Re: ON INDEPENDENCE OF TINY NATIONAL GROUPS

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>- The organisations that have taken the side of imperialist interventionists
>in Kosova and E. Timor are likewise dead for the socialist movement - if
>they ever were alive - and can no more be considered to form part of the
>left. Those who are against imperialist intervention, but still regard the
>above-mentioned organisations as "a part of the left that has made an
>unfortunate theoretical mistake", are the modern-day Kautskys.
>- We have every reason to believe that, just as the third international rose
>from the ashes of WW I, the current wave of imperialist attacks will
>eventually lead to a rebirth of the revolutionary movement. It is the duty
>of every revolutionist to fight for this perspective.
>
>Alphonsos Pangas
>Communist Internationalist League (KDE) - Greece

Jared, the KDE is a bizarre Trotskyist sect that used to be affiliated with
Gerry Healy's outfit in Great Britain. I have been debating one of their
members on the Trotsky newsgroup for the past month on these questions.
Essentially, they present a very schematic analysis which puts a minus
where the imperialists put a plus. This is not very dialectical.

It is most glaringly apparent in their interpretation of the Chechnya war,
which has Putin in the same beleagured status as Milosevic and the Chechens
acting as cats paws. This has absolutely no validity. During the siege of
Grozny, the United States approved a 1/2 billion dollar loan that
supposedly would be held back because of excesses by the Russian army. The
reason that the loan went through is that it was earmarked for relief for
Russian miners who would lose their jobs in the course of a privatization
orchestrated by the Kremlin in association with western investors. As I
have pointed out in my "New Interventions" article, Milosevic became
persona non grata after he refused to participate in similar schemes in
Yugoslavia.

The other thing to keep in mind is that Clinton has always been supportive
of Russian domination of Chechnya. During the 1994 war, Clinton likened
Yeltsin to Lincoln, as somebody fighting to preserve the unity of his
republic. When Milosevic sent his army into Kosovo, Clinton likened him to
Hitler.





Louis Proyect
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