An empire in denial

[Charles Brown <BrownBingb@xxxxxxx>]

From: "Ben Courtice" <benj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

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I sense, reading between the lines, that there is a certain amount of
desperation in the US ruling class -- not just supreme arrogance and
bluster as personified by GWB -- why else embark on a highly unpopular
war led by a widely ridiculed president? Maybe it is supreme
arrogance, but I usually credit the US ruling class with a fair bit of
(collective) intelligence.

Or do you think that the PNAC crap is for real, they really believe
all their rhetoric? And I don't mean the actual clique around
Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld etc, I mean the collective US ruling class who
they are by and large ruling on behalf of: why are they engaging in
this war?

^^^^^^^

CB: Maybe there are splits in the US ruling class, and Bushollini
represents the most reactionary sections.  Maybe this war is a screw
up or blunder as you say. It might be a blunder even if they win in
Iraq , if Iraqi resistance goes underground and the U.S. falls into a
wider conflict in the region ; or jumps into a wider conflict
following the Fourth Reich strategy , like this :

   "They want to foment revolution in Iran and use that to isolate and
   possibly attack Syria in [Lebanon's] Bekaa Valley, and force Syria
   out," says former Assistant Secretary of State for Near East
   Affairs Edward S. Walker, now president of the Middle East
   Institute. "They want to pressure [Muammar] Quaddafi in Libya and
   they want to destabilize Saudi Arabia, because they believe
   instability there is better than continuing with the current
   situation. And out of this, they think, comes Pax Americana." .]

   ( from "Just the Beginning: Is Iraq the opening salvo in a war to
   remake the world?"  by Robert Dreyfuss The American Prospect Volume
   14, Issue 3. March 1, 2003.)

CB: If that happens it would seem some desparation is involved. And so
as you imply, why are they desparate ?  It's not the situation in the
U.S. like those reactionary sections of the Eurpean bougeoisie who
faced socialist workers' movements all over the place in the early
twentieth century, and desparately turned to fascism.

How far we are from the recent discussions of this war as about oil ,
and maybe just the a business cycle crisis in oil, or the business
cycle crisis in general or oil depletion.  Bring back the "oil and
overproduction " thread for some orientation.

Charles

^^^^^^

I'd be interested in your views because if they're getting desperate
(or at least nervous), then that means that this war may well turn
into a blunder, after all, desperate people take greater risks. But
despite all the commentary about Coalition casualties, not taking
cities quickly enough, and so on, I'm not yet convinced that they will
lose this war outright. I think they have enough firepower to win the
shooting war (not necessarily the occupation) before protests at home
(and the impact of casualties on morale, public opinion etc) force a
stop... but maybe I'm being pessimistic. And anyway that's another
conversation which is being had with every bit of news that comes
along.














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