > ability to > control. > > First, the economic impact of the attack on the World Trade > Center-tens of > billions of dollars of damage were done and many airlines now > teeter on the > brink of bankruptcy as a result of the disruption of air > travel-will almost > certainly send the U.S. into a full recession. > > Second, world politics-especially Middle Eastern politics-is far > too volatile > for the U.S. to simply ride roughshod over each and every country. > Bush's > effort to enlist Arab countries like Syria as well as Arafat's PLO > in the > "battle against terrorism" has evoked complaints from Israel's > Sharon, who is > making use of the crisis to extend a total military crackdown > against the > Palestinians. The U.S. is also insisting that Pakistan break ranks > with > Afghanistan and allow U.S. forces to use it as a launching pad for > attacks on > its ruling Taliban. Though it has so far said that it will > cooperate with the > U.S., Pakistan's regime is very unstable and is itself closely > linked with > Islamic fundamentalists. > > The impact of Bush's effort to promote military adventurism on an > unprecedented scale is already seen in the jingoistic attacks > against > Muslims, Arab-Americans, Palestinians, South Asians and other > peoples of > color that have occurred from Chicago to Texas. Talk shows are > filled with > calls to send Arabs and Muslims to internment camps, just as the > U.S. did > with Japanese-Americans during World War II. This atmosphere also > extends to > restrictions on various forms of protest and political expression. > On Sept. > 14 two activists in Philadelphia who were holding a sign over a > bridge in > defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal were approached by federal ATF agents > and ordered > to disperse. That government terrorist specialists are already > being used > against legitimate, non-violent activists is an ominous signal of > what is > ahead. > > It is imperative that we completely and totally oppose Bush's > effort to > respond to senseless terrorism with an equally senseless policy of > indiscriminate military intervention, just as we must oppose all > efforts to > restrict civil liberties at home or scapegoat immigrants and > people of color. > But an effective opposition to this new militarism will not emerge > unless we > project a total view rooted not just in what we oppose, but what > we are for. > > It is therefore all the more disturbing that some on the Left have > only > mildly condemned the Sept. 11 attacks and have spent most of their > time > arguing that the real culprit is-U.S. imperialism. U.S. military > intervention > against Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan and its support of Israel, some > say, has > created a climate which drives opponents of the U.S. to pursue > such > "desperate measures" as suicide attacks. As John Keller put it in > "The > Chickens Come Home to Roost," "When a big country uses its > military or money > to push around a smaller country, the small country can only fight > back via > terrorism." > > This amounts to a bizarre spectacle. While the perpetrators of the > terrorist > attacks remain silent as to their motives and intentions, > "leftist" > commentators, from Alexander Cockburn to Naomi Klein, are trying > to provide > the rationale for them! All we need to know, presumably, are the > crimes of > U.S. imperialism, and then the reasons for the Sept. 11 attack > supposedly > become "understandable." > > These "explanations" misconstrue the nature of the forces which > conducted the > attacks. Reactionary Islamic fundamentalism is not simply driven > by hatred of > U.S. imperialist acts against Iraq, Palestine, or any other > country. Islamic > fundamentalism is just as much driven by hatred of feminism, > homosexuality, > workers' rights, etc. Such groups as Afghanistan's Taliban, > Algeria's FIA, > and the terrorist cells in Egypt which have murdered Marxist > professors as > well as indigenous writers and singers represent a violent > rejection of > everything "Western"-especially those aspects of western society > created > through decades of struggles by workers, women, gays and lesbians > and > minorities for a more open and free society. > > To try to rationalize the Sept. 11 attacks as an "understandable" > reaction to > U.S. foreign policy skips over the fact that some forces opposed > to the U.S. > are just as regressive, if not even more so, than U.S. imperialism > itself. > Yes, U.S. imperialism is a terrible force which wreaks enormous > destruction > throughout the world. And yes, the U.S. is implicated in the > crimes against > humanity of the Taliban's and bin Laden's-the CIA supported bin > Laden when he > fought the Russians and as recently as a few months ago the U.S. > gave > Afghanistan's ruling Taliban $100 million in aid. > > But by the same token, these forces are implicated in the crimes > of the U.S. > government. Islamic fundamentalism has again and again > strengthened U.S. > imperialism by taking actions which have undermined revolutionary > forces and > solidified counter-revolutionary policies. > > This was true in 1979, when the taking of hostages at the U.S. > embassy in > Iran by Islamic fundamentalists helped Reagan achieve political > ascendancy. > That is true today, when an anti-feminist, homophobic > fundamentalism of an > even more reactionary bent is enabling the inheritors of Reaganism > to impose > their regressive agenda upon this country. > > Those fighting for human liberation need to make it very clear > that the > attack of Sept. 11 was not a viable protest or response to the > U.S. or any of > the atrocities it perpetrates around the world. To even hint > otherwise is an > attack on the freedom movements within the U.S. and > internationally and can > result only in further isolating leftists from the masses. > > For its part, the Taliban no more speaks for the Afghan masses > than does its > ideological twin-Jerry Falwell-speak for the American masses. > There are two > worlds in every country, including in Afghanistan. > > As the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan > recently said, > "There is a vast difference between the poor and devastated people > of > Afghanistan and the terrorist Taliban criminals. While we once > again announce > our solidarity and deep sorrow with the people of the U.S., we > also believe > that attacking Afghanistan and killing its most ruined and > destitute people > will not in any way decrease the grief of the American people. We > sincerely > hope that the great American people could differentiate between > the people of > Afghanistan and a handful of fundamentalist terrorists." > > It is no less imperative to single out the two worlds within this > country. We > need to decisively reject the argument, recently made by an > anarchist, that > "The American populace to a large extent shares responsibility for > the deaths > of their compatriots, as they share responsibility for all the > deaths carried > out by or in the interests of the U.S. military." > > Such narrow opposition to U.S. imperialism has for far too long > disoriented > would-be revolutionaries. It has led them into opportunism and > realpolitik, > distancing them from the aspirations of the masses of human beings > for > genuine liberation. In recent years, such attitudes have caused a > section of > the Left to betray the Bosnian and Kosovar people, and tacitly to > give > support to Milosevic's genocide. > > The lesser-evilism which underlay much of the Left's silence on > Bosnia, and > its refusal to support the movement for national > self-determination in > Kosova, has only succeeded in strengthening the power of U.S. > imperialism. > The reason so many despair of the struggle for freedom and turn to > patriotism, xenophobia and statism is that they see no liberatory > alternative > to capitalism. Instead of responding to each political crisis by > repeating > the same old slogans against "U.S. imperialism," revolutionaries > have a > responsibility to oppose all societies and tendencies based on > alienated > human relations while projecting a positive vision of a new > society, what > Karl Marx called "positive humanism, beginning from itself." Only > in that way > can humanity see that there is an alternative to > capitalism-imperialism. > In a word, those opposing Bush's drive for war need to take this > moment to > stop and think. > > Nowhere is that more important than for the movement against > global capital, > which reached a turning point in the protests in Genoa this > summer. The > atmosphere now descending upon this country may well hurt the > movement by > discouraging activity. Many are even asking whether the opening > reached in > the anti-globalization movement will be shut down. But the answer > to this is > not to just beat the drum for more activity, as if repeating > familiar > criticisms of U.S. policy will by itself suffice. > > We live at a moment when political opposition must have a total > view in order > to be truly effective. We must take a firm stand against all forms > of > injustice, whether as propagated by terrorists, U.S. imperialism, > or by > anyone else, while developing a comprehensive perspective of the > kind of new > human relations we are for. Never has dialogue and debate on the > need for a > philosophy of revolution been more important-not alone for the > forward > movement of the struggles against global capital, but for their > very > existence. > > We urge you to join in the theoretical and practical work of > developing these > perspectives with News and Letters Committees, America's only > Marxist-Humanist organization. > > > News and Letters Committees > 36 S. Wabash, Room 1440 > Chicago IL 60603 > > phone: 312-236-0799 > fax: 312-236-0725 > > website: newsandletters.org > email: nandl@igc.org > >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Oct 02 2001 - 00:00:05 EDT